BERNADINE’S return to
THE BROADCASTING BEAUTY IS MAKING WAVES WITH A NEW SHOW ON SKY
Bernadine OliverKerby and boats are not normally a great combination.
The TV presenter and radio journalist doesn’t have good sea legs, thanks to a tendency to suffer from motion sickness, and admits that even a trip on a sturdy ferry can be enough to turn her green.
But at the moment, boats – or racing yachts in particular – are at the forefront in her mind as she takes on a new job hosting a TV show on the America’s Cup.
Bernadine (45) is presenting America’sCup–RaceDay Reviews for Sky Sport, which will be a round-up of events out of the water each race day, starting with the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers, which kicked off this week.
When publicising the new show means a trip on a yacht out into Auckland’s Waitemata for a photo shoot, Bernadine’s up for it, even if it might mean losing her breakfast overboard.
Luckily, it is a calm day and with Kiwi sailing legend Penny Whiting at the helm, the trip is smooth and there’s no hint of seasickness.
“Unfortunately, I get sick in cars, so can you imagine what it is like with boats,” says Bernadine. “I grew up in Hamilton where we’ve got a river and a lake, so sailing was not an extra curricular activity of mine. Then I moved to Auckland, surrounded by water, and there are times you just have to get out there on the water.
“I once did a kayak trip to Rangitoto with friends and was actually seasick on the kayak. It took a swim in the ocean for me to come right so I could climb Rangitoto, run back down, have another swim and commence the long paddle to shore again. I was very pleased when that was over.”
She shudders as she recalls going out on a racing yacht with American Paul Cayard back in 1994, when he was preparing for the 1995 America’s Cup.
“It was for a story on Moro SportsExtra and the first time I had ever been on one of those big boats. You don’t just stand there, you have to balance and it was terrifying. You are literally balancing on the back of the boat as the extra crew member. You are told not to move and by God, you are not going to move because you are so scared the wind is going to suck you off the side. What an experience that was!
“There’s no way you’d get me on one of those America’s Cup racing yachts now – they go like rockets!”
Fortunately, being involved with the America’s Cup coverage will be done from the safety and stability of a TV studio. Bernadine will be joined by sailing experts for each show to look back on the day’s events in Bermuda and explain to viewers what is going on.
“It’s going to be so exciting,” enthuses Bernadine. “We Kiwis love America’s Cup campaigns, even if we don’t actually know a lot about yachting. Even the biggest landlubbers just can’t help getting on board. There’s always so much excitement.
“We’re expecting lots of crash and bash, off-water feuds and name-calling. We are waiting to see who is going to emerge as the Dennis Connor of the
competition – so far, it seems to be [Brit] Ben Ainslie with the ‘love tap’ he gave the Kiwi boat last week. I can’t wait.”
Bernadine is delighted to be once again covering sports on TV. Although her on-screen career actually started with a kids’ TV show, Life, she got picked up by TVNZ to cover netball in 1991 and spent 14 years in the sports department. She then moved to the news department, where she ended up reading weekend news bulletins and covering for other newsreaders.
“I always had an inkling that I would gravitate back to sport,” says Bernadine, who was made redundant from TVNZ last year after 25 years with the company. “It was really lovely when Sky Sport got in touch about doing something for them. I went for a meeting with the head of sport not knowing what it was going to be about and wondering if it could be netball or rugby, which I have covered a lot in the past.
“I was hoping it would be something different, so I was pleased – and surprised – when it turned out to be the yachting. I’ve been learning a lot about it, although I won’t be the one providing the expert opinions – we’re getting in people who really know their stuff to do that.”
Bernadine says she wasn’t really looking for more TV work after she left TVNZ – she already has a full-on job as the breakfast newsreader for radio station Newstalk ZB, which she has
‘ We’re expecting lots of crash and bash, offwater feuds and name-calling’