Pride of Holland

In part two of our interview with him Bouwe Bekking talks about IMS racing with the King of Spain and the Volvo Ocean Race

This article follows on from part one of our interview with Bouwe Bekking published yesterday.

The Daily Sail: So what's next for you?

Bouwe Bekking: The Copa del Rey.

TDS: Is it true that the king runs the show down there?

BB: Oh, no. It is the same when the king was here. People don't realise how much he does for sailing. He is there and he is a very nice personality. He is a king, but he is one of the best ambassadors of the sport. He is open to everybody and it gets the media attracted to sailing and it is fantastic that he loves the sport. I think that every sport which can have royalty in it is good for the sport.

TDS: So presumably yacht racing is popular in Spain because of the royals?

BB: Well, the son is sailing on a boat, the daughter is sailing on a boat..and the press is incredible. There will be 100+ photographers at Copa del Rey. Even the Admiral's Cup was on the front of the sporting pages [in Spain]. So it is very good for the sport and he does a great job. Even over here he is very relaxed.

TDS: What does the King think of Aera?

BB: He's loves to drive it. The first weekend he had four firsts, he had nice weather, and the whole package - it was the perfect scenario.

TDS: Who chose the team?

BB: It was the same Aera team as normal. It was just Eddie [Warden-Owen], Bob Wylie, Capey [Andrew Cape] and myself who came from the outside and of course the King. Pedro Campos came up with the whole idea and then it went through Eddie and he brought it all together and made a nice deal.

TDS: On to the Volvo Ocean Race - are you planning to do your own campaign?

BB: There are people looking for money for me. I'm not rushing myself around because I'm not good enough as a marketing person. You need people who understand the business. So there there are people looking for me and I can tell you - it is not easy.

TDS: How are they getting on?

BB: It is running but the problem is that the rule is not out yet. You can't present anything. Now we know it is Melbourne. It would have been nice just to have had the whole package ready.

TDS: How is the sponsorship climate at the moment?

BB: It is pretty dim at the moment. And they [potential sponsors] don’t know what they’re going into. Last time it was nice that illbruck made an early announcement. Now the Australians have said they’re going to do it, which is fantastic because maybe it gets the ball rolling. But it is still very tricky to get someone to say right now 'I’m going to put $15-20 million on the line' - what happens when they are only four entries?

TDS: Have Volvo shot themselves in the foot by delaying?

BB: I hope not, but I am very worried about people getting the money in time. I think it is a great event but I am very worried that people will run out of time.

TDS: Do you think it was a good idea going for a new boat?

BB: I think it is a very good idea but it is 1.5 years late. Straight at the finish they should have had it ready. Time is our biggest enemy, because coming in at a high level into a company, it sometimes takes 5-8 months before a contract even gets signed.

TDS: What do you think about the Volvo Ocean 70? Is it what you wanted to see?

BB: I always said it will be a boat for professional sailors. So I don’t care that much if it keeps the costs down. Of course a bigger boat normally costs more money and I think they tried to save in the wrong end.Going for less crew I don’t think was a smart idea. I don’t think it will make the sailing better, it will make it worse and harder on the people. Just as an example, coming into Australia, when Keith Kilpatrick was off the boat and Grant was laid out flat and we had 35-40 knots. And that was only a couple of days to sail with less people. So when you’re going with nine and you’re having a blast in the Southern Ocean, the heart rates will go very high and it will get very hard. But that’s the rule and I’m not moaning about it, because I’ll probably do it, but I don’t think it was the smartest way of saving money. I’d rather say this crew, this team will have to participate in the inshores and you can bring one extra person in because otherwise you can fly in an inshore team and make it more expensive that way.

TDS: I think Andy Hindley and Glenn Bourke are legislating against that.

BB: It is nice to have Glenn there because he understands us sailors. There will come a rule and the guys who want to do it will do it anyway. I think it is just a shame they’re late. I personally think they haven't realised it is a big problem.

TDS: What else are you planning?

I was just racing a couple of weeks ago on the trimarans, just the ones in Scandinavia, so not the top ones, on HiQ with Roger Nilson. We had a little blast. It is just fantastic sailing. For sponsoring, there is a lot of space to take sponsors out, they are fast, they break records. I'd love to sail more on them. It is a totally different aspect to the sport, which is a new thrill.

TDS: So Grant Dalton hasn't signed you up to Team New Zealand yet?

BB: I would love to do an America's Cup. I’ve never been involved with it. My dream was to skipper a Volvo boat, but I’ve come to realise that I won't sleep any worse if it doesn’t happen. It is so difficult to get the money on the table. That is the hardest part. The responsibility is the same as one any campaign.