Andy Green interview - part 2

Today Andy talks about picking the crew and his other responsibilities for GBR Challenge

Meanwhile there is still the issue of who will be sailing on the boat for the Louis Vuitton series and in particular who will be in the afterguard. "I think the sailing team have got a good idea of who are going to be the people involved in the boat. But at the same time we have 30 people who are all incredibly good sailors and we'll probably see some switching around," says Andy Green.

He argues that they are not alone in leaving the decision over who will be in the final crew until as late as possible. "I'd like to know who is steering Prada. I think all the teams have had similar issues over the last year or so. You could see those problems at Oracle with Chris Dickson and Paul Cayard and it's all a mix of personalities. We've now been going a year and a bit and we're just settling down into who the right people are for the jobs. And you've got to prove yourself in this group of sailors. I've not no problem with the fact that our sailing team is going to be absolutely up to the mark. The differences between ranked number 3 and ranked number 11 in the world is so small when it comes to sailing America's Cup boats and with people like Ian Walker, Ado Stead, Chris Main, Jules, Andy Beadsworth when push comes to shove we all know what the game is and it is really a question of getting us to work best together.

"I think Prada is similar. Will you see Francesco steering the start? Similarly will you see Larry Ellison driving around the course?" However one gets the impression that the team is further down the road in this respect than they are letting on.

In terms of personel there has been little change. Jules Slater's brother Guy has joined the team since finishing the Volvo. In that event he was bowman on board Tyco and has joined GBR Challenge in the mid-bow position. The much touted possibility of seeing the talented Neal McDonald return to the fold though has not come to pass.

"The reality is that's he's just finished a round the world race and done bloody well doing it and I don't think you can blame him for wanting so time off," says Green. "If circumstances were different he would have loved to have done it. The regime is hard, really hard and I think you can't really expect someone to work a year for an America's Cup team, then a year around the world and then expect them to take two weeks holiday and come down and get involved with an America's Cup team again. And quite sensibly Neal decided he needed to spend time with his new bride!"

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