\u201cIt\u2019s really positive this year that we\u2019ve kept the same group together and so we can keep building on that. A lot of the other teams have had crew changes and stuff; I think we\u2019re one of the two or three other teams that have got the same team, so it\u2019s really positive in that sense.\u201d <\/p>\n
Stewart Dodson (right) joined the Switzerland SailGP team as a grinder for season five and is continuing in the role this year. Photo \/ SUI SailGP<\/p>\n
For Dodson, who also races in the Switzerland-based TF35 series and the US-based M32 series, it was a busy year of plying his trade. But he also had significant moments off the water as he and partner, Olympic sprinter Zoe Hobbs, got engaged. <\/p>\n
Dodson proposed after the SailGP event on Lake Geneva in Switzerland in late September, where the team finished third. <\/p>\n
\u201cI sort of knew roughly the time of year it was going to happen. It all fit in timing-wise. Zoe had finished her season and everything.\u201d <\/p>\n
While the pair both compete at the top level in their respective sports, Dodson said they still got plenty of time to spend together as their campaigns overlap in Europe. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt works quite well. Obviously, over summer I get a bit more time back in New Zealand and Zoe\u2019s building up her training and everything, so we\u2019re both at home together which is nice. Then I start travelling to Europe for events and she goes over as well,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo in March we\u2019re going to spend some time together in Europe when she\u2019s training for her world indoors and I\u2019ve got some downtime between events. So it does work well that we get to see each other a lot overseas as well.\u201d <\/p>\n
But while preparations for his impending nuptials will undoubtedly go on throughout the year, Dodson was currently focused on helping the Swiss continue their momentum up the SailGP ladder. <\/p>\n
Stewart Dodson is the only Kiwi sailor to win the SailGP season title, as part of the champion Spain team in season four. Photo \/ SUI SailGP<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t make the best start to the season, finishing outside the season points in the first event of the campaign in Perth. That came after a crash with New Zealand\u2019s Black Foils<\/a> ruled them out early on day one of racing. While they were able to return for day two, they couldn\u2019t make up enough points to finish inside the top 10 and get their season tally off the mark. <\/p>\n In Auckland, however, they get another chance and more time on the water, which Dodson said would be key to their continued development. <\/p>\n \u201cThis year it\u2019s quite good in Switzerland, we\u2019ve got quite a few of the SailGP team and we\u2019re all sailing together on the same [TF35] boat in Switzerland this year. Me, Arnaud [Psarofaghis] and Bryan [Mettraux] are all going to be on the same boat and hopefully that can work to our cohesion as a team and sail better together, learn each other more and spend more time together,\u201d Dodson said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just time together and really building on the teamwork and trusting each other and everything. Technically, we\u2019re pretty much there, so we just need to keep working on everything else; the communication and teamwork really.\u201d <\/p>\n