World Sailor of the Year Mat Belcher has taken receipt of a brand new boat with a mixture of sadness and excitement, as he tries to avoid the pressure generated by his incredible winning streak.
One of Australia's most successful sports stars of recent times, London Olympic 470 class gold medallist Belcher is on an amazing two-year 17-regatta winning streak.
That run includes events taken out with his London Olympics crewmate Malcolm Page and current crewmate Will Ryan.
Almost a year to the day since Belcher revealed Ryan was his new crewmate, they unveiled the boat they hope will carry them to even more success.
"What makes it special is that my father-in-law built the boat, so to have that family connection and his support, it's very exciting," Belcher told AAP on Monday.
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"It's also a little bit sad, because we're now retiring the Olympic Games boat that we won the gold medal in last year.
"She's worked hard for us and produced so many great results so it's time to give it a bit of a rest and get a new boat.
"You always look for an upgrade ... it's always pushing forward and not resting on what you've got.
"We're hoping it will be fast and we're very positive that it will be and I guess time will tell."
They will work the new boat every day until the sailing World Cup regatta starting in Melbourne on December 1.
Belcher said Ryan and himself were not focusing on extending the winning streak.
"I think if we did, we wouldn't be able to do it. Because the internal pressure and the external pressure and managing the expectations is not easy, and it puts a lot of pressure on the team," Belcher said.
He conceded it would be hard to follow up a near perfect year, but was excited by his team's potential and the challenge of keeping the opposition at bay.
"We're really excited as to where we can go as a team and we've only been together for one year, so we've got a lot of work to do," Belcher said.
"We're trying to make sure we develop at the right time and keep improving.
"The world is looking at us and using us as their benchmark."
