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Paul Cayard On The Perini Navi Cup Experience
With the next phase of the America’s Cup having just drawn to a close in Bermuda, we take a look back at our interview with racing legend Paul Cayard and his experiences of merging high-octane racing with the glacial luxury of the world’s finest sailing yachts at the 2015 Perini Navi Cup.
Racing on board Rosehearty, the reigning champion of the 2015 Perini Navi Cup, Paul Cayard explained how a well designed and constructed superyacht can make you feel as close to the water as any other professional sailing vessel.
“Perini Navis are the ultimate luxurious sailing yacht, and they’re large,” explains Paul Cayard. “Rosehearty is 182’ long but you’re still sailing, you’re still heeling over and feeling the spray. So you’re still feeling the elements of mother nature while you’re travelling in luxury, so it’s a great blend. The Perini family are lovely people and their personality is embedded in the boats.”
The multiple world championship level sailor has competed in everything from the America’s Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Olympic Games. We spoke to the Sailing Hall of Famer about how he went from sailing high performance dinghies at the start of his career to helming Perini Navi sailing yachts in August for a taste of something different.
“I grew up sailing in San Francisco bay and sailing every aspect of the sport, been to the Olympic Games twice, won the around the world race and been to the Americas Cup seven times so I’ve sampled all the different aspects and just started superyacht racing a couple of years ago.” adds Paul Cayard. “Sailing on Rosehearty is my second event, it’s great, it’s competitive and it’s great to see guests get insights into what we do for [a] career, strategy, tactics and when you put it all together on a day like today, they participate and you can see them smiling.”
Watch the full video above for a deeper insight into the career of Paul Cayard as well as his insights into how the world of luxury and racing merges well in the world of the superyacht regatta.