JC: I ‘m invited into the house and offered a glass of water. I guess beer won’t be part of the regime for the next few weeks in this household. I can tell Marcilio isn’t used to coping with hangovers. So how does it feel to be the new World Champion I ask?
MB: For sure it was super-emotional for me. It’d been a long week and I was trying not to think about the whole title situation, I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. I would’ve accepted it if Alex had won, it would have been fair either way. ‘Musso’ was sailing so well and the race ended up so close. It’s obviously a dream come true that it went my way. That moment was such a relief. It’d been a constant battle in my head to try to not think about it too much, but I guess it was always there niggling at me. Now it’s over! It couldn’t have worked out better. It was so special that it happened in Maui with a better atmosphere than anywhere else. My girlfriend Caitlin was there, my Dad was there and my sponsors like Cisco were there. I couldn’t have asked for more. I was also so happy for Levi – that he won the event. He’s been the best Ho’okipa sailor over the past decade. He’d never won an event there yet, so it was almost like justice was done that he won the Aloha Classic. I’m happy for him. He’s a close friend too, so we celebrated together which made it even more fun. I was already so happy I’d won the title that Levi winning the event was like an extra bonus.