The conversation began with Drew explaining some of his first moments in sailing and why he was so interested in the sport, including growing up on the East Coast and being fascinated with the engineering of boats.
After graduating from MIT, Bruce Nelson offered Drew a job designing boats in San Diego. “I fell in love with the passion of wanting to be a yacht designer,” he said.
Drew and host Alli Bell talk about his new Melges 20, why he loves it and some of his first events and successes in it including Worlds. He tells stories of Worlds in San San Francisco, being coached by Vince Brun, and finishing 5th despite their light weight.
The two talk about some of the crucial tactics in sailing, most importantly being time in the boat and practice. In addition, Drew recommends a coach to have another set of eyes, and also having an open mind. “Have an open mind, and never be content,” he advised.
Drew goes into his sailing with Vince these days and recently winning the Farr 40 World Championship in Far Niente. Drew credits his coach Ed Adams and Vince for their win. The team had only raced the boat once before competing in the regatta against boats that have been racing their Farr 40s for over 10 years. He discusses the race and the moments during the race where the pressure was on and what they felt were crucial times of the regatta.
The conversation switches to this summer’s Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational was skipped by Tyler Sinks and coached by Vince Brun. They came in second, prepared a lot together as a team, and felt comfortable in the boat. Drew credits New York Yacht Club for a well-run, amazing regatta. Alli and Drew discuss some of the key races, the strategy on the boat, and the emotions of the racing during the regatta. “A lot of boats just stacked their boats with great sailors, we were the only boat that had a team.”
The episode ends with what’s next for Drew and his new co-owned boat Pacific Yankee, his opinion on what boats are next to thrive in sailing, and the SDYC International Masters Regatta.