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 38 days until the month-long sporting spectacle gets under way.

Jimmy Spithill made history by becoming, at age 30, the youngest skipper to win the America’s Cup, but his sailing success goes far beyond that. The Australian native is one of the most decorated sailors in the world.

If there were two things that led to Spithill becoming one of sailing’s all-time greats, they happened early in his life. Living in a small town called Pittwater, north of Sydney, Australia, virtually surrounded by water and with no access by road, Spithill’s home was only accessible by boat, so sailing became an everyday necessity.

He won his first race at age 10, with his eight-year-old sister as his crew, and he was later named Youth Sailor of the Year.

He debuted in the America’s Cup as a skipper at age 20 with Young Australia, becoming the youngest helmsmen in the revered race’s history, and then had stints at the helm of the Oneworld, in 2003, and Luna Rossa Challenge in 2007.

In 2010, Spithill made his mark on the sailing world by becoming the youngest-ever winner of the America’s Cup, as helmsman and skipper of BMW Oracle Team 90.

Three years later, in 2013, Spithill led one of the greatest sporting comebacks ever, as Oracle Team USA came from 8–1 behind to overcome Emirates Team New Zealand 9–8 to claim his second America’s Cup victory.

Spithill was born on June 28, 1979 in Sydney.