Chasing the Cup: My America's Cup Journey

By: Jimmy Spithill

The rags-to-riches story of one of sailing's most legendary personalities.

Jimmy Spithill is one of the world's most successful sailboat racing skippers. He has, at 38, reached legendary status. This is his much-anticipated autobiography, and it opens with a young Spithill in the hospital about to have surgery on his leg, being told by the doctors he'll never be very good at sports. Instead of spelling defeat, that moment sparked a life-long determination to prove them wrong.

Spithill won his first sailboat race at age 10 and went on to win regettas all over the country, and then the world. He debuted in the America's Cup as a skipper at age 20, and after a tough legal battle to free himself from his contract with the Young Australia team, he sailed in the next two Cups before becoming the youngest skipper to ever win the America's Cup in 2010, at the helm of the most extreme yacht the competition had ever seen--the 90-foot long by 90-foot wide trimaran USA 17. He won the Cup again in 2013 in a remarkable comeback that shattered his opponents.

As the world knows, Spithill faced a daunting challenge in the 2017 Cup. In addition to providing unparalleled insights into Spithill's background and training, Chasing the Cup is the insider's look at the challenges he faced as he defended the Cup against New Zealand's powerful pedal-powered boats. Spithill speaks with humility and honesty about this year's Cup in this remarkable, timely autobiography.

Chasing the Cup breaks open the closed-off world of the America's Cup, and Spithill's open, honest style gives a rare insight into the mind of an extremely focused man at the pinnacle of his sport. It's a rags-to-riches story of fierce determination, court cases, seasickness, crashed boats and cars, alcohol, and persevering against all the odds. And it all contributed to turning a quiet, bullied, water-loving blue-collar redhead from Sydney into one of sailing's biggest rock stars.

Chasing the Cup is a compelling read, packed with lessons in leadership, teamwork, and achieving your dreams, no matter how many setbacks you face.

About the Author

Jimmy Spithill is 38, but is already a two-time winner of the America's Cup and one of the most famous sailors in the world. In 2013 he led his team to what the Wall Street Journal called "one of the greatest comebacks in sports history." Oracle Team USA was down 8-1, before rallying for eight consecutive wins to defeat Emirates Team New Zealand 9-8. In 2017, the story ended differently and in Chasing the Cup, Spithill tells us why.

When he's not training with a team, Spithill takes a keen interest in flying . . . he's flown with the Blue Angels, the Red Bull Flying Bulls, and holds his private pilot license. He is also an accomplished amateur boxer and has completed two Molokai to Oahu stand-up paddle crossings.

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