BMW ORACLE Racing sailors depart for the Olympic Games

According to BMW/Oracle, America’s Cup Sailors Carl Williams and Hamish Pepper of have flown to Qingdao, China to compete in the Olympic Games. Interestingly, they will be representing not the U.S. their home country of New Zealand.

They will travel to Beijing to attend the Opening Ceremony on August 8th, before returning to Qingdao. The Olympic Star Class Regatta will start one week later, on August 15th.
Russell Coutts, BMW ORACLE Racing CEO and skipper, wished his fellow countrymen well and said the team was proud to be represented at the Olympic Games. Coutts, who in 1984 won a Gold Medal in the Finn class, also offered a few final words of advice. “It sounds cliché – you’ll feel the pressure but so will everyone else. And like any regatta, have fun and take one race at a time."

In addition to their duties with BMW ORACLE Racing, Williams and Pepper have done extensive Star class training in Valencia this year preparing for the Olympic challenge.
Williams and Pepper won the Star world championship in 2006, and are considered strong medal contenders in Qingdao.