Cup Corner is a lifestyle show that gives viewers a behind-the-scenes pass of both the America’s Cup and Team BDA on their campaign for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. The series will be broadcast exclusively on The Royal Gazette’s website, in the #OurAC section, over three weeks starting on Thursday.

Produced by Lamone Woods of Crimson Multimedia, and hosted by Rachel Sawden, each six to nine-minute episode shows the biggest aspects of the professional lives of America’s Cup sailors — sailing, eating and training.

Through 2015-16, Sawden worked with Woods and Adrian Kawaley-Lathan to produce The Road to Bermuda, a six-part series for international broadcaster Nautical Channel.

The Road to Bermuda introduced Bermuda culture and events surrounding the 35th America’s Cup to an international audience of 20 million viewers in 55 countries. Unfortunately, it could not be aired in Bermuda.

After that series came to an end, Sawden and Woods decided to produce a shorter version called Cup Corner for Bermudians to enjoy, The Royal Gazette loved the idea and came on board for the project.

“We wanted to give locals a greater appreciation for what they see on the water by showing them the work and personalities that go on behind the scenes,” Woods said. “We also have a dog in the fight with Team BDA, and wanted to give them a boost by giving locals a channel to see them not simply as athletes, but as people.”

In a series of interviews throughout the three-part series, our local sailors talk about their various positions on the boat, sacrifices made, growth gained, and how their sailor status has affected their love lives.

“Team BDA has worked incredibly hard, and we wanted more locals to know who they are and what they’ve accomplished to rally as much support as possible for when they take to the water in competition,” Woods said.

The Access Granted section of the show gives a behind-the-scenes look into the major aspects of America’s Cup sailor lives on three of the teams. Sawden sails with Groupama Team France on their AC50 race boat, cooks breakfast for SoftBank Team Japan, and takes a boxing lesson at Oracle Team USA.

“Most people will only see the boats racing on the water, but will never have the opportunity to go to the bases and meet the people who make that possible,” Sawden said. “To sail on an AC50 was an incredible experience and much harder than it looks. Each sailor must pay attention to their individual roles and work in unison. It’s such a testament to the world-class level of skill and athleticism the sailors possess.

“SoftBank Team Japan have a Bermudian chef, Daniel Atwood, and there is an incredible amount of work that goes into feeding the teams each day. They really are unsung heroes. And after taking a boxing lesson and sparing with sailor Tom Johnson at Oracle Team USA, I had a greater appreciation for the athleticism of these sailors. Before that day I completely underestimated the difficulty these sailors face making crucial decisions under fatigue.”

The show features a Street Trivia game show where Sawden tests the America’s Cup and Team BDA knowledge of locals around St George’s, Hamilton and Dockyard. Contestants answer questions for the chance to win Team BDA-branded merchandise.

“It makes it fun, gives camera-shy people incentive to play, and we can further promote Team BDA,” she said.