Francesco Bruni and Jimmy Spithill joke about being in a "couple" because their relationship is so intense. They share the steering of an Italian AC75, where they hope to compete against New Zealand for America's Cup.

The pair were the first to use a 'co-helming' setup for the new, futuristic high-speed America's Cup Monohulls. These monohulls 'fly' above the water using hydrofoils, reaching speeds of more than 55 knots.

Italy thought it would gain an advantage by splitting up the driving of the design-led boat, depending on which "tack" (direction) the boat was on. This would avoid time loss and possible mishaps if an individual had to scramble across the hull.

Some may have mocked the model when it was used at the last America's Cup, in Auckland, in 2021. However, all of the challengers adopted the same approach for the 37th edition.

Bruni has nothing but praise for Spithill, the partnership and Bruni.

"It's fantastic. "I feel lucky to have had this experience at the last Cup, and now I am having another one. I feel like I'm the luckiest man in the world," said the player.

Bruni stated that they have a good relationship and try to learn a lot from each other. When someone is feeling down, we encourage him to be confident.

Bruni told his "mate" that he was a good person, because he did not point fingers.

"THROUGH TRENCHES"

The calmness onboard is apparent from the live broadcasts of the America's Cup Challenger Series, where Italy and Britain compete for the right to face New Zealand as defenders.

Hamish Wilcox says that this is not an accident.

Wilcox, Wilcox's colleague at the University of California, Berkeley said that the bond between Bruni Spithill required a great deal of trust.

Wilcox said, "They've been in the trenches and on the front lines. That will help them tremendously this week."

The veteran coach said, "We've got two sailors who are very calm and good communicators. Nothing really bothers them."

Ben Ainslie, the skipper of Britain's boat made a late-season change to his crew, replacing Giles Scott with Dylan Fletcher.

This new combination is now put to the ultimate test.

Fletcher, when asked about the secret of their relationship, said: "Ben is really open to feedback. I think that we just seemed to gel when we started sailing with each other earlier this year."

"He has a lot more experience than I do, so we are able to work together, just exchanging ideas," said Fletcher who keeps in constant contact with Ainslie while racing.

When asked if he is the only one in the team that can say "no", he responded: "I am sure there are many people who are able to do that, but I think we have an excellent relationship and it works well at board." (Reporting and editing by Toby Davis; Alexander Smith)

(source: Reuters)