Phil Robertson joins Sylvia’s Canadian side in the first season of the tournament. Photo: Ricardo Pinto/SailGP.
Kiwi sailor Bill Robertson has been unofficially excluded from Spain’s XIGP team, saying he has not had the opportunity to complete his tenure with the team.
It was Robertson Thrilling
He was eliminated from the Spanish national team ahead of the second season finals in San Francisco in March. Explaining the team’s decision, CEO Maria del Mar de Rose said: “The thing is, Bill, is he superior in some way and they are? [the crew] Young. «
Robertson, who is currently traveling with the Canadian side, spoke about leaving the Spanish team ahead of this week’s season opener in Bermuda. Speaking to the Herald, Robertson said he knew it would be a short-term relationship with the Spanish team, but was surprised by the way things went.
“Honestly, that’s a rude comment,” Robertson said.
“They decided early in the season to focus on next year, which goes against all my values as a competitor, trying to win matches and events and win series.”
This is a strange situation. Despite leading the team to all seven events on the SailGP season 2 schedule, Robertson didn’t like the services, despite factoring in the team fourth on the ladder with the chance to exit San Francisco with a $1 million ($1.436 million) prize money. .
Even in pre-race training, he didn’t have time to get ready.
“They didn’t really let me train,” he explained. “They had the third season team on board and they wouldn’t let me train. I arrived two days before the event and they gave me an hour of training and said to me, ‘Look, that’s not enough for an athlete. It shouldn’t be.'” He is allowed to train for his team.
In fact, I gave them one last warning. I told them, “For the next two days at least, you have to give me all the training time, or else I don’t deserve to be on the boat.” They slept in it and were told to come back the next morning and go with the Spanish driver.
“I was really very comfortable, but a little disappointed with the comments coming out of the team.”
In the second season finals, the Spanish national team did not qualify for the million dollar race. In the event’s fourth Armada race, they collided with an American ship and sustained damage late in the season after trying to land them around a gate. Watch Robertson as an observer.
“This is a good team,” he said of the Spanish national team. “We take it to a very high level. I think it was very easy for anyone to come and paddle.”
With that position now behind him, Robertson was eager to start with the Canadian team for the new season. Knowing that his time with the Spanish team will likely be swift, he now sees himself as an important part of the two new teams in the tournament, as well as other opportunities.
Canada and Switzerland will play a 10-man squad this season against teams from New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, the United States, Spain, Denmark, Japan and France.
While this will be Robertson’s third team in many seasons, he wants to be a longtime member of the Canadian squad.
“It would be great to make a team and keep it. A team that wants to be as close as possible and get stronger.”
“We know we have our backs to the wall and first we have to work hard to get to the level of these teams and then at some point we try to get past them and improve things.
“It’s going to be a tough road, but I struggle with a bit of work apart from fighting for it, and we’ll fight hard.”
