Yachting: It's just another day on the water

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

As a kid, AmericaOne strongman Sean Clarkson's home was a yacht in the Bay of Islands.

His Kiwi parents gave him a dinghy when he was four, but it quickly rotted away when he swapped sailing for books.

Eighteen years later, he ditched the books - and an unfinished degree in marine biology at Auckland University - to run away and sail in the America's Cup.

Grinder Clarkson is your typical good Kiwi bloke, but his job is to wrest the Auld Mug off Team New Zealand.

He is one of three Kiwis sailing in the American challenge, who keep storming closer to their mission of taking the America's Cup to San Francisco.

Thirty-year-old Clarkson has sailed for New Zealand in two cup campaigns, one round-the-world race and an Olympics. But he says he will have no problem with loyalty if AmericaOne win the Louis Vuitton Cup, starting next week, and get to challenge Team New Zealand.

"This is a yacht race and we're all professional yacht racers," he said.

"I was really, really happy for Team New Zealand when they won. If the cup had stayed in San Diego, it would have died. But this is my job now."

Clarkson, who grew up in Kerikeri, has been an American resident since he moved to Newport, Rhode Island, four years ago. He had gone to sail for Dennis Conner on Toshiba in the Whitbread.

Like all Kiwis, he wanted to sail for Team New Zealand this time - after sailing for the New Zealand Challenge in 1992 and Chris Dickson's Tag Heuer in 1995.

"I talked to [Russell] Coutts a couple of times, but he wasn't too receptive," he said.

"So the whole time I made sure my US residency was up to scratch."

With five American challengers, Clarkson could look around. He knew AmericaOne skipper Paul Cayard, having sailed with him in the 1996 Steinlager-Line 7 matchracing regatta in Auckland.

But he also came within centimetres of signing up with the ill-fated Young America syndicate.

"I had the pen poised on the dotted line at their office. But for some reason it just didn't seem right and I asked for another day to think about it," Clarkson said.

"Young America seemed to have everything in place, while Cayard didn't have much money. But then I looked at Cayard and John Kostecki and I liked their style.

"I went to Finland for two weeks, came back and joined up with AmericaOne. Now I know it was a good call."

Clarkson's big cup break came by chance in '92 when he was at university and sailing in the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth scheme.

"They wanted some young guys in San Diego straight away. I had six months to go with my degree, but I packed it in," he said. "I was lucky enough to turn up, put 15kg of muscle on, and get on the boat."

Regardless of what happens to AmericaOne, Clarkson has the next 12 months planned, sailing with fellow Kiwi and AmericaOne strategist Gavin Brady on the world circuit.

The pair hope to put together their own campaign for the new Volvo round-the-world race in 2001.