Our hero - part two

In part two of this interview the GBR starting helm talks about the differences philosophies between the AC and one design racing

Seeing the lifestyle of the America's Cup teams, it is fair to say that the days of Newport, where you'd come in from a race well set up for a night of severe alcoholic abuse at the expense of your millionaire patron are distinctly over. Simply - the teams work too hard.

"It's not a bad way to make a living, but it does sometimes feel like you're in jail," admits Beadsworth. "I find the hardest thing is your life outside the four walls of syndicate row is tough. I got married in September and my wife's come down here and we're living in a hotel room [admittedly more of an apartment] and I leave at 6am and I don't get back until 7 or 8.

"She's found a job working for Fuji Xerox and she's involved with the Cup - that's been a bit of a God send. It is punishing and we work very long hours and we are flexible for the job, which means the rest of your life has to be flexible. You can't arrange to have dinner at 7pm because we might only be coming in then. And you can't just come in and leave. So all of that has been quite hard but it is the America's Cup and we're playing it and we're doing well."

Beadsworth moves on to a topic that clearly holds some resonance with him in his previous role. "The hardest is for the guys not on the board. You spend 18 months training for an event that at the end of the day you're not sailing in. And I know what that feels like because they're my buddies that I've been training with for the last 6-7 months - all the time knowing that we won't be on the boat. If you don't get on the boat it's obviously quite disheartening and it's just hard work. However hard you try it is very hard to take the pride and enthusiasm and thrill of when we win races through to the guys there."

The Daily Sail suggests paying those who stay ashore more than those on the boat.

Part of the reason it is so hard is that GBR Challenge are a new team, they're trying to match the progress of some of the other teams with larger budgets to throw at the manpower shoreside. In this scenario it is more the case that the 'rock star' sailing team can come in and hand over to the shore team, much like a Formula One motor racing team.

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