Nicolai Sehested

Our guest on Episode 13 of The Yacht Racing Podcast is Danish yachtsman Nicolai Sehested – a sailor who, despite having just reached the age of thirty, has already established himself as a major figure on the international professional sailing scene.Although he does not come from classic sailing family, Sehested began his competitive sailing career in Optimists before making his professional debut as a skipper on the World Match Racing Tour. From there he leapfrogged to ocean racing with two notable round the world Ocean Race campaigns – first with Team Vestas Wind and then with team AkzoNobel – before this season joining the heady high-octane world of the SailGP circuit, as helmsman of the Danish Rockwool team.Justin Chisholm spoke to Sehested via Zoom from his family’s farm in Denmark – where like the rest of us he was waiting for an end to the COVID19 lockdown.