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-Victory
Challenge’s SWE-63 damaged (11/18/01)
(source
: Cheryl
on 2003ac.com forum) |
Yesterday on RadioNZ Pete Montgomery reported
that SWE-63’s deck had lifted from the hull. Apparently
caused by its transport to Auckland in an unpressurised
cargo hold on the Antonov aircraft.
Nevertheless, the Swedish crew are not demobilized because
SWE-38 (former NZL-38) is just arrived (by cargo) in Auckland,
with Alinghi SUI-59 (old BeHappy), and is now sitting in
its travel lift on the base forecourt, still painted black
but with Victory Challenge’s sponsor logos. |
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Victory
christened and launched SWE-63 (01/24/01)
(source :
NZ
Herald)
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Victory Challenge,Gamla Stans Yacht Sällskap's
challenger for America's Cup 2003, christened and launched
its first International America's Cup Class (IACC) boat,
SWE 63, today in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Victory Challenge's newest boat is the first of two IACC
to be built by New Zealand’s Chris Mellow who is working
with the 20-strong international boat building team. It
was designed by German Frers Jr, former member of Prada
Design Team.
The Gothenburg Team is responsible for crafting the hull,
deck and rudder. The mast and keel are made in New Zealand,
and the sail in the USA (like All America’s Cup challengers).
Now, the newest boat will be be chartered by Antonov in
Auckland.
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Interview with Stefan Rahm, the Team Victory
Challenge Afterguard, currently at the French training camp
in Sète.
How is the training going?
“It is going in the right direction. We have been training
a lot with the Swiss team, Alinghi Challenge. We have managed
about four races a day against them, three days a week.
At first we were groping about in the dark with certain
things, but our understanding is improving by the day, and
it feels better and better. We have been training especially
on the pre-start, the time just before the start, as well
as doing speed training.”
What has the weather been like?
The winds here are very light. Calm and quiet in the morning,
with better, stronger winds in the afternoon. We would have
liked to have had a little bit more pressure in the sails,
but there’s not much we can do about it. For the rest it
is warm and nice, the sun is shining and we are enjoying
ourselves.”
Do you have any time off?
“The past two and a half weeks have been really tough, and
so we’ve only had maybe one afternoon off in all that time.
Even if the weather is really bad, there is always something
to do on the boat, which we have on land during the nights.
We assemble at seven in the morning to work out. At nine
we gather on the boat to put her to water. Between ten in
the morning and five in the afternoon we train flat out,
after which there are a few more hours of work on the boat
until the evening. Everyone is responsible for their own
area, and if necessary, adjustments are made. The winch
and the block are taken apart and we always check all the
rigging. The days are long and tough.”
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While the Victory Challenge crew is training
flat out with the Cristina at the French seaside resort
of Sète, another type of crew is lovingly crafting the first
of two Swedish built boats that are needed in order to take
part in the America’s Cup challenge. She is being built
at a wharf in Gothenburg, Sweden, where New Zealand’s Chris
Mellow is working with the 20-strong international boat
building team.
It is hot and sticky in the big hall where the unnamed boat
is being built. She will be named in October when she is
to be delivered. The hall buzzes with the sound of people
hammering, sawing, polishing, and fine-tuning this latest
addition to the Victory Challenge fleet. Magnus Grävare,
who coordinates the builders and the designers, says they
are on schedule, having begun building a month ago, with
the boat slowly starting to take shape.
A team of around twenty people are involved in the production
of the boat. They are a gang of professional boat builders
working their way around the world like a travelling circus,
dedicated to just one thing; boat building. “They work ten
to twelve hours a day, six days a week, five to six months
of the year, the rest of the time they take off”, explains
Magnus. “They come from New Zealand, Australia, England
and Sweden. Most of them live under spartan conditions,
and they do not enjoy any luxuries while they are here.
These boat builders live for their work, and they are undoubtedly
doing an excellent job. The entire boat is handcrafted,
from aft to stern. You won’t find any large machines here,
just screwdrivers, hammers and handsaws.”
The Gothenburg wharf is responsible for crafting the hull,
deck, rudder and keel. The mast is made in New Zealand,
and the sail in the US. All America’s Cup challengers have
their sails manufactured in the same factory. All teams
try to make their boats from as light a material as possible,
to keep the weight down. The hull is mounted on a frame
made from Canadian cedar. First it is covered with a thin
layer of carbon fibre, followed by a second layer of a strong
paper-like material (nomex/kevlar), followed by another
layer of carbon fibre.
The entire project is rated top secret, and the building
process is shrouded in secrecy. No outsiders are allowed
into the area, and there are strict controls governing the
drawings and the material. Some parts of the boat were even
covered for our visit, and we couldn’t take pictures of
just anything. The boat builders have signed confidentiality
agreements. “Suppose a competitor would find out some details
and develop something similar, it could make the difference
during a race”, explains Magnus.
But all will be revealed in October when she is ready for
delivery. A few months later another boat building project
will take off, when the second of the two boats that make
up the Victory Challenge fleet will go into production.
It will be on one of these two newly built boats that the
Victory Challenge team will make its bid for the America’s
Cup 2003.
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Grand Prix Sailor caught up with the 39-year-old
Holmberg, who is currently training with his America's Cup
team in France.
First, the swedish helmsman said "We're building two
boats. The first one is just starting to be built now. We'll
start to build the other boat next winter. The first boat
is being built in Goteburg. German Frers Jr. is our designer."
Second, he explained "(they) have the old NZL-38, which
is one of the boats they used in 1995. (They're) staying
in France this spring and this summer and then we're shipping
everything over to New Zealand. |
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Rumours were circulating to the effect
that the Swedish Victory Challenge could carry out next
summer's training sessions in the island of Elba with three
other syndicates (Prada Challenge, Mascalzone Latino and
the Swiss Challenge).
Finally, Victory selects Sète (South of France) for
its 2001 summer training sailing facility as it continues
preparations to challenge for America's Cup, scheduled to
commence in October 2002 in Auckland, NZ. The agreement
came about 2 weeks approached the city about bringing a
crew to train in the '95 french base (usued for San Diego
by the France 2 and France 3, skipped by Marc Pajot).
Mobilization of the previous french sailing base, wich must
be rehabilited, is beginning and will operate through summer
2001. Monday, for the first time, the Swedish Team sailed
its boat, the previous NZL 38 (rechristened "Cristina"),
from the harbor but must stopped after a tender failure.
The Team have just finished a first session sailing in the
Canary Islands and this summer, the Swedish challenger programme
could share the french waters with the Swiss Challenge. |
The
Victory Team testing programme (01/24/01)
(source :
NZ
Herald)
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As eight boats are on the Hauraki Gulf
this week, the Swedish Victory Challenge are doing it differently,
training in the Canary Islands because their home waters
are icy. They will spend their summer on the Italian island
of Elba - not far from Italian syndicates Prada and Mascalzone
Latino.
The Swedes intend to be in Auckland in September with their
boat the Cristina, formerly known as Black Magic II, NZL38.
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Jesper
Bank joins Victory Challenge (12/21/00)
(source : Sports.com)
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At a press conference in Copenhagen today,
the danish Jesper Bank announced that he has signed with
the Victory Challenge syndicate’s venture towards the America’s
Cup 2003. "He has shown great strength—even when it looks
like he’s on his way to losing, he can turn it around and
win," said Mats Johansson, project manager and world-class
Starboat sailor.
"He does his best sailing when the going is rough. It is
privilege to have him among us." "What made me change my
mind and join Victory challenge is that it’s not all about
committing myself to sailing," said Bank. "I am also going
to be part of the management group for the Victory Challenge
syndicate and will be able to influence the design of the
boat and the recruits. It will be just as interesting for
me if I’m skipper, helmsman, or tactician."
"I wouldn’t have agreed to this either if it were a financially
uncertain project," said Bank. "The financing has been secured
very satisfactorily, in a way almost no other syndicate
can claim." Jesper Bank is one of five Danish sailors who
will be part of the crew, which mainly consists of Swedish
men, with some sailors from Norway and Finland.
The other Danish sailors are Claus Olesen, 26, Kasper Vang,
26, Kasper Harsberg, 27, all three grinders, and Morten
Halkier, 28, trimmer (who was World Champion in match racing
last year, as a hand on Jesper Bank’s crew) .
Jesper Bank began his sailing career when he was 12 years
old in an optimist dinghy. He was 23 when he became the
Danish national champion for the first time, in an H-boat.
Two years later, he started sailing a Soling, the class
he’s dedicated most of his career to. In addition to two
Olympic Gold medals, he has six World Championships and
two European Championships in match racing, Dragon, H-boat
and Soling.
Jesper Bank received a Bronze Medal at the Olympics in Seoul
in 1988 and took Denmark’s first Olympic medal this year’s
in Sydney (against Jochen Schuemann, who took the Gold in
1976, 1988, and 1996).
Among the recruits is Magnus Holmberg, 39, who won two of
the tree latest World Cup competitions in match racing in
the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour. Two others from
his crew, Lars Linger, 39, and Stefan Rahm, 33, have also
joined Victory Challenge. Now there are two skipper candidates
in addition to Mats Johansson himself: Jesper Bank and Magnus
Holmberg. |
CAmerica's
Cuppers Press Conference (10/25/00)
(source : Bermudagoldcup) |
Yesterday, Skippers from most of the confirmed
teams for the next America's Cup (Ed Baird, Dean Barker,
Dennis Conner, Russell Coutts, Chris Dickson, Peter Gilmour,
Andy Green, Chris Larson & James Spithill) attended
a "State of the America's Cup" press conference at the Royal
Bermuda Yacht.
In a relaxed, hour-long genial exchange they traded quips,
revealed a few secrets and agreed that the next America's
Cup regatta would lift the stature of the event to a new
plateau. |
| Dennis Conner told
that he is close to completing an agreement with the New
Yorkers to sail under their banner at the next challenge
in New Zealand in 2003. Queried if he would challenge next
time from the New York Yacht Club, Conner revealed that
he wanted to represent New York in Fremantle in 1987 and
in Auckland last year. "I've had two unsuccessful bids,
you might say, to represent the club," he said. "It would
be a nice dream for me to win the Cup and bring it back
to New York and the trophy room at the New York Yacht Club.
It would be nice closure. While it might be a dream, I would
relish the chance for it to be reality." |
| Briton Andy Green talked about his plans
for a British challenge, but admitted he needed a major
backer. Green said he and British sailors had spent a great
summer sailing that country's two IACC boats in Cowes. "There
was a lot of positive feeling, but feeling unfortunately
doesn't get you to the America's Cup," he noted wryly. "The
British sailing team at the Olympics did an amazing job,"
he added. "They got three gold medals and two silvers. I'm
hoping that will encourage a few people with some serious
money to get involved." |
| Magnus Holmberg
from Sweden revealed that he had just signed up to skipper
Sweden's Victory Challenge (see article). Holmberg said
Argentinian designer German Frers who helped start Italy's
Prada Challenge last time would design the Swedish boats.
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| Peter Holmberg, from the US Virgin Islands,
sat at the opposite end of the table from Ed Baird, and
like Baird, acknowledged he had no concrete Cup plans. |
Magnus Holmberg joins Victory (10/25/00)
(source : Sports.com)
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Sweden's America's Cup challenge, the Victory
Challenge, have made a big credibility gain with the signing
of Magnus Holmberg and his entire Stora Enso Match Racing
Team.
Magnus Holmberg is a veteran of the international match
racing scene, has represented Sweden at the Olympics three
times and is currently third on the Swedish Match Grand
Prix Sailing Tour scoreboard (he has won the Italy's Trofeo
Challenge Roberto Trombini and the Danish Open). He will
personally bring a maturity and depth of experience to the
challenge that would be hard to match, while his whole Stora
Enso Team will provide a very cohesive core to the crew.
Commenting on the signing, he said, "so far it is me, Lars
Linger and Stefan Rahm who have signed, Lars is the trimmer,
and Stefan is the tactician, so they are very important
people. Then we hope that Michel and Daniel Bjorndal will
be signing when we get back home, so the full Stora Enso
Team will be signing."
Though Magnus was involved in the Victory Challenge's purchase
of the former Team New Zealand boat NZL 38, before joining
the team he stood back and waited to see how they shaped
up. He explained, "Mats Johanssen gave me a call and asked
if I could go and inspect the boat with Peter Gilmour. It
was nice to see that something was going on in Sweden, but
I really wanted to see what the project was like, and what
the ideas were behind the project, and to see that it was
a serious project, because I think that being involved in
the America's Cup could be anything from heaven to hell,
depending on the people you are working with. "Now I'm pretty
convinced that it is a long term stratergy, not just one
America's Cup, but trying to build some knowledge in Scandinavia,
which I think is the right attitude."
The other coup for the Victory Challenge is the signing
of designer German Frers, who was part of the design team
for Prada Challenge in the last Cup, which won the Louis
Vuitton Cup, but was defeated by Team New Zealand in the
America's Cup. Frers, who is from Argentina has a long and
illustrious career in yacht design, and was with the Il
Moro di Venezia team that challenged for the Cup in '92.
The Victory Challenge is planning to build two new boats,
one after the other, and will start training in Auckland
around October next year. Until then they will be sailing
NZL 38 in Gothenburg through to the middle of November this
year, then are planning to take it to the Mediterranean
from April next year. Asked about whether they will be sailing
against other challengers in the Mediterranean, Magnus admitted,
"there are some discussions going on with other teams about
training together."
The initial sponsors are a range of very well-known brands
like Metro (a free daily newspaper entirely financed by
advertising), TV3 & Viasat Sport (Modern Times Group
MTG AB, a leading international media group), Comviq &
Tele2 (NetCom AB, a pan-European telecommunications company),
Everyday (pan-European Internet portal), Moderna Fonder
and Atlantica.
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