{"id":72367,"date":"2018-10-02T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=72367"},"modified":"2023-05-19T16:24:29","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T20:24:29","slug":"blair-tuke-is-born-for-the-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/blair-tuke-is-born-for-the-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Blair Tuke is Born for the Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Blair Tuke is Born for the Sea<\/span>\n Ainhoa Sanchez\/Volvo Ocean Race<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Striding through the Volvo Ocean Race<\/a> Village that bloomed out of the concrete around Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour, Blair Tuke is on a mission. When he reaches the Mapfre<\/a> base out on the Halsey Wharf, he enters a jam-packed shipping container, wedging himself between towers of freeze-dried food and racks of foul-weather gear that are waiting for the next dive into the Southern Ocean. He\u00a0quickly whips off his team shirt and pulls on a black T-shirt that is distinctly Kiwi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The illustration on the tee is a \u00adchalkboard with a tally of some of the country\u2019s more popular fish \u2014 snapper, kahawai and kingies. Aside from sailing, fishing is Tuke\u2019s other love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offshore veteran Neal McDonald, Mapfre\u2019s performance manager, pokes his head into the container. \u201cYou\u2019ve come in disguise today, have you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d replies Tuke. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit quicker getting through the village this way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps incognito he might not have to stop every 20 footsteps or so to shake hands or engage in friendly banter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not that Tuke is tongue-tied or \u00aduncomfortable in a crowd. On the contrary. His Olympic coach, Hamish Willcox, calls him the most \u201csocially astute\u201d person he\u2019s ever come across. \u201cHe has compassion with a capital C.\u201d He\u2019s easygoing, warm and open in his conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps it\u2019s because Tuke \u2014 at 28, already an America\u2019s Cup winner, six\u2011time world champion, and Olympic gold and silver medalist \u2014 wants to blend in with the crowd. He relishes rare moments of normality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He admits he no longer posts photos on Instagram of his family home in an idyllic and secluded bay within the Bay of Islands. \u201cI try to keep it on the down-low a little bit,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty special spot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after Mapfre crossed the Volvo Ocean Race\u2019s sixth-leg finish line on the Waitemata Harbour (in third place), Tuke escaped with his three brothers \u2014 Nathan, Daniel and Jesse \u2014 to Apple Tree Bay, and the house in which they grew up. Soon, not far off the front lawn, the brothers were freediving and spearfishing, collecting a bounty of seafood: crayfish, paua (abalone), snapper, kingfish and John Dory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Andrew <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Andrew Blair Tuke excelled in international youth sailing before pairing with skipper Peter Burling in the 49er.<\/span>\n Carlo Borlenghi\/DPPI (left), Daniel Forster (right, top) Jesus Renedo\/Sailing Energy (right, bottom)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Blair, the third-born, speaks passionately about taking from, but also protecting, New Zealand\u2019s marine life. \u201cI love freediving especially. It\u2019s a much more sustainable way to fish because you take what you want to eat and don\u2019t hurt anything else. I\u2019d like to do more to raise awareness, to try to spread the message of how much trouble our oceans are in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a side of Tuke that few people know. That and his passion for rugby. He tries, sometimes in vain, to keep a balanced life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he would almost become the first sailor in history to claim the \u201ctriple crown\u201d \u2014 Olympic gold, America\u2019s Cup and a Volvo Ocean Race title \u2014 that elusive honor doesn\u2019t consume him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really all-important to me. My main goal is to do this race, learn from it and fulfill my childhood dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dream that began with a shabby old dinghy, and a book on his oceangoing idols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the main stage on Te Wero Island in the Viaduct, two brothers tussle over a microphone. Their mother watches, \u00adunconcerned, from a bean bag out in front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse is the village comp\u00e8re during the Volvo Ocean Race stopover \u2014 responsible for a public grilling of his older brother in a Saturday-morning Q&A session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, Blair, where to from here?\u201d he asks. Both brothers laugh at the family inside joke. Even though his brothers declare they\u2019re his biggest fans, they won\u2019t let the heavily decorated Tuke rise above his station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blair tells the 100 or so people who\u2019ve gathered that, first, there is Emirates Team New Zealand\u2019s defense of the 2021 America\u2019s Cup to formulate, and that he and Peter Burling are considering mounting a third Olympic campaign for Tokyo 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reveals they are also thinking about entering a New Zealand-flagged boat in a future VOR. \u201cPete and I would love to bring a team together, and hopefully in the next race,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how he does it all,\u201d Jesse says. \u201cHe was a lot more driven than me when it came to sailing as kids. I knew I wasn\u2019t cut out for it, because he would go sailing every day after school.\u201d The brothers won a 29er national title together, but while one drifted away from the sport, the other sailed from strength to incredible strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"New <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

Newport stopover. Official unveiling of the OMEGA Volvo Ocean Race winner\u2019s watch. 17 May, 2018.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n
\n The duo returned from the London Olympics with their first silver medal and then went on an undefeated tear in 2017 before easily earning gold in Rio.<\/span>\n Jesus Renedo\/Sailing Energy<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

The Tuke boys grew up in paradise, at the end of the Kerikeri Inlet in the \u00adpostcard-perfect Bay of Islands. \u201cWe had special times. After school we\u2019d build huts in the bush or go down to the water and cruise around on our boogie boards and kayaks. Our imaginations ran wild,\u201d Jesse says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their father, Andy, imported fishing gear. Their mom, Karin, ran the local \u00adbookshop and post office in town. They bought a cruising yacht, a Warwick 56, when Blair was 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it wasn\u2019t till age 11 that Tuke learned to sail. It began with a school sailing day run by local teacher Derry Godbert. A Kiwi coaching legend, he\u2019s now well into his 80s and still teaching kids to sail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Tuke \u201ckind of liked\u201d the sailing day, his parents bought an old P-class dinghy for $200. They kept it on the lawn at home and mucked around in it in summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough I didn\u2019t sail until later than most kids, a big thing going for me was growing up around the water. I understood the tide and the wind,\u201d Tuke says. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I was a fully natural sailor. I had to work pretty hard at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuke bypassed the P-class route most Kiwi kids follow and learned team racing. Among the fleet of Kerikeri kids were Brad Farrand, who sailed the Volvo Ocean Race with Dutch entry AkzoNobel, and Andy Maloney, who pedaled next to Tuke on Team New Zealand\u2019s AC50 in Bermuda. \u201cWe figured out then that the more hours we spent on the water, the faster we could make the boats go,\u201d Tuke recalls. Homework wasn\u2019t a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuke also loved New Zealand\u2019s national game, rugby, and played until he was 15. \u201cSome of my best sporting competitions were playing rugby on cold Saturday mornings,\u201d says the promising young halfback. \u201cI still have a pretty big passion for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He now sees he was unlikely to have ever made the All Blacks. But it was still a tough decision to quit the game, even when the alternative was a trip to Belgium to compete at the 2005 Splash World Championship. It was a wise choice. On his third attempt at the Splash worlds, in Riva del Garda, Italy, 17-year-old Tuke won his first world title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By then, the Tuke family had moved to Auckland, living in the Viaduct on board a boat for a year. Tuke left school early to take up an electrical apprenticeship. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to go to university. I\u2019d rather work and learn,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Volvo <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

Leg 11, from Gothenburg to The Hague, day 03 on board MAPFRE, Blair Tuke. 23 June, 2018.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n
\n Blair Tuke\u2019s first true taste of the Volvo Ocean Race was as a guest \u201cjumper\u201d on board Mapfre during the Auckland restart in 2015, where he confided in skipper Xabi\u00a0Fern\u00e1ndez that he was keen to do the race. Despite Tuke\u2019s lack of offshore racing experience, Fern\u00e1ndez tapped him as a trimmer and helmsman immediately \u00adfollowing the America\u2019s Cup in Bermuda.<\/span>\n Ugo Fonolla\/Volvo Ocean Race<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think sailing would be my life. I just wanted to be a better sailor, so I took every opportunity that came.\u201d He went to two Youth Worlds in the 29er, then came under the tutelage of Olympic boardsailing gold medalist Bruce Kendall, in a Tornado campaign that didn\u2019t qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, Tuke learned \u201cgood life skills\u201d from the avant-garde Kendall. \u201cHe reinforced the importance of always enjoying what you\u2019re doing, and always being who you are,\u201d Tuke says. \n\u201cI think I\u2019ve been pretty good at that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI love the combination of tight racing, adventure and endurance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I t was around this time that Tuke first met Burling. They\u2019d been New Zealand teammates at the Youth Olympic festival in Australia and spent a summer racing against each other in the International 420s. Burling and his crewmate Peter Evans won back-to-back world International 420 titles before racing the 470 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burling, then 17, sent Tuke an email. \u201cHe knew he and Carl would be too big for the 470 and wanted another challenge. So, we sat down with our parents and talked about an Olympic campaign. We bought a pretty crappy 49er for $5,000 and said, \u2018Let\u2019s try it out for a few months and see how it goes,\u2019\u201d Tuke recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so began one of the greatest \u00adpartnerships in world sailing history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuke was \u201csuper stoked\u201d with their silver medal at the London Olympics. \u201cIt was where we were meant to be.\u201d They\u2019d climbed a steep learning curve, with the help of eventual gold medalists, Australians Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen. \u201cBut we ran out of time \u2014 something we rectified later,\u201d says Tuke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Blair <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

Prologue arrival in Alicante Stopover. Boats arriving. Photo by Pedro Martinez\/Volvo Ocean Race. 12 October, 2017.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n
\n \u201cI love the combination of tight racing, adventure and endurance.\u201d<\/span>\n Pedro Martinez\/Volvo Ocean Race<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

It was clear the two of them had a golden relationship. Willcox, their 49er coach, always saw it. \u201cWhen you put two incredible sailors together and the chemistry works, then you\u2019re getting 200 percent out of that performance. Pete and Blair are able to push the right buttons together and have a huge amount of respect and trust that makes it work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are great mates, Tuke confirms. \u201cIt helps that from the start, it was always a two-way campaign with an equal say in \u00adeverything \u2014 using our skill sets the best we can, knowing the other guy is doing all he can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuke\u2019s strengths are tactics, making the boat go faster and attention to detail. Burling, the skipper, is stronger at rigging and tuning the boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the four years leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Kiwis were unbeaten in an unprecedented 27 straight 49er regattas. Until the final practice event in Rio. They finished third, but Tuke sees it now as a godsend. They had the wrong mast and weren\u2019t focused on racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come the Rio Olympics, they never put a foot wrong. Tuke and Burling were honored as the New Zealand team captains, carrying the flag into the opening ceremony, and soon after, on Guanabara Bay, they clinched gold before the medal race. \u201cThe most pleasing thing was that we sailed one of our best regattas. Not many people can do that under the pressure of the Olympics,\u201d Tuke says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Blair <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

Cape Town Stopover. Peter Burling and Blair Tuke get their hair done at the barber. Photo by Ainhoa Sanchez\/Volvo Ocean Race. 25 November, 2017<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n
\n After nine months as friendly Volvo Ocean Race rivals, Blair Tuke and Peter\u00a0Burling (getting sheared in Cape Town after their first-time-\u00adequator-crossing hazing) announced they were pairing up again in the 49er for Tokyo and with Emirates Team New Zealand in defense of the America\u2019s Cup in 2021.<\/span>\n Ainhoa Sanchez\/Volvo Ocean Race<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

He would love to defend that Olympic title in Tokyo. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got to be 100 percent sure we can do it properly, or we walk away knowing we\u2019ve done a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The end of 2016 was one of the toughest times Tuke faced in his sailing career. \u201cWe\u2019d come off a massive high and went straight into the America\u2019s Cup trenches,\u201d he remembers. \u201cFinding our feet in the place was a bit of a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was until the beginning of 2017, when the AC50 Aotearoa New Zealand was launched, with its radical cyclor-power system, and the team all came together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople probably didn\u2019t realize what my job was, even now. \u2018Flight controller\u2019 was what we called it,\u201d Tuke says of his job pedaling and controlling the daggerboards. \u201cWith all the innovation and technology, I was learning right the way through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He enjoyed the fact he wasn\u2019t \u201cunder the same scrutiny\u201d as Burling, the helmsman and ultimately the spokesman of the team. \u201cI found it a lot easier than I did at the Olympics, pressure-wise. In Bermuda, I didn\u2019t have that much lumbered on me, so it was quite easy to go about my job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t until they reached Bermuda that Tuke knew they had a fast boat. He knew they could win the America\u2019s Cup in their first loss to defenders Oracle in the round-robin series. \u201cWe just mucked up two simple things in that race. Other than that, the boat was going fast, and we were getting better sailing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day Tuke was catapulted into the sea when the boat pitch-poled, he\u2019d never been more afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first it was slow motion, then it all happened super quick. I was controlling the foils, looking at the leeward hull, and all I could think about was the board. But then I was in the water, and I didn\u2019t know if I was coming up underneath the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he popped up, he tapped his helmet, letting the chase-boat driver know he was OK. It took a while longer for him to be certain the boat would be OK too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Tuke first started sailing, he read Australian journalist Rob Mundle\u2019s book Ocean Warriors, about the 2001-02 Volvo Ocean Race. \u201cI read it and thought, This race is sweet. I want to do this,\u201d he says. As a teen, he sailed with his father from Auckland to Fiji three times and loved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The invitation to sail in the VOR came straight from Mapfre skipper Xabi Fern\u00e1ndez, who had sailed against Tuke in the 49ers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love the combination of tight racing, adventure and endurance,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of time to think about things at home, or big philosophical life issues. You sail the boat, try to make it go fast, then sleep and eat. You learn how to keep pushing when you\u2019re tired. You\u2019re always conscious of how you act and how that relates to others. I\u2019ve learned so much about how to get the best out of others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuke\u2019s watch captain Pablo Arrarte says the Kiwi is a good man to have on board, not just for his sailing skills. \u201cWhen he\u2019s happy on the boat, he\u2019s a good singer,\u201d Arrarte says. And then Tuke breaks into song: \u201cI\u2019m coming home, I\u2019m coming home. I\u2019ve sailed the world, I\u2019m coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that note, Tuke says, it\u2019s time he tried to regain some equilibrium in his life. There hasn\u2019t been time lately for him to settle down in a home or have a girlfriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ll sail for a big chunk of my life, but obviously, there are other things I want to do. It\u2019s been hard to have a balance,\u201d he says. \u201cSo now I have to try and bring that back a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 28, he’s already an America’s Cup winner, six-time world champion and an Olympic gold and silver medalist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Suzanne Mcfadden","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20181002","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Blair Tuke has checked off the Olympics, the America\u2019s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, all before age 30.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Blair Tuke is Born for the Sea %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"JEJXKPKQFUZCTM7ZMIPVUT3D4Q","arc_website_url":"blair-tuke-is-born-for-sea\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar-full-header","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[170,987,178,304],"class_list":["post-72367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-americas-cup","tag-new-zealand","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-volvo-ocean-race"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}