Yachting: Cup trimmer's often on a high

By Suzanne McFadden

Flying over the America's Cup racecourse, Team New Zealand trimmer Robbie Naismith waggles his wings to the opposition.

This was no reconnaisance mission to check out America True's new boat.

It was simply a friendly fly-by from Naismith, whose new passion for planes is second only to sailing.

On Sundays - the only day the Team New Zealand's crew take off these days - Naismith charters a four-seater and cruises over land and sea.

He has held his pilot's licence for exactly a year, and often takes his Team New Zealand crewmates for a spin.

This weekend, he is flying his childhood mate, Black Magic mastman Matthew Mason, back to their home town of Whangarei.

"Before this I didn't do much other than sail. Flying is totally cool," he said.

"And it's quite an exercise - it's not an easy thing to do.

"Sailing knowledge helps immensely. On the water, we're flying in vertical terms.

"If you flip the mast to a horizontal angle it has lift and drag just like the wings of a plane."

But 35-year-old Naismith - a veteran of three cup campaigns and three round-the-world races - realises he may be grounded soon as sailing becomes his No 1 concern in Team New Zealand's defence of the Auld Mug.

Naismith has another new priority in life these days - his seven-week-old daughter Harriet.

"She definitely puts a new spin on things, that's for sure," he laughs.

When he and Mason headed off to work in Sydney as teenagers, Naismith earned the nickname of Battler - for his hard work ethic and his big heart.

His skipper, Russell Coutts, describes him as one of the most in-demand trimmers in the world.

"If you were putting a crew together his name would be among the first to come out," he said. "One of the things I most respect him for is that he is innovative.

"He came up with a real gem of an idea a year ago, which we have tested and it's come up great.

"Our trimmers make a huge contribution to the boats' speed. These guys come off the water and discuss everything, rather than just sit around. They come up with ideas that make the boat faster."