NBA Legend Jeremy Lamb joins Emirates GBR at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 8 Jun 18:48 BST
NBA Legend Jeremy Lamb joins Emirates GBR at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix © Simon Bruty for SailGP
NBA Legend Jeremy Lamb joined Emirates GBR on-board their F50 race boat on Day One of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix. The Guard-Forward, drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 12th pick in the 2012 NBA draft, played 10 seasons in the NBA for teams including Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers, and Sacramento Kings.
Lamb experienced the thrill of foiling on the 50ft catamaran race boat on the Hudson River, with the iconic backdrop of the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline. While the NBA Legend is used to dunking on the basketball court, before getting on-board the F50 he had to experience being dunked in the Hudson River as part of his safety training. He then joined the Emirates GBR crew for a lap of the course just before racing began.
Lamb described the experience on-board the F50, which travels at speeds of up to 100kmh, as "a hell of a day".
"It was great, but they wanted me to run across the boat with them... no way," he said jokingly.
"When they turned the first time, I almost fell off - but, man, that was good. It was a hell of a day!"
When the first race of the day got under way, the number of crew on-board each F50 was reduced from six to just three, meaning the athletes had to take on multiple roles. It was tough for the entire fleet with them battling fickle conditions, a strong current and reduced crew configuration. Wind picked up ahead of the second race, with crew size increased to four and Strategist Hannah Mills stepping back on the F50 for Emirates GBR in the second and third race of the day.
Although the wind picked up, it came with heavy rain which made sailing conditions and visibility even tricker out on The Hudson. Emirates GBR finished the three fleet races with a result of 11-6-9. This leaves the Brits in 10th place on the leaderboard heading in to Race Day 2.
Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher said: "We're certainly not happy with how we sailed today. It was up and down and a difficult day, but there were some mistakes that we made which were uncharacteristic, which was quite frustrating."
Prior to the racing beginning on Saturday, SailGP Chief Hype Officer, Grammy-Award winning music mogul DJ Khaled, hyped up the crowd who didn't let the rain dampen their spirits. More than 10,000 fans are expected across the weekend, watching from the Governors Island Race Stadium and official spectator fleet. Race Day Two resumes from 20:30 BST on Sunday and UK viewers can watch all the action live on TNT Sports.