Team BDA are raring to go for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, with the GC32 Tour regatta on Lake Garda in Italy the perfect warm-up.

Bermuda’s Youth America’s Cup entry also announced a deal with Digicel as their official communications partner.

“I am confident that the team could race in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup series tomorrow, but racing in Italy will put the icing on the cake,” Team BDA head coach Richard Clarke said.

Beyond the race in Italy, there is a bittersweet feeling for the team as time is limited.

“We’ve been together for a long time now. These are the people I see every day and we are like family,” said skipper Mackenzie Cooper. “We’ve all kind of put our lives on hold for this incredible experience and it’s a strange that after the Cup, regular life will start again.”

For some of the team, this was a first experience with the sport. Shomari Warner says he learnt you should always keep an open mind as he never thought about sailing before this. When asked how the team feels to be the first Team BDA, Warner said: “It’s a great feeling. No matter what happens, we’ll know this is where it all started.”

Meanwhile, Digicel chief executive officer Robin Seale was delighted to link-up with the squad, saying: “We are lucky to have had multiple opportunities to help our professional sailors and we are proud to stand behind them and supply them with communication services.”

For Team BDA, Digicel donated services and devices to the sailors and coaches. Team manager Laura Cutler said: “Digicel has been great to our team. Some of our sailors needed new devices and SIMs and Digicel connected everyone to the network. We are really enjoying the service and are able to keep everyone informed on the go, even on the team’s base on Darrell’s Island.”

Digicel will be following Team BDA on social media in their last few weeks before the Cup. Seale said: “We are passionate about connecting Bermuda to sailing during this thrilling time which is why we developed our #connect2sailing programme with the intent of bringing Bermuda closer to the sport and this year’s largest event. Team BDA is doing a great job sharing their story and we want to support them in doing so until the final competition.”

You can follow Team BDA’s exploits on @teambda, @teambda2017 and @digicelbermuda.