Series 3 - Ep14 - Jono Macbeth Part 2

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Part Two of Shirley Robertson's chat to a man that has sailed in a remarkable six America's Cup campaigns, as she sits down to chat with New Zealand grinder Jono Macbeth.  As the pair discuss, Macbeth's career in sailing was in no way scheduled, starting after a chance encounter with the legendary Sir Peter Blake.  Team New Zealand had just won the 1995 America's Cup in San Diego when Blake invited a young Macbeth to join an exciting new venture in Auckland...:

This part of the podcast joins Macbeth  as the Cup yachts dropped to 72ft for the 2013 edition in San Francisco, by which time Macbeth was a regular fixture in the world of the Cup, and an integral part of the sailing team at Oracle, desperate to develop the foiling capabilities of the exciting new multi-hulls.  It was a development period that didn't always go to plan...:

"I remember Jimmy clear as day over comms 'Watch out boys, look out for all your mates here', and I was thinking 'what is he talking about', and then "BANG", the bows go under and I was second cockpit back with Rome Kirby and Joey Newton and we just went underwater....the boat just kept on driving down!"

The team ultimately of course went on to overturn a huge deficit against Team New Zealand, winning the 2013 Cup in dramatic fashion, a moment that Macbeth reveals to be the highlight of his multiple Cup winning career.

From San Francisco Macbeth joined the newly formed Land Rover BAR, running the British sailing team for Sir Ben Ainslie, exiting the Cup at the Challenger Series phase in Bermuda in 2017.

Now working in a sustainability role at North Sails, Jono Macbeth is one of the most experienced grinders in the game, and his behind the scenes revelations of life at the very heart of the fight for the oldest trophy in world sport is truly fascinating.

This edition of the podcast is in two parts and is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley’s own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast.

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