Grandson of 1958 America’s Cup sailor takes up mantle for Hong Kong’s Youth team – ‘It wasn’t if I sailed, it was how much’
- Calum Gregor’s dedication to sailing was never in doubt, born into a family of seamen and a grandfather who competed at the top of the sport
- Gregor represents Hong Kong in the Youth America’s Cup and is preparing with a vigorous fitness regime
Calum Gregor’s steady climb to the top of competitive sailing is no surprise given his pedigree, in fact, it was expected. His grandfather, Denis Jackson, competed in the 1958 America’s Cup as a kite trimmer aboard a yacht called Sceptre.
“It’s always run in the family and you’re expected to sail. It’s not a question of if, but how much,” Gregor, 21, said. “It’s fun to hear stories about the America’s Cup. The rest of the family is very excited.”
“Naturally, as soon as I heard about the team I was extremely interested and wanted to drop everything to do it,” Gregor said. “I was interning over Christmas and had university work, but I was trying to get strong enough. I was working really hard on that from January to March when we started doing fitness testing to see who would make the team.”
“I think I have a good ability in that I can plan ahead, which is very important when you’re on a team boat so everyone knows what is going to happen in two minutes, so they are ready and they aren’t thrown into a tack unexpectedly” he said.
