Saskia Clark MBE, three-time Team GB Olympian, Rolex Sailor of the Year (with teammate Hannah Mills) and team member of the Great Britain Women’s America’s Cup team.
AAS: You grew up sailing around Mersea Island and the local area in Essex; how did it all begin and when did you realise you wanted to make sailing your career?
SC: Both sets of grandparents sailed and I grew up on an island, so sailing as a hobby was reasonably inevitable, despite my definite dislike of it in the early days! We were passing Southampton on the way back from an Optimist event when Maiden was coming in, having finished the 89/90 Whitbread, and that was an inspiring moment. Then as Optimist and youth kids we were lucky to be coached by members of the 1988 and 1992 Olympic teams and I remember thinking ‘this is cool’.
AAS: You are a member of the Athena Pathway squad. Can you tell us what this entails?
SC: We are training in Barcelona in preparation for our event, which starts on 5 October. The obvious part is maximising on the water time, upskilling in the AC40, racing as a team of four on short course, boundary racing. But there is a lot going on in the background to keep these incredible boats working and as a small team we are all involved in making that happen.
AAS: It was a tough selection process for the Women’s America’s Cup squad. What was involved?
SC: As you know the British sailing scene is rich in talent and with an opportunity like this, everybody popped their hand up for a trial. It was a strange set up because the AC40 has very little or no other boat or competition for direct comparison, so we were using the simulator a lot. As a sailing athlete it felt strange to trust what essentially is a computer game to assess your skills, when we all know how much we rely on feel and environmental inputs. It was an interesting and different challenge. It is also a great way to ramp up pressure in a totally sterile and safe environment and see how you react. And also to introduce us all to the data elements which has never been a feature of my sailing but is a huge part of this world.
AAS: So, a lot of training was on a simulator; what was it like to get onboard the AC40 in Barcelona?
SC: It was so good to get sailing! We had a month in Barcelona building up the base and all our support structure, running through our routines and safety protocols, so the reward of finally getting out sailing was fantastic. And going through the reverse process of realising that although it is a very sophisticated boat, with lots of computer inputs, it is still just a boat and all the usual sailing skills still apply.
AAS: This is the first Women’s America’s Cup, so do you know who your biggest challengers will be?
SC: All the nations that are affiliated with a Cup team will have strong teams with a lot of my old Olympic competitors in their line-up. The Swedish are the only one of the six non-Cup teams that have their own boat and the five remaining teams have chartered where they can and done some incredible in-depth work on the SIM. With both the women and the youth being one design competitions in the AC40, I expect they will be hugely competitive.
AAS: You and Hannah Mills are racing together again for the first time since winning Gold in Rio 2016. How does it feel to be together again, and in a very different boat?
SC: Even though we are driver/trimmer together like in the 470, the roles and responsibilities split out quite differently, so it is fun to be on a steep learning curve together. Something that remains constant is the trust and belief you have in your team mate, that we are working hard and are all in to make this happen.
AAS: What will be next for you once the America’s Cup is finished?
SC: Always a tricky one! To get the balance right of spending time, effort and energy on focusing on the present but having something ready for afterwards! Hopefully a few of my long-standing sailing gigs will immediately fill the gap. But across all the teams we are meeting and brainstorming about how we take the momentum generated here and what it can mean for the future Women’s America’s Cup or women’s presence in the ACs of the future.
AAS: Do you still sail where you grew up in Essex?
SC: Yes! I am so lucky to have the sailing community on Mersea, full of family and friends. Both the Dabchicks and West Mersea Yacht Club are really special places and where I head when I am back on the island for a Friday night round the cans or for the legendary Mersea Week if I can make it happen.
AAS: If you could go back to any period in history, what would it be and why?
SC: What a great question! One of my friend’s mums happened to be on the Maiden crew that I watched coming into Southampton 35 years ago as a young girl. A few months ago, I was lucky enough to meet her and had goosebumps talking to her; she made history and without knowing it, is part of my history. So, I will go with now! It is a fascinating time to be a part of the sports industry, especially women’s sport and I am interested to be a part of how sailing navigates and thrives on its journey through an increasingly competitive leisure and entertainment market.
