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The bow is the territory
of the bowman and mid-bowman. It is where the headsails are
set and the spinnaker pole is kept upwind, and changed from
side to side during a gybe downwind. The mid-bowman spends
much of his time in a hatch, known as the "sewer" - because
it is hot, dark and wet - where sails are stored and
repacked ready to be used. It takes two people to
stow a sail down below and three to drag a new sail on deck.
There are no guard rails
on an America's Cup boat and so the bowman must have great
agility, boat skills, resilience and courage to work on the
bow, the most exposed and unstable part of the
boat.
