Trimmer has his tools in storage

By Suzanne McFadden

James Dagg was hammering in nails when Team New Zealand were battering Dennis Conner to bring home the America's Cup in 1995.

A self-employed builder, Dagg had the traditional sailor's ambition to be part of a cup campaign.

In 1999, Dagg is a key member of the Team New Zealand sailing crew - his building career restricted to finishing off his home on Auckland's North Shore whenever there is time.

Skipper Russell Coutts describes 28-year-old Dagg as one of the brightest prospects in the defence campaign.

He is a trimmer, adjusting the sails to the perfect angle and shape for the breeze.

Dagg stepped on to the boat when Ross Halcrow defected to New York's Young America crew - the only Black Magic crewman to leave after the San Diego success.

He found out about the vacancy through word of mouth, and had an impressive resume - he had sailed alongside most of the Team New Zealand guys in events like the Admiral's Cup, world championships and on the matchracing circuit.

Dagg was a foundation graduate of the first Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth programme, under the guidance of Harold Bennett, the man who will be chief race officer for the cup. Fellow TNZ crewman Chris Ward was in the same intake.

Dagg joined TNZ in 1997 and was a boat captain, looking after the black boats, in his first year. "But then I got more involved in the sailmaking process. I'm learning a lot in the loft."

As well as taking care of the sails on the boat, trimmers are responsible for developing the concepts behind the sail design.

Dagg works on the winches which control the genoa and the spinnaker, with veterans like Simon Daubney and Robbie Naismith. Other trimmers take care of the mainsail. It is a job which requires a very skilled eye.

"You watch the way the wind comes across the sails. You get a feel for the boat and boat speed," he said. "You learn to see the pressure coming across the water by the ripples. You sort of pick it up the more you sail."

This week Dagg is sailing in Sweden for TNZ back-up skipper Dean Barker in the Swedish Match grand prix. Next month they will contest the world championships in Copenhagen.

This is Dagg's first America's Cup. He may be new to the job but he's keen. And it beats swinging a hammer and listening to the cup on the radio this summer.