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Calum Gregor (red cap) says sailing gives you “a sense of freedom, like nothing else”. Photo: Handout

Grandson of 1958 America’s Cup sailor takes up mantle for Hong Kong’s Youth team – ‘It wasn’t if I sailed, it was how much’

  • Calum Gregor’s dedication to sailing was never in doubt, born into a family of seamen and a grandfather who competed at the top of the sport
  • Gregor represents Hong Kong in the Youth America’s Cup and is preparing with a vigorous fitness regime
Water sports

Calum Gregor’s steady climb to the top of competitive sailing is no surprise given his pedigree, in fact, it was expected. His grandfather, Denis Jackson, competed in the 1958 America’s Cup as a kite trimmer aboard a yacht called Sceptre.

“It’s always run in the family and you’re expected to sail. It’s not a question of if, but how much,” Gregor, 21, said. “It’s fun to hear stories about the America’s Cup. The rest of the family is very excited.”

Gregor has been selected in the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Team Agiplast for the Youth America’s Cup, set to happen in New Zealand in March 2021. The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy is sailing, and one of the oldest trophies in any sport, having first been contested in 1851. A challenger and a holder race in hi-tech boats for the honours and now a parallel youth competition, in which all the sailors are aged between 18 and 25, are taking place too.

“Naturally, as soon as I heard about the team I was extremely interested and wanted to drop everything to do it,” Gregor said. “I was interning over Christmas and had university work, but I was trying to get strong enough. I was working really hard on that from January to March when we started doing fitness testing to see who would make the team.”

Denis Jackson (sitting, front left), grandfather of Calum Gregor, and his 1958 America’s Cup crew. Photo: Handout
Gregor made the cut, along side Nicolai Jacobsen, 17, Maria Cantero, 22, Jackie Truhol, 21, and Aymeric Gillard, 23.

“I think I have a good ability in that I can plan ahead, which is very important when you’re on a team boat so everyone knows what is going to happen in two minutes, so they are ready and they aren’t thrown into a tack unexpectedly” he said.

 

“The other thing is I have a good understanding of what to do with the wind as it comes. When you get gusts and lulls you have to anticipate what to do, what the gusts will do to the boat and anticipating what angles they will come in from.”

Gregor and his teammates are hoping his experience will help them when the competition rolls around, but there is plenty of work to be done first. They are all training daily, spending hours in briefings, on the water and working out with Hybrid Gym. Gregor has put on 5kg in four months due to the weight training.

“Of course, I’m happy to be involved, and I’ll try my best,” he said. “But I don’t think anyone participates in anything to come second. That’s not in anyone’s nature as a sportsperson. However, if you just focus on winning and not the goals and how you’re going to achieve them, then you’re not going to win. It’s more important to focus on being a position where we could win, rather than focusing on the fact we want to win.”

(From left): Maria Cantero, Nicolai Jacobsen, Calum Gregor and Jackie Truhol, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Team Agiplast for the Youth America's Cup. Photo: Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club

One stepping stone will be getting used to foiling as a team. Foiling boats have a wing like daggerboards that lifts the boat out of the water when it reaches a certain speed. Gregor has experience foiling single-handed craft but he and the team are all new to doing it together. But part of the competition rules stipulate that you can only train on the custom built AC9F, which they will race in, a certain number of days. The team is awaiting a delivery of a similar boat, a 69F, for them to cut their teeth.

“We still have to improve our team communication, and that’s one of the biggest focuses when the 69F arrives, as it’s difficult on the boats we’re currently on. And the foiling of course is a challenge, as the relationship with the water is so different from a keeling boat, and that’s been a huge learning curve. It’s been fantastic,” Gregor said.

Gregor, born and raised in Hong Kong to Scottish parents, has won the under-17 World Championship and came third overall at the 2015 420 Class World Championships, sixth overall at the 2018 29er Class World Championships 2018 and 5th Overall at the 2019 Waszp class, a foiling boat, in the European Championships.

“Foiling is like no other kind of sailing. It’s so hard to describe. As soon as you lift out of the water, there is no sound and the drag goes, the only sound is the humming of the control system. It’s incredible,” he said.

“Sailing gives you a sense of freedom, like nothing else. You can go out on the water, and there is no one who can tell what to do, there’s no rules like on the road, you can go where you want to,” Gregor added.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: it runs in the family to reach for the top
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