Peter Burling has been sailing since the age of six.
Born in Tauranga in 1991, he joined the Tauranga Yacht Club when he was eight years old and started competing.
22 years later, as skipper and helmsman of the Emirates Team New Zealand, he and his team won the 2021 America's Cup event.
Today he is the joint CEO, along with Blair Tuke, of the New Zealand Sail GP team.
Burling had a chat with Marc Peard about this weekend's Sail Grand Prix event in Lyttelton Harbour.
"It's awesome to be having a first home event and having it down here in Christchurch makes us incredibly proud," Burling said.
"It really feels like the city's got incredibly behind the event. So many people are down here cheering us on."
Burling explained that the event was similar to the Formula One Grand Prix in that all teams have limited training on the water track, so every team has the same chance to see what they are in for.
"We are very limited in terms of how much training we are allowed to do before the events," Burling said.
"Part of that's obviously been a logistical challenge of getting the boats around the world.
"Another part of it is cost containment. Really making sure that no one can get an advantage through spending.
"One of the things that makes Sail GP really unique in our sport is that we're racing on exactly the same equipment as our competitors.
"That's something that makes the racing incredibly tight and it really does come down to the skill of the people on board."
The ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix penultimate event of season three takes place in Christchurch, this weekend.
For more information, visit the Sail GP Website.
Listen to the interview between Peter Burling and Marc Peard above.
You can also download the full interview on the Marc Peard Sports podcast, and listen on the go. Download the rova app on apple or android to listen to this podcast on the go, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
