Photo by: Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race

PETER BURLING

The world’s best skipper

In the history of sports, only three men had the nickname Pistol Pete. The first one was the late amazing American basketball player Pete Maravich, who, according to one tale, earned his nickname because, when he shot hoops, it looked like he was drawing a gun. The other Pistol is the American tennis player Pete Sampras, who was called Pistol Pete due to his killer serves and devastating volleys which he used to destroy his opponents. The third Pistol is the New Zealander Peter Burling, the man who grew to be a superstar of global sailing in just a few years.

Olympic winner, who won America’s Cup when he was 26

He won the Olympic gold medal in Rio in the 49er class with partner Blair Tuke, then a mighty victory of the Emirates team of New Zealand in the 35th edition of America’s Cup in Bermuda, where Oracle looked like a shattered army. Even though sailing is a team sport, Burling was one of the determining factors in the foiling catamaran duel for most analysts. The man with the X factor… A look at his sailing CV reveals that Burling is a skipper with a large “S”. Whichever boat he got, sooner or later he became the champion. The 49er Class, America’s Cup, the Moth class, where he won titles…

Volvo Ocean Race for the “Holy Trinity”

We had the chance to talk with the current biggest star of global sailing at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante, where the fact that Burling and his partner from the 49er Class and the AC Blair Tuke participating in the race in opposite crews was one of the most prominent events in the announcements of this extreme off shore regatta. By canceling foiling catamaran in the AC, Volvo, TP 52, RC 44 and other classes that are sailed on monohulls have once again gained importance, and the best world sailors consider precisely Volvo to be an excellent practice and platform to hone their skills needed to sail on new AC 75 boats, which will be used for sailing in the 36th edition of the oldest sports competition in the world. We don’t mean just that Volvo will be used for sailing practice, but also for endurance training and functioning in a team because VOR lasts eight months. In the case of Burling and Turke, there is another great sport motive. After the Olympic gold and Auld Mug, one of them would become the first man in the history of sailing to win the “Holy Trinity of Sailing” if he wins Volvo.