ETNZ adds more leg power

QUOTE-UNQUOTE: "Until a week ago, Team New Zealand grinder Joe Sullivan had never been in a yacht race. By the end of the month the Olympic rowing champion will be in sailing's most prestigious event." --Opening lines in another nice AC lead-up article by Dana Johanssen in Saturday's NZ Herald.

No doubt those words will get a rise out of a number of our older, more traditional sailing friends, especially, AC vets.

Note, too, the irony of Dana's headline: "Rowing champion grinds his way into the America's Cup."

No "grinding" in this Cup, at least not on the water.

Another tidbit from Dana's article, "Sullivan isn't the only sailing novice aboard Team NZ. Former sprint cyclist Simon van Velthooven, who like Sullivan was one of New Zealand's medal winners at the London Games, is another cross-code recruit. With the Kiwi team installing a cycle-grinding system rather than the traditional handle-driven pedestals, van Velthooven was targeted for his cycling expertise."

Someone has coined a new position on AC boats formerly held by grinders. And it's not pedalers.

"You sailed in the America's Cup? What position?"

"I was a cyclor."

"Did you power the propeller?"

"Uh, no, I helped power the pumps."

"Oh, to keep the boat from sinking?"

"Hydraulic pumps, to trim the sails."

"You don't do that with winches and ropes?

"No, that's so 2013."