Peachy Ahoy: Spithill: The Pitbull
He was only four, but James Spithill was captivated by the local heroes who won the America’s Cup for Australia for the first time in its 132-year-old history.
Now, as skipper of ORACLE TEAM USA, the 37-year-old Spithill is seeking to make history of his own by lifting the Auld Mug for the third straight time.
The second occasion ranks as one of sport’s greatest comebacks, when Spithill and his ORACLE TEAM USA crew won eight straight races in the face off match point to beat Emirates Team New Zealand 9-8 in San Francisco in 2013.
“We were facing down the barrel of a gun at 8-1 and the guys didn’t even flinch,” said Spithill, who was named World Sailor of the Year for his efforts.
Spithill’s childhood home in Elvina Bay on the banks of Pittwater north of Sydney was only accessible by boat, so sailing was in the blood. Sometimes he would even windsurf to school.
Growing up with tales of neighbours Colin Beashel and Rob Brown winning the America’s Cup with Alan Bond’s Australia II against Dennis Conner’s Liberty gave the young Spithill all the inspiration he needed.
He won his first race at the age of 10 and quickly climbed up the youth ranks. Through his association with businessman and sailor Syd Fischer – he had crewed on Fischer’s Ragamuffin in the tragic 1998 Sydney-Hobart race which claimed six lives – he was named skipper of Young Australia for the 2000 America’s Cup. At 20, he was the youngest helmsman in America’s Cup history.
© Ricardo Pinto
The young tyro’s aggressive match-racing antics won their share of pre-start skirmishes, but the second-generation boat was not quick enough to progress far. But Spithill had made his mark. He took One World to the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2003, and guided Italy’s Luna Rossa to the final in 2007 in Valencia, where they lost 5-0 to Team Zealand. Despite the defeat, Italian fans nicknamed him “Pitbull” for his tenacious tactics.
In 2010, at the age of 30, Spithill became the youngest skipper to win the America’s Cup when he steered BMW Oracle Racing’s giant 90ft trimaran to victory over the catamaran of defender Alinghi in Valencia, Spain.
Three years later he did it again, this time on foils in a competition which transcended sailing.
Away from the America’s Cup, Spithill is developing a reputation as extreme sportsman.
He holds his private pilots’ license, is an accomplished amateur boxer, and has completed two Molokai to Oahu stand-up paddleboard crossings.
© Sam Greenfield
He added to his growing offshore CV by winning line honours in the 2015 Sydney-Hobart on the super-maxi Comanche.
And last November he skippered a 46ft foiling catamaran across 662 miles of open ocean from New York to Bermuda in 66 hours.
But Spithill was rocked last year when he
nearly lost his left arm following a post-surgery infection on an elbow injury. More surgeries and weeks on an intravenous drip saved the arm.
The “three-peat” is still in sight. And kids will be out in boats, pretending to be Jimmy Spithill.
