Iain Murray & Team 7
One of Australia’s highest-profile sailors, Iain Murray did not come from a sailing family, but with the encouragement of his skiff-sailing football coach and dad, learned to sail in the Flying Ant junior class. As a teenager, he was drawn to the action-packed world of skiff racing and soon caught the eye of Channel 7’s General Manager, Ted Thomas, who recognized his potential and offered company support. From 1977 to 1982 Murray dominated 18-ft skiff racing, winning six consecutive world titles. His successes also led to a position as Design Team/Project Director and helmsman of the Kookaburra syndicate in the 1987 America’s Cup. Today, Murray’s long association with the Seven network continues as the mentor of Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton, and Robert Bell, the young 18-ft Skiff stars of Gotta Love It 7. Star crew Andrew Palfrey is team manager and coach. A successful businessman and boatbuilder, Murray is married to Alex and has three daughters.
Andrew Palfrey
A descendant of three generations of boatbuilders and sailors, Andrew Palfrey learned to sail with his siblings (seven brothers and a sister) in Cadet Dinghies off St. Kilda in Melbourne. He went on to excel in the J/24, Etchells, Soling and Star classes, and in 2005 coached Australians Richard Perini and crew to a Farr 40 World Championship win. During his career, Palfrey has sailed or coached in approximately 800 races at an Olympic classes or world championship level. Most recently, he teamed with Star sailor Iain Murray with the hope of medaling in the 2008 Games—a first Olympic medal for both. Star crew Andrew Palfrey is team manager and coach of Gotta Love It 7. Palfrey has been married to his wife Kate for 15 years and credits her support for much of his sailing success. They are the parents of three young girls.
There are many ways to skin a cat and both of us are “serial tinkerers” when it comes to the layout of sailing boats. When we joined the Star class in 2001, we changed pretty much everything on our ’95 Folli Star Boat. For sure we went over trodden ground, trying left-field ideas other people had already tried, but we had to learn for ourselves why things worked—or did not work. What we have now are controls that are simple and basic, but we think the layout of these controls is better in terms of placement and purchase.
Continuity
The Olympic cycle is logistically demanding and in 2006 we had boats on four continents (Europe, USA, Australia and China). Because continuity is so crucial, we’ve invested a lot of time and money to make sure all our boats are set up the same. We changed the underdeck runner systems on our Folli Star (led forward) to match our Lillia Star style of runners on the side deck. To make gybing and tacking practice easier, we also rebuilt the
internals of the Folli so it was more like a Lillia. When we laid out our new Etchells in 2002, helmsman and crew controls matched those on our Star. Of course, the deck layout was very different from the other Etchells, but it served our purpose which was to race and work the controls the same way we did on the Star.
Rig Set-Up
Through the ’90s, the Star went through a period of relative stability in terms of rigging. Since then, clever Finn and Laser sailors with unconstrained views of what can be achieved have joined the class and are trying new ideas. We have made our own PBO rigging for the runners and a swiveling post exiting underneath a Harken 144 mainsheet swivel—complicated to build, but it simplifies placement and use of controls.
How we’re going to set up our rig at the China Olympics is an interesting work in progress given the expected light air conditions. Aussies are not known for light air finesse, but we have learned a lot from the Americans and Europeans and are developing our own ideas on rig setups. The difference in sail-shape theory from 3 to 6 knots is really big in a Star. Our challenge is to make the rig do what we want through this narrow wind range. Our new Star has a better system to control mast rake, and an easier way to change rig tension using a purchase system rather than turnbuckles.
Philosophy
Our philosophy is to enjoy the sport first. If you want to make a living at it, prepare to sacrifice income for many years while developing your skills. Work hard. Listen hard. Be patient and practice. Understand the details of sailing. Above all, bury your ego and make the mistakes. But try to make each mistake only once.
Seve Jarvin
Introduced to sailing at the age of four, Australian Seve Jarvin instantly took to the sport, winning the Sabot National Championships at age eight. Encouraged by his father Steve “Mothy” Jarvin, he became Australia’s highest-ranked youth match racer. Today, as skipper of Gotta Love It 7, he and crew Sam Newton and Robert Bell took an overall 2nd at the 2007 JJ Giltman International 18ft Skiff Championship in Sydney Harbor. In a closely fought contest that included a backwards capsize on the final leg, Gotta Love It came through to take first at the 2008 Austalian National Championships! Great going guys!
How did you learn the racing game?
Through my dad Steve ‘Mothy’ Jarvin. He has competed successfully in many classes from dinghies, Etchells and Farr 40s, to Maxis such as Wild Oats. I admire him for his achievements.
How do you prepare your 18 footer for racing?
We clean and check everything thoroughly as we rig and unrig to ensure that it is in good shape. We control everything we can control.
How hard is it to keep it in tip-top shape?
On average, I think we put 13 hours a week into boat maintenance.
Please explain your motto ‘go hard for as long as you can, then go home’.
When we train we do not leave the water until we know we have worked our ‘asses’ off.
How do you get ready for a regatta?
Physically I work out at the gym twice a week. Mentally I take it easy before a regatta, get lots of sleep and eat good food. Then I know I have done everything I can to prepare myself for the race.
How do ‘Dog’ (Andrew Palfrey) and his video camera help you improve?
After every training session we debrief and analyze the video to see the good and the bad in our sailing. It is very helpful.
What do you find most rewarding about the sport?
Meeting new people! You’ve got to love yachties.
