Leo Takahashi: Black Foils Flight Controller ahead of this weekend's Sail GP regatta

Sail GP hits Germany this weekend for the 8th event of the 12-event season. 

The Black Foils are top of the leaderboard for the first time since January after victory in the last regatta in Portsmouth. 

Flight controller Leo Takahashi joined Piney for a chat ahead of this weekend’s regatta. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks b Sale.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Gp hits Germany this weekend, the eighth event of the
twelve event season. The Black Foils top of the leader
board for the first time since January after winning the
last regatta in Portsmouth. Flight controller Leo Takahashi joins us
out of the Black Foils. Leo, thanks for joining us, mate.
How was your practice day on the waters of the
Baltic Sea.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Yeah, no, it's been lovely.

Speaker 4 (00:33):
We've actually only got up for one day training, but
you know, the conditions been great. It's been really warm
and we've had a really nice northwesterly wind, warm and shifty,
and the conditions are going to be great for the weekend.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
We had our.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
Practice day today and you know, pretty uprange conditions and yeah,
we've got some good training in.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
I see a couple of a couple of boats came
to grief today. You were able to avoid that. Were
there any are there are there parts of the race
course or features of the conditions that you know that
you do have to be a bit aware of.

Speaker 4 (01:04):
Yeah, it was just quite a tricky day, is the
you know, the wind was up and then the windows
coming straight off the headland there of sas neats, and yeah,
it made for some really challenging, tricky, shifty conditions. So
had to be definitely on our game today and yeah,
for our day one training it was definitely spicy conditions.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
What did the win in the last event in Portsmouth
do for the team's confidence?

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh yeah, it was a great confidence booster.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
You know, we knew we had it in us and
you know, I know we hadn't you know, done too
well in the in the events earlier on the season
after I went and dubay it.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
But you know, we've been kind of chipping away in
the background.

Speaker 4 (01:39):
We've been getting a couple of podiums and just waiting
for the stars to align.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
And yeah it did importuth.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
We sailed a great event, and yeah, it was a
really good morale bust coming into the the rest of
the events.

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Now that the cadence of the events picks up.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Are you sailing the boat differently or are you just
trying to do what you have been doing better?

Speaker 3 (02:02):
Not necessarily differently.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
I think there's definitely a few few things that we
can be a bit more accurate at and a little
bit better at and find little improvements here and there.
But no, we're just trying to refine everything at the moment.
You know, we know we can sell the boat well
and at the top of the at the top of
the league. So yeah, just just all about coming together
and and letting all the all the things align it
and then getting good starts, picking the good shift and

(02:25):
then sail on the boat really well and accurately. And yeah,
it just came together for us and brought tomouth. So
now he's got to you know, take that, take that
and find a good way to put it together again
for the next few events.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
You talk there about aligning things, and I would imagine
that there are a lot of things that need to
come together to sail what would be a perfect race.
Where do you when you're when you're preparing, how do
you decide where to place your focus to get the
best returns in terms of improvement?

Speaker 4 (02:53):
Yeah, I mean sailing is such a cool sport. There's
so many different variables you know that come to play.
Is the win, the tide, the conditions, and then you
know how you know how every athlete on the boat
is feeling on the day, and we all have to
work together as six people on the boat have to
you know, gel together and work as one.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
So that's a really cool part of it.

Speaker 4 (03:11):
And yeah, I guess you know, we look at the
conditions every day and we have our playbooks and how
we take those conditions on and you know, just like
today it was shifty, windy, so we had to sell
the boat differently, sometimes not take too much risks, but
you know there's other teams that are taking more risks
and sometimes it pays off.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
So yeah, that's the kind of way we look at it.

Speaker 4 (03:30):
And yeah, there's so many different little things, little avenues
that we could be refining. But yeah, sometimes you know,
you just got to pick on the pick, pick what
you can pick your battles. And you know, in Portsmouth
it was a different kind of condition. It was a
little bit choppy and wavy, and you know there's a
lot of things on the course that could get in
your way, so it was all about selling smart. So yeah,

(03:51):
I mean sat Nets is going to be a different ballgame.
It looks like a really windy forecast tomorrow, so you
can definitely lose the events on the first day, definitely
not win it.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
So you've got to just stay in it for the Sunday.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
You're still on the tfoils that you're still using the tfoils.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Hey good the hang of them.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 4 (04:10):
I think you know, they're definitely level of the playing
field with you know, how how good they are of control.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
But the high speeds and yeah, the way.

Speaker 4 (04:20):
They both have come together now has made it really
challenging for the for Pete and Live to navigate the course.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
So, you know, they're a great new addition to this.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
How you did it feel like a new toy for
you when they arrived or and was there any sense
of trepidation about them?

Speaker 3 (04:36):
Oh, they're awesome.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
You know, any any new piece of technology or hands
on is always going to be like a you know,
Christmas present, So it was cool to cool to learn them.
And actually, you know, yeah, now since we're getting the
hang of them and and the boat speeds are getting
higher and the racing is getting more exciting, it's it's
it's been really fun for the for me and the team.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
You mentioned Leo earlier that you know, at the start
of the season after Do Buy, which went so well,
things you know didn't go quite the way you would
have hoped for a couple of regattas there as a
new one. But to the team, did you feel any
internal pressure when things weren't weren't going the way you
were hoping they would.

Speaker 4 (05:14):
Yeah, I guess you know, as a sportsman, you're always
going to feel some kind of pressure. And yeah, look,
I would be lying if I say it didn't feel
but you know, Andy's a great sailor, and you know there's.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
Definitely some big shoes to feel.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
But I was definitely up for the challenge and I
know I had to have it in me and I've
put the work in the background, so I just had
to back myself and I had a great supporting team
family and friends that have kind of helped me through it.
And it's been really it's been really cool and I
feel at home in this team.

Speaker 3 (05:42):
So yeah, yeah, I just can't haven't been able to.

Speaker 4 (05:45):
Thank the team enough to be honest, for being so supportive,
and I feel like it's all coming together now. So
definitely just got to keep chipping away at it and
you know, come Abu Dhabi, we just got to be
in that final.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
Good Man, good man, Leo, hey, thanks for joining us.
Made all the best in Germany. The latest regatta Leio
take a harshy fly controller with the Black Falls say
a seal. GP Germany starts early as to tomorrow morning
I think it is, and then Day two early hours
of Monday morning. We'll keep you across all of that
as part of a jam packed sporting weekend.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
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