Over the past couple of SailGP events, there’s been a personnel change in the New Zealand team.
A consistent member of the onboard crew since the team’s inception, grinder Josh Junior has not been on the water. Granted, the last two events have been light air affairs and the teams have often been sailing with just four on board, but Marcus Hansen and Louis Sinclair have been on grinding duties when more hands are required on deck.
Junior’s move off the boat is not a cause for concern, however. The 34-year-old has no intention of calling it a day just yet, but has instead moved into a role which he likes to call “the seventh sailor”.
Junior has been manning the onshore coaching box, a new initiative brought in by SailGP in Cadiz last October. In a similar vein to a Formula 1 pit wall, screens are set up with vision and data that allows Junior to relay information back to the team onboard to help with race strategy. Among the tools available to those at the desk is the SailGP umpire app, which provides a different perspective of the course the sailors onboard don’t get to see.
While some have referred to it as a coaching role, Junior had a different view.