KEY POINTS:
Thirteen years ago, Carl Williams had Chris Dickson in the hot seat.
As a 12-year-old travelling with his father, television producer Doc Williams, during the 1993/94 round-the-world races, Williams junior earned pocket money by holding the microphone while commentator Gary Jobson fired questions at the skippers.
"I remember standing there while Gary was interviewing Dickson [skipper of Tokio] and listening to all the stories he used to tell, like cutting the handles of toothbrushes to reduce weight.
"But some of my most vivid memories are of [Sir Peter Blake's] Steinlager II down at Princess Wharf [in 1989/90] and climbing all over the spinnakers.
"Thinking back, that is where my passion for sailing really came from."
Now Williams is not only working for Dickson's America's Cup syndicate, Oracle, but he is one half of a successful Star combination with Hamish Pepper.
Williams' choice of sailing as a career is hardly a surprise. His mother is well-known sailing identity Penny Whiting and his grandfather, Darcy Whiting, is famous for his offshore racing exploits.
As a child, Williams spent his summer holidays cruising with his family in the Bay of Islands.
"We'd leave as soon as school finished and come back on Auckland Anniversary Day.
"It was pretty cool."
But while Williams enjoyed sailing, he also showed plenty of talent in other sports.
He swam at the North Shore swim club under Jan Cameron, alongside Steve Ferguson and Scott Talbot-Cameron. However, "much to Jan's dismay", he took up water polo in his early teens.
Although he made the New Zealand under-15 squad, his venture into that sport was also short-lived, and he joined the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Youth Scheme, which focuses on match racing.
His round-the-world escapades had also established a friendship with Blake, who organised for Williams to train with the Team New Zealand sailors in the gym before school.
"Then he [Blake] wrote a letter to my headmaster saying that I was going to work for Team New Zealand for the 2000 defence. So I left school at 16."
But that was during the time of the well-publicised Blake/Russell Coutts war - "I don't know what happened, to this day" and the arrangement fell through.
From there, he competed in an offshore racing circuit in Europe and came close to joining Team SEB's 2001/02 round-the-world campaign.
The night before he signed a contract he got a call from Team NZ asking if he wanted to trial.
"I was dead set to doing the round the world race but I was homesick and decided to go home."
Despite the 5-0 loss to Alinghi, Williams has no regrets.
"I think I will still have a chance to do the Volvo.
"It was my first cup, it was all about learning. Obviously I wanted to win bad and defend the cup, but in essence I probably learned more from the fact we lost. I'd still worked for one of the top teams and learned from them. That is probably why I am sitting here today."
After the failed defence he worked as a cycle courier. Team New Zealand were in the early stages of putting together a challenge and were only hiring key sailors. Dickson's Oracle were further along so Williams took a job with them.
"I felt it was important for me to move on and take another step up. It is an awesome team. The sailing team are a good bunch of guys, we are all good mates."
Although he enjoys the cup, Williams has long had a desire to compete in the Olympics.
"Before the last cup I had, I guess, a sporting life crisis. I'd done a lot of sports but I really want to go to the Olympics."
So much so that he considered taking up another code and had a chat to Ian Ferguson about kayaking. "Everyone thought I was mad."
Then, at a party in Valencia, former Team New Zealand colleague Pepper mentioned Star sailing. A year later, the pair are now the world champions.
"I think the key to our success is just keeping it simple," said Williams.
"Technically Hamish is a really awesome sailor. I probably think of myself as more of a practical sailor in that I have always been involved in getting sails up and down and boat handling.
"Mentally, Hamish is pretty intense and I am slightly more laid-back. His concentration span is remarkable. I guess we just trust each other, which is a big part on any boat."
Balancing the two campaigns is not easy.
"It is almost a split life ... When I am at work at Oracle I am going at 1000 miles an hour. When I get a break or some leave from here I go to the Star and it is the same thing there. If we get to the Games ... when they are finished I think I am going to have to lie down for a while."
CARL WILLIAMS
Born: Auckland June 19, 1981
Married to Sjann with two boys: Crue (2) and Ryder (11 months)
Position: Mast/pit
America's Cup career
2007: Oracle BMW Racing
2003: Team New Zealand
Other 2006: Star world champion - with Hamish Pepper
