Brotherton finds new 49er crew

Britain's top skiff sailor is ready to take on the world again, after splitting with Olympic silver medallist Simon Hiscocks reports Andy Rice

After breaking up with Simon Hiscocks, Britain’s top ranked 49er helm, Paul Brotherton, has teamed up with another break-up victim, Mark Asquith. With Asquith’s former helm Chris Draper partnered with Hiscocks, the two teams have effectively done a clean swap.

Between them the four sailors own four boats, with each team on the verge of putting their best boat in a container later this week for the World Championships in Hawaii. So it was imperative that they resolved their differences swiftly and without acrimony. And so RYA Olympic team manager Stephen ‘Sparky’ Park was brought in to preside over a meeting that lasted little more than half an hour and from which all parties emerged satisfied, according to Brotherton.

madfor sailing caught up with Brotherton as he was on a trip north to pick up his brand new hull from Ovington Boats. He had just completed a quick trial sail with Asquith on the Solent earlier that day. Despite having been forced together by circumstances beyond their control, Brotherton and Asquith say they are ready to work hard together in their build-up to the Worlds in just two months’ time. "Mark’s got plenty of enthusiasm, he’s got a good physique for the job and he moves well around the boat," But he admitted they faced an uphill task in doing well in Hawaii. "We’ve got two regattas and 25 days of sailing, and we know we’re playing catch-up. We can’t expect to set the world alight quite yet."

The last minute reshuffle has also left them floundering to get their new boat fully sorted. Brotherton reckons it takes a team a week’s solid work getting a new boat fully race ready, with the foils properly aligned and to add all the little tweaks that can make such a difference in a tricky skiff like the 49er. "We’ve got just two days to get it sorted, so it’s not going to be as ready as we’d like," he said.

But more importantly, the team will have had little time to understand how each reacts to a situation. "The subtlety of the 49er means that if one of you moves just a second earlier than the other is used to, say in a gybe, then in any more than 18 knots you’re going to be in the tide."

That said, Brotherton appears to relish the opportunity to build up a new partnership from scratch. "I enjoyed the sail I had today more than any other sail I’ve had in the past six months," he commented, although he did acknowledge the age gap between Asquith and himself might be a challenge at times. "I’m sure there will be times when he thinks, ‘you boring old woman,’ and when I’m thinking, ‘you silly boy,’ but we’ll get through it. We’re going into this with our eyes open."

Brotherton was keen to keep any personal rivalry out of the British squad despite the recent spate of musical chairs. "The fact is we’re all getting thumped by the Spanish boats, and I think we’ve got a lot to concentrate on with our own situation before we worry about anybody else. But we’ll be pleased to sail against Chris and Simon because they are a quality partnership and they will be hard to beat," he said.