As living legends in the Tornado, it’s no surprise the multihull maestros had their interest piqued by the new form and format of the America’s Cup. Their role as Sports Directors for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup led to an opportunity to compete as HS Racing in the final America’s Cup World Series event in Naples.
“It was always a plan for us to go to the America’s Cup,” Hagara says. “So this is a good opportunity to show the outside world and our partners how it could work for us to compete. Hopefully, the America’s Cup is in the future for us, so this is a good chance towards that.”
The new style America’s Cup would appear to suit Hagara and Steinacher well. The boats certainly do. Hagara says the AC45s – the wing sail catamarans used at the America’s Cup World Series – are a pleasure to race, even if they’re physically very demanding.
“The AC45s are really nice boats. They’re quick, easy to handle and fun to sail. But they’re very tiring. There’s a lot on for all of the crew, especially for the guys on the front of the boat. It gets a little easier as you move back! But even for me as helmsman I’m pulling on the wing sheet, grinding, hiking, looking around for tactics, as well as steering. It’s not easy.”
Although Hagara admits the physical nature of the boat favors younger sailors, he says the experience he and Steinacher bring compensate for this.
“Experience always helps but the future in this type of sailing is for the younger generation,” Hagara admits. “If you have a skiff or multihull background and you’re young and you’re good, this is for you. Everything on these boats happens so fast. Experience helps, but…”
It’s hard to consider double Olympic gold medalists as underdogs, but Hagara is realistic about his prospects this week.
“I think from race to race I want to see us improve a little bit and hopefully get some finishes near the top. The other teams have many more hours on the water than we do, but I think there’s a chance we could surprise some people.”
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