Christian Scherrer (32) from Winterthur is one of eight Swiss members of the 32-strong Alinghi sailing team. The genoa trimmer was watch leader on the "Merit Cup" in the 1993/94 Whitbread Race and then worked for the Australian America's Cup syndicate One Australia, whose boat spectacularly broke apart and sank in 1995. He also sailed with Jochen Schümann for FAST 2000 in the last Cup event.
YACHT online:
Scherrer:I have the experienced New Zealander Simon Daubney ahead of me in my trimmer position. He's hard to beat, but I've now sailed two races in the preliminary round. Apart from that, I'm fully committed to two-boat testing. We are still working very hard there.
YACHT online:Why? Everything is running like clockwork.
Scherrer:That's the problem. There's a danger that you don't stay on the ball. But everyone continues to develop. There are so many areas where you can still improve by a tenth. It's hard, time-consuming work.
YACHT online:There is much speculation about the newer Alinghi SUI 74 boat, which has not yet been used. Is it more optimised for the increasingly light wind? Will we see it in the semi-finals?
Scherrer:I can't say anything about that. Of course, we are utilising the psychological advantage that nobody knows whether we still have something up our sleeve. But going into the race with a purely light-wind boat is very risky. The conditions change extremely quickly here. You need an all-rounder. For example, there is very little wind at the moment. We usually only sail with the light sea breeze from 2 p.m. and are then out until 8 a.m., like today.
YACHT online:How specialised are the designs? Is it possible to turn a strong wind racer into a light wind rocket?
Scherrer:Oracle BMW has shown the way. But that is very expensive and time-consuming. You also lose a lot of training time on the water due to extreme modifications. Thank goodness we haven't had to take such far-reaching steps yet. Our strategy has worked.
YACHT online:Whilst the opposing teams are in high spirits, little is heard from Alinghi. Are there no differences of opinion? Is it really that quiet behind the scenes?
Scherrer:It is precisely because there are differences of opinion that things are so quiet on the outside. Anyone who has something to say or grumble about is allowed to speak up. No matter what position they hold. It is discussed. We have developed a very good culture of debate. Nobody has to feel patronised. That is one of our great strengths.
YACHT online:How do the Kiwis' "Loyal" campaign and the hostility of the "Blackheart" extremists affect the team?
Scherrer:That's very provocative, and the Blackhearts are only disqualifying themselves. The whole thing is not credible. On the one hand, people are angry about the rich teams who want to take the Cup away from them and say what negative effects it will have on the New Zealand economy. On the other hand, they're happy to take the money we're all bringing into the country at the moment. Our Kiwis were pretty tense, especially at the opening parade, but they were very cool during the sailing. It will only get exciting when we actually sail against the Kiwis. Everyone here is waiting for this duel: Russell Coutts against Dean Barker.
YACHT online:How do you see Conner and Prada's protest against OneWorld?
Scherrer:I think it sucks that it has come to this. It should have been sorted out beforehand. Syndicate boss MacCaw has been trying to clean up his image with an environmental campaign in New Zealand. Now he's branded, even if he makes it to the final. But the whole thing is of little concern to us. It's good that we haven't had to waste energy on such legal disputes so far. We have also done our job very cleanly at this level.
YACHT online:Are you getting that Advent feeling in summery Auckland?
Scherrer:Of course. Just today I put up an advent calendar with my roommate Dominik Neidhart. But I'm already looking forward to Christmas on the beach. I've rented a little hut there. If we win the semi-final, Jochen will probably give us a three-day Christmas holiday.
