Karol Jablonski. Image copyright Louis Vuitton Trophy.
by Chloe Daycard
Karol Jablonski has brought in some of the most accomplished professional sailors to share their experience and wisdom in a bid to get his rookie Russian sailors up to pace as quickly as possible
The last time Karol Jablonski sailed an AC boat, it was at the helm of Desafio Espanol in the Louis Vuitton Cup in Valencia more than two years ago. So the Polish sailor can be forgiven if he doesn’t feel like he’s firing on all cylinders quite yet.
Then again, as the skipper of Synergy, the first ever Russian entry into Louis Vuitton competition, Jablonski is expected to lead from the front. He knows there is a lot of work to do. “As a new team we are still a bit rusty so we have to work on the communication and boat handling. It's completely different if you sail on your own and having this kind of competition gets you motivated or sometimes over-motivated, and you try to do things too fast or too good. But for sure doing this event we will be better from day to day. We have a great future ahead of us.”
Although the absolute direction of the team is yet to be determined, Jablonski sees Synergy competing in the season of Louis Vuitton Trophy events next year and the 34th America’s Cup - whenever that may be.
“This is going to be an America's Cup team of the future, but there is still a long way to go before then,” said Jablonski, who waited a long time before he got his break into top-tier match racing with Desafio Espanol. “The way to the America's Cup has been long but I was well prepared when I had the chance to join the Desafio Espanol team. They had a lot of experience. Being surrounded by experience, this is the fastest way to learn. You can't build an America's Cup team on your own, not without getting experienced guys on board. That's what we're doing here with Synergy. We have a mixture of Russian sailors and pro sailors. For sure over time we're going to have more Russians on board. But these boats are difficult to sail so you need good people in key positions.”
There are some very accomplished sailors on board the Russian boat. “We have Josh Belsky, three times America’s Cup winner in the pit, Bernard Labro from Alinghi on the bow, doing trimming there is Zachary Hurst from New Zealand and Chris Main from New Zealand, and Mikkel Rossberg. I have John Cutler calling tactics, so we have many guys with good experience. The good thing is those guys are really happy to help the inexperienced sailors and to help them learn. They are willing to give all the experience they have. So the Russian sailors are making a big jump and learning very quickly.”
Jablonski knows that Russia has a long way to go before it makes an impact on the top level of international sailing, but he believes it is only a matter of time. “Russia is a big country, with great sailors, but not much big boat experience. We'll have to put sailors through selection trials almost from zero, to teach them about sailing big boats. The Russians are very keen to learn and they bring a good positive attitude which is what you need for this game.”
Synergy Russian Sailing Team
The SYNERGY team has existed since 2004 through the help of a group of Russian businessmen.
The aim was to create a real Russian professional sailing team capable of taking on the best in the world on equal terms.
Pavel Gorelov, Vladimir Senko, Vladimir Smyshlyaev, Mikhail Tuzov and the politician – extremely well-known in Russia - Valentin Zavadnikov, who is also the leader.
Everything was done in stages: the crew was formed in late 2004. In Spring 2005, the first boat - the "Grand Soleil” - was launched.
In mid-2006, SYNERGY bought a TP 52 and took part in its first MedCup. Today it hopes to make a successful debut in the Louis Vuitton Trophy.
Synergy Russian Sailing Team
Louis Vuitton Trophy
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