As we countdown to the 35th America’s Cup The Royal Gazette will bring you one fun fact a day about the boats, the sailors, the crew, or the history of this illustrious competition. There are now 45 days until the month-long sporting spectacle gets under way.

Dean Barker, the SoftBank Team Japan skipper, will celebrate his 45 birthday in Bermuda on April 18. Barker is competing in his sixth America’s Cup, although the previous five were with Team New Zealand.

Barker, who won the Cup with Team New Zealand in 2000, began his America’s Cup journey in 1995, and has also raced in the competition in 2003, 2007, and 2013.

He is, perhaps, most well-known for being the skipper of the Emirates Team New Zealand side that blew an 8-1 lead over Oracle Team USA in San Francisco four years ago at the 34th America’s Cup; a defeat that ended his association with the New Zealand challenger.

SoftBank’s entry into the competition gave Barker a quick return and the opportunity to build a team from ground up, something he called “an incredible opportunity”.

Speaking soon after his appointment Barker said: “It’s an honour to take on the responsibility of both chief executive officer and skipper of SoftBank Team Japan.

“We’re filling the key roles on the team as quickly as we can. I think we’re pulling together a very strong team. We want to compete at the head of the fleet and we’re assembling a team that is capable of doing that. Our goal is to win the America’s Cup.”