Jorge González and Pablo Carneiro, aged 14 and 15, form one of the 420 crews of the Monte Real Club de Yates. They have been sailing together for a little over a year, after the coaches evaluated their physical and technical qualities, and verified that they could complement each other perfectly.
In their training they have shown what they are capable of, and little by little they have also entered the world of competition, in which they aspire to achieve good results soon.
Today we talk to them so they can tell us about their experiences sailing in 420 and being part of a team in which the rapport must be total to achieve their goals.
Jorge, Pablo, tell us, how is the experience of sailing in 420?
Jorge: The truth is that it is very exciting. One never gets bored sailing this type of boat, which requires a lot of concentration. It is a class that involves spending many hours thinking about sailing, navigation, how to get the boat ready, and also, of course, about tactics and theory. For me personally, at first it was a bit difficult for me to make the jump to the double class, because I had to learn many new things, but it is also true that I began to like it very soon.
Pablo: The truth is that sailing the 420 is sometimes somewhat difficult, because it is a very technical boat. For me, the change of class was not as abrupt as it happened to Jorge because he was already sailing in double class. In any case, despite the difficulties that may arise, it is a very nice experience.
Sailing on a 420 is something that requires very good physical condition but, above all, a great rapport with your partner, and you haven’t been sailing together for a long time yet, how is your relationship on board the boat?
Jorge: I think our relationship is very good, basically because we have the same goals. Both Pablo and I want to compete giving the maximum of each one, and work hard to get very high. In that sense there are no problems, because we both want the same thing.
Pablo: Sometimes, on the boat, there are moments of tension in which we argue about the strategy to follow or the way to navigate, but generally we don’t fight. Normally the decisions are made by Jorge, who acts as skipper, but when the tactic is not clear, we try to make the right decision between the two of us. The truth is that we get along well.
And your first competitions together? How have they been?
Pablo: They were very good experiences, but in which a lot of nerves and tension are passed. In these regattas we see the level we have in relation to the fleet, and sometimes that makes us nervous, but it also motivates us to keep improving.
Jorge: We already participated in the Spanish Championship and very recently in the Spanish Cup, and our results have been improving since we started. Now, with our new boat, we will try to continue on this good path.
In addition to participating in 420 competitions, in the first test of the MRCYB J80 Autumn Trophy you have sailed in two of the participating boats, as accompanying crew. How have you lived that experience? What have you learned competing with more experienced people?
Jorge: We have very good memories of that experience. The people of J80 were very kind to allow us to participate with them. I personally learned a lot because they let me do many things like carrying the rod, banding, carrying the gennaker…
Pablo: I cannot participate as actively on the boat as Jorge, but I can observe the way of maneuvering and making decisions of people with more experience, from whom I learned many things.
Although you have only been sailing in 420 for a short time, are you already thinking about making the leap to other classes? What are your future prospects?
Jorge: I would like to try other classes, but for now we plan to continue with 420, improving and perfecting results.
Pablo: I agree with Jorge. At the moment it is still early to decide to make the leap to another class. We have just started on 420 and we believe that we can still learn a lot on this boat.
It is an interview with Rosana Calvo.
