America's Cup sailor on this year's race and the new technologies that power it

The race is on! The 37th America’s Cup regatta, the world’s oldest continuous international sporting competition, began its team trials in late August and concludes in October. It’s being held this year in Barcelona.

While the race may be the oldest, the technology that powers these multi-million-dollar boats is anything but. Gone are the days of sailors running rigging and pulling lines. Now, the elite athletes, called “cyclors,” are cooped up in the hull, cycling furiously to create the hydraulic power used to control the boat’s sails and hydrofoils. Then, electronic signals from something that looks like a game controller are used to open and close hydraulic valves that control the sails.

Trevor Burd, a lifelong sailor, is one of those cyclors on the American Magic team. The Marblehead, Massachusetts native was also a member of the U.S. national sailing team. He’s a four-time national champion and two-time world and North American champion.

American Magic was eliminated in last week’s trials after a grueling race against the Italian team.

Burd joins host Robin Young to talk about the technology, the America’s Cup and the beauty of the sport.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.