There aren’t many birds that can swim but what about our very own Sam Bird?!
We all know he’s quick on dry land but is he fast on water? Can he even swim? Well, we decided to find out so enlisted the help of our friends at SailGP and sent him off to Marseilles to see if he could cut it…
Amazingly, sailing and racing actually share many similarities as Sam quickly found out with one of those being fitness when he went up against GB Team athlete and British Gold Medalist Matt Gotrel…standing at 6ft 4!
Of course, like motorsport, safety is taken very seriously, so before Sam was let loose he had to undergo some (fairly brutal) training including being thrown – and held – underwater.
After this, it was off to the high-seas to see how he’d fare as part of the crew on the Team GB boat.
See for yourself how he got on! #EyesStarboard
Our thanks goes to everyone at SailGP and Matt Gotrel for helping to organise this experience. To find out more about the SailGP series click here
And, if this has inspired you to want to do more to protect our amazing oceans then head over to our Race Against Climate Change section to learn more.
