Luna Rossa helm comes to play

James Spithill joins Bribon for the Breitling MedCup's Portimao regatta

After a spell home in Australia, enjoying the post-Cup therapeutic effects of some garage and extension building work at his house, Luna Rossa’s highly rated helmsman James Spithill is back in Europe and ready to compete for the first time on the TP52’s Breitling MedCup Circuit, the best fleet racing circuit in the world.

Spithill will be a more than capable deputy for Bouwe Bekking on the helm of Jose Cusi’s new Judel Vrolijk-designed Bribon.

“I had my first sail today and it was great," said Spithill, as he joined the line to weigh in at the Marina Portimao on Portugal’s Algarve, where the circuit’s fourth event the season, the Portugal Trophy starts Tuesday with 19 boats set to line up. "I have never sailed these boats before but they felt just great, like big dinghies. It was so nice to go out and do some real planing.”

With the late afternoon breeze building to a comfortable 20 knots these were what are promised to be typical conditions as the MedCup circuit extends out of the Mediterranean waters for the first time in search of more breeze and excitement.

Ashore the set-up, as assembled by Portuguese promoters Laos Sports, is impressive with a massive chill out ambient area for sailors, VIP guest zone, and bar and eating area which will provide nearly 2000 meals a day.

“It’s probably back to the Melges times when I last went racing in a planing boat," continued Spithill. "It should be a lot of fun, planing and asymmetrics. They are really nice boats. They react well, just like big dinghies and so nice after the big displacement Cup boats. I was really impressed with the guys on Bribon, I just stepped on and the boat handling is really good and everything. This a chance I jumped at and Ross (McDonald, tactician) and the guys seem really good. It’ll be a lot of fun.

“It is great to be racing again. I am in Europe now for about a month, doing this and then some RC44 sailing and some match racing. I really enjoy the fleet racing, and just racing. That is just one of the things about the America’s Cup, is that you just don’t get that many opportunities. I think it is such a good thing for Cup teams to get out and do some racing. We did it with the Melges 24, got a core group together and went out and did a lot of open racing, there is a lot of value to it. I think you will start to see a lot of Cup teams going out and doing this sort of racing, the technical boat speed development, because you just don’t get that in Match racing.

“I have been close to Portugal before, in Bayona, but never here before. I have heard a lot about it and heard the ISAF Worlds were really good.”