KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� Aug. 19, 2024 鈥� It鈥檚 probably no surprise that sailing led Tom Burnham 鈥�93 to the 溏心vlog免费B站.
Now head coach of the New York Yacht Club鈥檚 America鈥檚 Cup challenger, American Magic, Burnham grew up sailing in Orange, Connecticut. In his senior year of high school, already competing at the international level, Burnham raced in the 420s championship in Yugoslavia.
As luck would have it, teammates on the U.S. team included some 溏心vlog免费B站 sailors who sang the university鈥檚 praises. When Burnham returned to Connecticut, it was the spring of his senior year. He had committed to another school, but he took time to visit 溏心vlog免费B站.
鈥淚鈥檝e sailed all my life. I was never a standout superstar but I was always involved in sailing and loved sailing,鈥� Burnham says over the phone from Barcelona, Spain, as American Magic prepares for the 37th America鈥檚 Cup, which starts Aug. 22 with the preliminary regatta. 鈥淚t was one of the main reasons I went to 溏心vlog免费B站, frankly. And the sailing team was really good at the time.鈥�
Burnham鈥檚 addition to the 溏心vlog免费B站 team didn鈥檛 hurt either. In his four years at 溏心vlog免费B站, the sailing team won several national championships and reached the World Collegiate Keelboat Championships 鈥� also called the Student Yachting World Cup 鈥� all four years. In 1990, the Rams became the only U.S. team to win the World Cup. It鈥檚 a distinction they still hold 34 years later.
Led by All-American Lars Guck, the eight-person team beat Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Italy, France, and Australia in a field of nine other boats to take the championship, winning the last three races. Burnham remembers the great team atmosphere among 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 eight sailors.
鈥淚 look back on that team and think of how we had some tough times during the event,鈥� says Burnham, the bowman during the regatta, handling the sails in windy conditions. 鈥淚t was a pretty long event. There were a lot of challenging conditions and some tough sailing. We worked really hard together and gelled as a team without a whole lot of practice.鈥�
To celebrate, the team drove overnight to Paris after the winning race and ended up at the Hotel de Ville, the city hall of Paris, where the mayor awarded them a trophy. When they flew into T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, then-溏心vlog免费B站 President Edward Eddy and others were there to greet them. The team members still stay in touch, Burnham says.
鈥淔unny enough, I got a message just two days ago from one of the women on the team, Tara Walcott, with a photo of us from that trip, just out of the blue,鈥� says Burnham, who lives in Newport. 鈥淟ars, the skipper, his son is now a sailor at 溏心vlog免费B站. And my son, who is going to be a senior in high school, wants to apply to 溏心vlog免费B站 and be on the sailing team. [We鈥檙e] trying to keep the tradition going.鈥�
Burnham, a team captain for two or three seasons at 溏心vlog免费B站, describes himself as a team player, a role player, a team leader 鈥� and less of a standout performer. But he has put together a career on the water that would make many envious 鈥� while being among the lucky several hundred sailors who make a living at it as a professional.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no question that my time at 溏心vlog免费B站 and my time as part of the sailing team really made a huge impact on my life,鈥� he says.
His career started by being in the right place at the right time. In 1997, he was living in Newport, doing some coaching and taking care of people鈥檚 boats, when he got an invitation to go out for a day with America鈥檚 Cup challenger Young America, which was training in nearby Quonset Point. That turned into a job that started a 10-year run of competing in the America鈥檚 Cup, including two campaigns with the Italian team, Luna Rossa. In 2017, he returned to the America鈥檚 Cup as head coach of Sweden鈥檚 Artemis Racing.
He was hired about two years ago to coach the New York Yacht Club American Magic. The mission was to win the 37th America鈥檚 Cup, returning the Cup to the yacht club that held it for 132 years. The mission starts Aug. 22 when American Magic gets its first close-up look at the four challengers 鈥� Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and France 鈥� and defending champion Emirates Team New Zealand in preliminary regatta. The racing starts for real Aug. 29 with the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup round-robin regatta. The regatta鈥檚 winner will face New Zealand for the America鈥檚 Cup, starting Oct. 12.
In those two years readying for the Cup, American Magic has put together its eight-man crew and substitutes and built a brand new AC75, the 75-foot-long monohull racing yacht that the Cup adopted in 2021. The yacht 鈥� Patriot 鈥� was the work of the club鈥檚 more than 40 engineers, about a third of the club鈥檚 total workforce. Patriot was built in Portsmouth at the yacht club鈥檚 manufacturing facility and flown to Barcelona on a huge Antonov cargo plane.
鈥淭he whole technology, construction, and design side is really a big part of the program with America鈥檚 Cup teams,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 really exciting.鈥�
Asked about his role as head coach, his first thoughts go to creating an inclusive team atmosphere.
鈥淢y real goal, my focus as a coach, is to create the environment for learning 鈥� where people feel comfortable asking questions and allowing themselves to be open to input, feedback and learning together,鈥� he says.
As the crew practices off the Port of Barcelona, Burnham coaches from a chase boat, following behind Patriot and communicating directly with its crew. When racing begins, he will be in the chase boat, but stationed to the side of the race course and not allowed communication with Patriot. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of the reason why fostering this atmosphere and getting guys to work together and problem-solve is so important,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey have to be self-reliant and deal with things as they come up while they鈥檙e racing.鈥�
The crew will get to start testing their pre-race preparation when the preliminary regatta starts. It鈥檚 strictly a dress rehearsal for organizers and racing teams 鈥� no one鈥檚 keeping points.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working through different starting strategies and techniques on how we鈥檙e sailing the boat. Then there鈥檚 the new technology going on the boat every day,鈥� Burnham says about their practices. 鈥淸We鈥檙e deciding] how much we want to keep changing things and continuing to evolve; or, do we lock down some of the technology so we can be consistent with how we鈥檙e sailing the boat. Because you learn it really well when it鈥檚 not changing as much.鈥�
Asked to handicap the Cup, Burnham starts with his standard line: It will be close and come down to execution on race day.
But he adds: 鈥淚 certainly like our sailing team 鈥� and I think the boats are going to be relatively similar. There are going to be some boats that have better days than others in terms of wind conditions. There might be some teams that are great in heavy air but not so good in light air. These are all things we鈥檙e going to find out in the next couple of weeks.
鈥淚 think that we鈥檙e doing well and we鈥檙e in a good place, but I鈥檓 certainly not overconfident about it either.鈥�