Black & White

Without sounding patronizing, we think racing needs a bit of color added to it. This sport, certainly here in the states, is just too white. So when we posted a picture of the South African AC team, with their black bow men, we were stoked, and made a point of it. We then thought it would be interesting to interview the bow man, Golden Mgedeza, for a short Innerview. Maybe we made too much of the racial implications, because Golden certainly doesn't seem to think in those terms. Enjoy.

Golden - you are the bow man on the SA AC effort - can you imagine that would ever happen and how did it come to be for you?

GM
I come from a small township called Kwa Thema near Johannesburg. It is in the middle of the country some 2000 miles from the sea. I was a naval cadet in high school and we would go rowing on the local dams, but I never imagined that one day I would be on an America’s Cup yacht. I liked the idea of sailing and I like to dream. This is a dream come true for me.

Tell us about your sailing background.

GM
vMy introduction to the sea was thanks to a high school bursary to do maritime studies in Simonstown (near Cape Town and home to South Africa’s Navy). I started sailing dinghies at the Naval base under Ian Ainslie. He was a teacher at our school and had represented South Africa three times at the Olympics in the Finn Class. Later I crewed for Ian at yacht club level in local and national regattas.

With a nation known primarily for its apartheid history, seeing black sailors not only from SA, but in a sport that is almost exclusively white, how significant do you think your and your fellow black crew members presence is?

GM
As a nation 10 years of democracy has taught us that there are no black or white sailors, but only sailors, so I don’t understand your question.

Did your team make an effort to have black sailors on board for political purposes?

GM
Most of our team have sailed together with Ian Ainslie on Captain Sarno’s (Cpt Salvatore Sarno is the managing director and driving force behind the SA America’s Cup Challenge for 2007) yacht, MSC Donna Mia, for seven years without thinking at all about the America’s Cup. When he told us that he was going to enter the Cup it was natural for us to be part of his crew.

Did you beat out white bowmen for the job?

GM
I was the bowman on MSC Donna Mia, and I was chosen as the bowman on Shosholoza from Day One.

The issue of race cuts across a number of lines, and with the SA effort and the racially mixed crew, sailing might be impacted like never before. Do you get a sense of history being made, or is this tokenism?

GM
Shosholoza is an African dream. It is our dream and the dream of our wonderful country. We are all proud to have our flag flying high.

Let's talk about sailing: doing bow on these monsters is brutal, how are you finding it?

GM
Yes it is very, very hard. It is very physically and mentally demanding.

What is the toughest aspect of this so far?

GM
To change from club level to America’s Cup level has been the toughest aspect. But we are very highly motivated and we have discovered what we can do, and we have shown what we can do. Please expect something exceptional from us next year.

Who are your coaches, and do you see the crew being able to perform at the level the existing teams operate?

GM
Our only coach has been Paul Standbridge. He has given us a strong guiding hand and we have worked hard to show him that he isn’t wasting his time with us. We still have to improve a lot and we will be doing that by training at home in the next five months.

Thanks mate and good luck!