The Outlaw

UBS Challenge winner and much capped 'enfant terrible' of our sport, Chris Law, gives madforsailing his views on the AC and GBR Challenge

When Chris Law retired from professional sailing two years there were reactions in the yacht racing community ranging from relief to disappointment. Law, who might be described as a firey personality, has made a whole host of good friends and bitter enemies during an impressive yachting career that has included Olympic campaigns and culminated at the helm of the last British America's Cup challenger in 1986.

Now the man who proudly became a grandfather shortly before his 50th birthday recently is back and back with a vengeance yesterday winning the Swedish Match Tour's UBS Challenge in Newport, Rhode Island against some formidable America's Cup helms such as Peter Gilmour and Kenny Read.

"I retired two years ago and I was quite happy to retire - I thought I was coming to the end of my days," said Law when madfor sailing caught up with him in Newport. "But I found that I missed it. I missed most of all the people, my friends from different countries. I enjoy the venues and I enjoy the sport. I don't need to prove myself any longer. We had a great match racing team with Shag, Andy and Jules. We won nine grade one events. I believe we were in 25 semi finals and finals over a 2-3 years period and we were ranked number two for quite a considerable period.

"Now I find that the events invite me and really good guys are available to sail with me which is a great compliment. For example a lot of the Volvo round the world race guys, like Dirk de Ridder, who's just won on illbruck - he's coming with me whenever he can. My bowman here is Jeff Brock who has just done the bow on Amer Sports One with Grant Dalton. I mean I'm not paying them. They're doing it because they want to do it and we'll split the [prize] money equally. It is a great feeling at my age to be invited to these events and to have really good guys to sail with. I walked down to the boats this morning thinking there is no other place in the world I want to be. I'm doing what I want to do with people I like..."

For the UBS Challenge, Law's Team Outlaws comprised an entirely American crew. Aside from Jeff Brock, there was Tucker Thomson and tactician Dobbs Davis, who has sailed with Law for 10 years and is a qualified umpire in his own right.

While many of his match racing colleagues are heading south to their highly paid positions within AC teams, Law has committed to the rest of the 2002/3 Swedish Match Tour. "They've asked me to do all the events. And I'll do them if I get the invites and I get good people to sail with me. We've done a lot of work on our rules knowledge because the rules have changed dramaticaly. And as I'm older I want to get as physically fit as I can. I don't smoke anyway and I hardly drink now but I do feel less competitive - you don't have that burning, hungry desire."

So why did he retire? "I'd done a 30 year career," he continues. "People always say it was always tough in our day. We did do four Olympic games and were forced to boycott in 1980, which was tough on us. I've been involved with five different America's Cup challengers - so you end up helming your country's America's Cup challenge which is pretty much the pinnacle of your sport."

Law's AC career included turning down the opportunity to join Lionheart. Later he was bought by Peter de Savary for the Victory camaign, but was little used, a scenario he compares to Cayard and Dickson's involvement, or rather non-involvement, with Larry Ellison's Oracle campaign this time round. Most famously he steered White Crusader in the 1986 Louis Vuitton Series in Fremantle and then was asked again by Peter de Savary to be involved with the shortlived Blue Arrow foiler campaign.

Law then emigrated to Australia to sail with John Bertrand on OneAustralia, but when that did't work out Bertrand introduced him to fellow Australian Syd Fischer who was putting together the Sydney 95 campaign. Since then he has also been involved with commentary for the America's Cup.

Aside from his match racing he regularly steers Leonardo Ferragamo's Swan and has this year sailed her in the Laureus Sports Awards and the Porto Fino maxi regattas. He still coaches - he has worked with Kit Hobday and Tim Louis' Bear of Britain youth team and did the Jubilee regatta on Don Woods' 12m Italia and when he is available sails on Stephen Bailey's modified Sydney 40 Arbitrator.

But it is unquestionably the America's Cup where his heart lies. Currently, in America's Cup terms he is unemployed, and one gets the impression he dearly wants to be part of the proceedings some way or another come 1 October. "To be frank I still think I have something to contribute on the support side in a Cup programme. Particularly if I wasn't a national of the country, I wouldn't threaten anyone on the boat. I could be a good observer of other challenges, I could be sparring partner, testing helmsman, coach, etc."

Not being invited to join Peter Harrison's GBR Challenge came as quite a blow to Law and brings out his cynical side. "At the beginning it hurt a lot. Because they didn't believe that my heart was in seeing a British challenge. Ever since White Crusader, all I've wanted is to see a British challenge. But then I can't blame them frankly. If I was in their position and I'd been offered that kind of money, why on earth would you open the door to someone who could potentially threaten you? What I hope is having taken the reigns themselves - and I cannot fault the way they've gone about it - I hope they accept the responsibility they've taken on themselves. And even now if I was asked to help, I would. And I don't doubt my own motive, I question whether they doubt my motive."

So what would a 50 year old grandfather have to offer? "This America's Cup is going to be the best ever. I have raced over a period of 10 years with all the Cup skippers. I know them personally, most of them are my friends, I know their characteristics, I know their temperaments. If you gave me the job of analysing...Say for example in grid iron, you're going to play the New York whatevers next week. You would send someone along to observe them. You'd video that match and you would come back and you would watch their moves. You would also in house have an attack coach and a defense coach.

"Now in America's Cup terms, if you said 'okay, we have a semi-final match against Peter Gilmour coming up - best of five or best of seven' and you gave me the job of briefing everyone on what to expect. With Virtual Spectator I could ask it to to give me all Peter Gilmour's stats in the America's Cup and we could look at characteristics and styles what he might be able to do. So I could observe and watch and I have a good eye at watching other syndicates.

"I also think it is going to be very hard to pass and the most important thing is the in-depth understanding of the boat-on-boat rules at crucial opportunities and that is when boats meet and when the right of way changes. That's not just in prestart, that's going upwind when you're beating and downwind when you're gybing but most importantly it is the fight for the overlap at the bottom. Now all the crew should have a complete understanding of how important that situation is - and I'm not sure that there is the in-depth knowledge that there could be," he says referring to the GBR Challenge crew. "Also I think that a lot of the guys are worried and concerned about looking or feeling stupid if they happen to expose their weaknesses. And again I think one on one but also within a group, I could help the understanding of the practical implication of the rule.

"The important thing is they put on a good showing, that everyone comes out of it friends, hopefully no one gets hurt, they don't embarrass themselves in rules situations or with breakages and Peter Harrison feels he's got a lot out of it and that they can justify the commercial return for the future. In effect Peter has laid the foundation blocks but I think it would unfair to expect him to carry on on a personal basis. But whether it can be seen as a commercial venture from here on in will depend upon the success on the viewing figures from the Cup this time."

Ultimately he feels that there is a lot of hope for a British AC effort. "The British have all the heritage. We invented the America's Cup. We discovered New Zealand! We've got the best Olympic results, largely due to the enormous financial backing, we've got a wonderful youth program. The technology is there, we've got the largest tank testing facility in Europe. They've got Lewmar winches, got SP Systems, who produced the materials for both Prada and Team New Zealand, more importantly they've the Woolston Unit, and the head, Andy Claughton, was taken by Team New Zealand to head up their design team - not a lot of people know that. And all this is available in England. So it's not as though you are trying to build an America's Cup team in Kuwait."

Of the GBR Challenge crew he says: "They are in a fortunate position but they've earned it. They've spent a lot of time working together. Their generation works together, unfortunately ours didn't - we always used to fight each other. I think they have all the tools. They've had a fantastic youth programme. They are born at exactly the right time, peace time at a time when sailing is becoming commercial. They have big boat experience through Admiral's Cup, Mumm 30s and so forth. They have fantastic national organistion headed up by Rod Carr. They have all grown up as kids, so they haven't had to emigrate to foreign countries. They've got the Lottery. Now they have Peter Harrison, who's sold his business who's right behind them. They've got the design team they wanted, the build team they wanted, the authority they wanted, now they're up in the big league - let's see them fall above the expectation.

"One thing they should get off though, is that they're the youth guys. James Spithall has just won the last grade one event without a penalty and he's the tune-up helmsman for Oneworld. And they should also get off, which was the original concept, that it is the British Olympic team. That's nonsense - it is Ian Walker. There's been no room for Ben Ainslie, Shirley Robertson, Iain Percy or Ian Barker. So let's keep the reality of it."

Tomorrow, in part two of this interview, Chris Law gives his broader views on the forthcoming America's Cup...