Host Alli Bell speaks with Nevin Snow about his extensive, successful sailing resume including two-time College Sailor of the Year winner, four-time All American Skipper, 2016 Match Racing Champion and 2017 49er North American Championships. Nevin is currently campaigning his 49er to the 2020 Olympics in Toyko.
This week in news, Corona Del Mar and Newport Harbor High School dominated the PCISA Girls Invitational. Dave Perry and his home-town San Diego crew won the 2018 International Masters Regatta.
Nevin grew up sailing at SDYC with his whole family being big in sailing. He starts off by talking about friendly rivalries with his brother in sailing, some Snow family drama during young regattas with competing brothers. He reflects on some of his brother, Patrick’s, successes on the East Coast.
He compares sailing on the East Coast versus the West Coast and the decision making process in choosing Georgetown University. Nevin had help getting acclimated sailing at Georgetown with several SDYC and southern California sailors on the team. His original plan in sailing Lasers in at school didn’t exactly pan out, but eventually guided him in his new journey to the 49ers. With that, Nevin talks about what college sailing and the time commitment is like, the toughest part being organizing your course schedule into a small window.
Nevin remembers his journey with fellow SDYC junior sailors to the Italiana Cup in Italy, which kick started his training in Match Racing. He talks about the Governors Cup and being the youngest winners in the regatta. Since then, Nevin is a little bit retired from Match Racing with some exceptions that he participated in in 2016 and 2017.
It took Nevin about a year to get going with his 49er campaign and now he has been experiencing upward momentum towards his goal of the Olympics. He discusses why he chose the 49er boat and his love for team sailing. His crew, Mac Agnese, is from Fort Lauderdale, FL. They had known each other from previous regattas and teamed up to sail the Youth Americas Cup. They did not get selected to sail but realized their similar interests and goals. Nevin talks more about their natural connection in sailing and his excitement to continue working with Mac. He continues with his transition into Skiff sailing and the struggles with getting acquainted with the boat handling.
He tells us about some of his learning moments including the first week with Mac in Miami and spending the majority of his time swimming. He talks about Australia last year, where he and Mac were training and doing everything they could just to try and stay capsized in high winds.
He transitions into his Olympic campaign for the last year and a half, talking about the road to the Olympics and all the training that goes along with it. He tells us about the World Cup series where all the Olympic classes sail and the World Championships every year. Nevin also explains how the U.S. and their specific team can qualify for the Olympics and a little bit about the test event that occurs before the Olympics.
“We have some serious challenges ahead of us, but I’m excited to get this pre-trial going and learn how we react to all of it,” said Nevin.
Alli asks about Mac Agnese success in earning a spot on the Sail GP team. Nevin explains how the schedules of Sail GP and their Olympic campaign work out nicely and talks a little bit about the Sail GP in general.
Nevin brings up the Volvo Ocean Race and talks about how he has yet to be exposed to off-shore racing. He doesn’t necessarily have any plans on ocean racing, but he tells us he is open to a good argument and offer.
Up this weekend, Nevin is crewing for Tyler Sinks in the SDYC Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup for the first time. He talks about his father’s experience racing in the regatta, explains his responsibilities on board and goes over some his planning strategies.
