Bermuda Parent Bermuda Parent Spring 2015 | Page 53

“We would do 12-14 knots, maybe 16-18
knots downwind and 22 knots on a good reach.
But these America’s Cup guys will be going at
The senior Patton spends much of his time on the
water as the owner of Bermuda Marine Services, a moor-
ing and salvage business. He has raced in the Great
Sound “extensively”, and says America’s Cup competi-
tors can expect “a little bit of everything”.
“One of the beauties of boat racing in Bermuda is
that every day is different, and the boats will have to be
designed with that in mind,” he says. “In San Diego, for
example, it blows eight knots every day from the same
direction, and so boats can be optimised for those con-
ditions. In Bermuda, however, we have a variety of wind
strengths and wind directions – and so they will have
to build boats that are able to be competitive in a wide
range of conditions.”
Patton is looking forward to seeing the competition,
but also has a wider view of the event. “It’s not just about
how spectacular the event will be, it’s how wonderful it
is that all of the focus will be on sailing and the positive
impact that will have on our school kids,” he says. “Ber-
muda has a wonderful maritime history and hopefully the
people who are not aware of that will become aware of it.”
least twice that speed – technology has
come a long way since then.”
Paul Doughty, formerly a professional youth develop-
ment coach, has been a racing sailor for 42 years. He has
spent a good portion of his life sailing in Bermuda waters
– he also ran a charter yacht business for 25 years.
“What Bermuda has – and I have heard Sir Ben Ain-
sley and others say it – is the number of variables in our
stadium course is just massive,” he says. “What they are
going to be sailing in is not thermal-generated, it is pure
ocean breeze. Generally, it’s flat to light chop.
“The conditions in Bermuda are the best that
match racing can give. The course is so short that, if the
lead boat makes a mistake, you can come back on them.
We will wind up with the Great Sound so well-studied
there will be more forthcoming knowledge about it
than we ever thought existed.”
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