Yachting: Champion in uncharted waters

Adam Minoprio. Photo / VOR

In a race that rewards experience, one of the requirements for every Volvo team is that three of the 11 crew members must be under 30 years of age.

Having the novices on board serves a double purpose - they are there to soak up the knowledge of the weathered veterans and in turn ensure the long-term sustainability of the round-the- world race.

But among Emirates Team New Zealand's trio of youngsters there is a rookie with a higher profile than most - former world match-racing champion Adam Minoprio.

The 26-year-old is the only sailor on board the Camper never to have competed in a Volvo Ocean Race campaign - fellow "under-30s" Mike Pammenter of South Africa and Daryl Wislang have already completed three between them.

Yet despite having no previous ocean-racing experience, Minoprio was one of the first sailors, after skipper Chris Nicholson, whom Team New Zealand signed up for the race.

Nicholson said he had no qualms about Minoprio joining the challenge.

"Within a crew of 11 you can hopefully afford to take one person based on their potential alone. In Adam you can see he has the potential to become a very good driver and top-of-the-line drivers are very hard to find," he said.

But moving from being the one calling the shots, as was the case when he was skipper of BlackMatch Racing, to being the newcomer has been difficult.

"It's been very tough, I've just been trying to learn as much as I can from those experienced guys.

"But it is tough when you go out to sea being the young guy on board and obviously not contributing as much," he said.

The last six months since Team New Zealand launched their slick new VOR70 has been a steep learning curve for Minoprio.

Not only has he had to get used to spending days, rather than hours, on the water but he has also had to adjust to the huge logistical challenges that come with preparing for such a big race.

"I've never been involved with a challenge like this so it's been really interesting to see how it is in this game, at this level," he said.

"I don't think I had a full appreciation of what it was going to be like and I still don't really know how tough it will be - I haven't done a leg yet."