Greenhalgh has hardly stopped since finishing the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. His most recent assignment saw him skipper Team Duqm Oman in the Extreme Series in the UAE two weeks ago and he is eager to stay as busy as possible.
Nick Dana/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race
"I race every weekend anyway," Greenhalgh said in a telephone interview. "Straight after the Volvo Ocean Race, I was probably racing dinghies and other boats the following week end.
"I enjoy the sailing, I enjoy the racing and I’m just lucky that I got this job as well. What I like about sailing is the diversity of it. The Volvo is very good in that respect because it’s very diverse anyway. You've got a mixture of offshore conditions with different legs and there is a bit of an inshore element as well. The Volvo, like a lot of the sailing I do, is a very diverse race."
He says he is lucky but there isn't much place left to chance in his career. A skiff world champion and Extreme 40 Series winner, he triumphed the Volvo Ocean Race with ABN AMRO ONE in 2005-06, took second with PUMA Ocean Racing in 2008-09 and fifth with Abu Dhabi in 2011-12.
“I’ve done three races so far but I’m definitely keen to do the next one," said Greenhalgh, who has also been racing the new Moth he bought during the last race in Miami. "Right now I’m certainly hoping to get a position on a boat for the next race, or ideally my own team with myself as the skipper. Time is running out on that one but hopefully I’ll be able to join a team as a watch captain or something.”
Working towards his own team, he reckons the One Design is saving potential competitors a lot of time.
“The One Design is hopefully going to encourage teams. With the new rule, I think you could start sailing in June or July next year and still have a winning team. There is over a year, basically, before you need to have something concrete.
“I’ve been to Green Marine to have a look at the mock up. I haven’t seen the hull yet but I’ve seen the drawings and I think it looks good. It will be a good change.”
As a previous winner, how does he look at the next competition?
“It’s so important to have the right people around you – that’s how you create a winning team. When you get that environment, then it’s very infectious and you want to go back and do it again.
“Creating that environment is the trick. It’s so much about being part of that team that doesn’t necessarily win all the races but is a winning one. And certainly the next race will be a lot closer as it will be sailed with the One Design boat. It will be all about just the people on the boat."
Source; Volvo Ocean Race Media
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