Tigy’s Blog

So this time things didnt go quite as planned. I’m bummed, pissed off, grumpy and sad. But I’ll get over it. I read something quite inspiring, and something I think sums up why we were finally able to win the cup in 1995

It is not a game for armchair admirals. It is not a game for a person who is not prepared to come back. It is not a game for the faint hearted. It is a game for those who are not scared of pitting themselves against the best that the world has to offer. It’s a game where winning is almost impossible, almost, but not impossible.

This time you didn’t win but certainly didn’t lose. You only lose when you don’t have the courage to return. Not winning is part of the learning process which leads you to success.

Sir Peter Blake… Letter to Luna Rosa after 2000 America’s Cup

You can read the full letter on Peter Lesters blog, something I’d recommend everyone do. Its a real insight into the mind of one of our greatest hero’s and something that can be applied to so much in life.

So we didn’t win this time. We were, without doubt, the best challenger. We had the best challenging boat and arguably the best challenging team. But those bastards over at ‘Adinghy’ were better. Their boat was probable an inch quicker overall and their teamwork was a little better on the day.

I dont blame the team, they gave it their all, they gave it 4 years of their lives. They’ll be feeling like crap and my heart goes out to them. I’m pissed off. I wish we had done better, and although I thought it was a waste of tax payers money at first, I want us to be back. Learn from this and give it another crack.

We didnt win, but we didnt lose.