17 October 2006

A guest of honour, Paul Cayard was recognized for his achievements in the sport of sailing on 17 October 2006 at the Audi Sports Awards held in Rome’s prestigious Cinecitta. Alongside fellow champions in golf and alpine skiing, Cayard and the others shared a bit of insight into their passion for their respective sports with well known commentator Kay Rush. Audi also took this opportunity to present the new Audi R8 to this exclusive audience.

Published: December 11, 2006

SYDNEY, Australia: Leading American sailor Paul Cayard has joined the Spanish America’s Cup team as a technical adviser, the team said in a statement Tuesday.

Cayard, a winner of seven world championships and of the Volvo Ocean Race, has sailed in five America’s Cups, winning the 160-year-old trophy in 1992 as skipper of the Italian entry Il Moro di Venezia.

Agustin Zulueta, sporting and technical director for Spain’s Desafio Espanol 2007, said the team had signed an agreement with Cayard and with the Cayard Sailing Company to use his technical expertise as it prepared for the America’s Cup regatta off Valencia in mid-2007.

“We are trying to raise the level of our crew. We want to use the best Cayard can give us and we fully trust the crew we now have,” Zulueta said.

Reports from Valencia said Cayard would be involved with the Spanish team for a period of two months, providing technical advice and helming its second boat in trial races with its Cup entry ESP-97. The possibility of an extended contract would be discussed at the end of that period.

Cayard last sailed in the America’s Cup for the AmericaOne syndicate in New Zealand in 2000. He was to sail for the San Francisco-based Oracle team at the 2003 Cup but was sidelined after a dispute with syndicate owner Larry Ellison.

This book is written as a memoir of the Pirates of the Caribbean campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006.

The book is composed of two sources of content. First, there is text that was written by Paul Cayard after the race concluded. Second, all the daily reports that were generated during the race, much of them from onboard, are appended to each leg and this text is italicized. The daily reports give a great insight into what life was like onboard The Black Pearl in various moments, frightening moments as well as exuberant moments. As they were written in the “heat of the moment”, they bring the emotion of these moments to life.

It is my belief that this book will provide great enjoyment for all who read it. But its greatest purpose will be for the crew who sailed The Black Pearl. It is my vision that when each of us is in our 70’s, we will be relaxing on our sofas on a cold winter’s night, with the fireplaces well stoked, sipping a single malt whiskey, and through this text, will relive this great adventure.

In the end, it is all about what you did with your time on this planet. The nine months that we lived onboard The Black Pearl were exceptional by any measure.

Paul Cayard

Copies are $25 and Autographed copies are available for $50, available on cayardsailing.com

More information, and ordering can be found here – Sorry, no longer available