Spain’s America’s Cup Legend
Not many people can claim to have been part of ten America’s Cup campaigns, but Juan Vila is no ordinary sailor.
The America’s Cup veteran and seasoned offshore racer has spent his long and storied career honing his understanding of the elements, bringing a wealth of experience to Alinghi Red Bull Racing like no other.
Later this year, Juan will be inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame, making him the first Spaniard to receive the honour. With three America’s Cup titles and wins in both the Jules Verne Trophy and Volvo Ocean Race, Juan may be the most decorated Spanish sailor of all time, but you won’t hear him bragging about it. “The biggest thing that people who’ve done a few Cups before can bring to the team is experience and guidance. It’s all about avoiding the same mistakes and going with strategies that have worked in the past.”
Over his many Cup campaigns, Juan has taken on roles both onboard and onshore, working as navigator, electronics systems engineer, and now Meteorologist and Testing Manager for Alinghi Red Bull Racing. As the competition has evolved, so have his reasons for taking part.
“Early on, it was the thrill of the competition for me, being the world’s most important sailing event. But campaigns have changed a lot over the years, mainly the type of boat is very different - displacement monohulls versus extremely fast foiling boats - and the size of the teams has increased along with the technological complexity. So these days, as well as the competition, it’s the technological challenge that attracts me to the Cup, coming up with solutions to the various technical aspects I am involved with.”
As the Testing Manager for Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Juan is responsible for pushing the team’s highly advanced AC75 to its limits. Before most team members have got out of bed, he’s already sent out the daily forecast. Working closely with the coaches, sailing manager and the rest of the sailing team, he coordinates across departments to make sure they get the absolute maximum out of the day’s training. In short, without Juan, sailing doesn’t happen.
After decades spent racing around the world, for the past two years Juan has been back home in the city where he grew up. As a Catalonia native, he was thrilled about the venue choice for the 37th America’s Cup, especially the chance to bring sailing to a Spanish audience. “It came as a surprise for me – obviously a very nice surprise! When I was young, when I was sailing here, I never imagined that the Cup would ever come to Barcelona.”
As the first America’s Cup to take place in open waters – not in a bay or protected by an island – the sea state will have a much larger impact on racing than in previous Cups and is especially critical for foiling yachts like the AC75s. Juan played a role in the development of BoatOne, the team’s AC75 which was custom-designed for Barcelona’s conditions. “As soon as we knew Barcelona was selected, I did quite a few weather studies, looking at the typical winds, the wind distribution, how gusty the wind is, as well as the sea state. Basically everything that we could either model or find data for, that was my main input for the designers.”
When it comes to designing a yacht, it's all about the data, statistics and averages. For forecasting, instinct and intuition play a bigger role, with Juan bringing not only decades of expertise to the table but plenty of local knowledge. “The weather models usually perform well, but experience helps you pick the most likely scenario. You get experience by reading and analysing the data every day – knowing the patterns, adjusting models and learning from past predictions. So it's a bit of a 50/50 process. I think if it was only about data, you probably wouldn't need a meteorologist on the team!”
With three Cup wins under his belt, including Alinghi’s win on its first attempt in 2003 and their defence in 2007, Juan is aiming to repeat that success with the Swiss team this year.
It’s difficult, but if I had to pick my favourite campaign, I would say the 31st America’s Cup in 2003 with Alinghi. Being the first time winning the Cup makes it very special, but I also had huge learnings during that time as well as making loads of great memories.
Victory in the America's Cup requires meticulous preparation and perfect coordination across a team the size of a small village. With experience over 10 campaigns across a wide range of roles, few people know this better than Juan.
“Most of an America’s Cup has to be won before the racing begins. The main thing is that the team has a winning attitude. Everyone being well bonded, helping each other in different positions and pushing together for the same goal. And most importantly, a happy team makes a winning team. I think we've got all those ingredients.”
