Matt Andrews - From skiff sailor to the Volvo Ocean Race and Americas Cup

Ocean Sailing Podcast

Andy Lamont interviews Matt Andrews who started sailing on Moreton Bay with his dad as an 8 year old in the 1970’s on a Mirror dinghy followed by a 125, before moving to Balmain in Sydney and buying a Sabot before making the jump, as a 15 year old, to 16 foot skiffs.

He then left school and started sail making in Sydney before moving to Denmark and talking his way into a job with North Sails and eventually making sails for 100 foot yachts.

Norths moved Matt to Spain, which opened up the opportunity to make sails for the Telefonica Volvo 70 campaign, before moving to the Americas Cup sail loft in Valencia in 2007. A chance introduction with an Emirates Team NZ (ETNZ) member, led to Matt being employed by ETNZ a year later. Matt shares first hand lessons about kiwi creativity, resourcefulness and leadership he learned from his time at ETNZ.

This led to his next campaign as sail maker with Ken Read’s Puma Volvo Campaign in 2008/9 and then Telefonica Team in 2011/12. Matt reflects on his time, incredible career, sailing lessons and his recent change of role to father, sail loft owner and dinghy sailor on the Tweed River in New South Wales, Australia.

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