Great sailing by Shosholoza
Shosholoza - Image: Team Shosholoza
Valencia, Spain - US challenger BMW Oracle on Tuesday won the first regatta of Act 13 of the Louis-Vuitton Cup, ahead of South Africa's Team Shosholoza and Mascalzone Latino of Italy.
America's Cup holders Alinghi of Switzerland finished fourth with a second regatta scheduled later on Tuesday.
Act 13 is the final preliminary heat for sport's oldest prize held here this week.
This week's heat will see the 11 boats hoping to win the right to take on Alinghi in the head-to-head for yachting's most prestigious prize before the start of the competition proper.
That comes on April 16 with the Louis-Vuitton Cup which will determine which boat goes through to the 32nd America's Cup match race against Alinghi which begins on June 23.
Source: News24.c0m
Team Shosholoza sets sail 1
Johannesburg - Team Shosholoza, South Africa's principle national sailing team and the African continent's first ever entry in the prestigious 156-year-old America's Cup, starts racing on Tuesday in the final and decisive event of the 2007 America's Cup in Valencia, Spain.
Tuesday marks the start of the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, a fleet racing regatta, with seven races over four days scheduled.
It is also the final time the defender, Alinghi, will race against the group of challengers.
When Alinghi next races, it will be in the America's Cup Match beginning on June 23 against the top challenger to emerge from the Louis Vuitton Cup.
"This is the real start of three and a half years of effort and sacrifice on your part," team founder and managing director Captain Salvatore Sarno told the team in Tuesday's team briefing.
"We can be happy and proud of what we have achieved. And when you get tired out there and feel you cannot go on you must shout out the Zulu War Cry and keep going. I can assure you South Africa is with us."
Competition on the water is expected to be closer than ever before in Act 13, and throughout this ultimate season of racing in the 32nd America's Cup, with 11 challengers and one defender all competing at the top level.
"The standard and level of the challengers and the design and sailing on the water is at a very high standard," says BMW Oracle Racing skipper Chris Dickson, reflecting on the challenge ahead.
Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13 holds great importance for each of the teams.
Read more at: News24.com
Tutu blesses Shosholoza
To celebrate the third birthday of Team Shosholoza, the South African entry in the America's Cup yachting event, Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced on Wednesday he would be joining the team in the Spanish city of Valencia in June.
Team Shosholoza celebrates its third anniversary on Thursday and in a birthday message sent to the team, who are based in the Spanish port city of Valencia, Tutu said: "Are you only three years old? Well, you have been punching well above your weight and your age. Well done and heartiest congratulations on this momentous anniversary in the year when we expect even greater things from you.
"We are immensely proud of you, we the rainbow nation you represent so brilliantly. God bless you. Arch"
Shosholoza - Image: Team Shosholoza/Sally Collison
Tutu is the patron of South Africa's first ever America's Cup Challenger.
Tutu said he would be a guest of honour at a proposed gala charity dinner on June 9 during his stay in the 2007 America's Cup host city. Tutu's visit will take place during the Louis Vuitton Cup finals.
Read more at: Independent Online
America's Cup challenge unites South Africans
Deep in the days of apartheid, Italian yacht captain Salvatore Sarno started teaching a small group of black children to sail off the coast of South Africa and was laughed at for trying to cross the race barrier.
Sixteen years later he is leading Shosholoza, Africa's first America's Cup challenger, proudly presenting a multi-race team to show how far his adopted country has come.
"People were scared there would be a revolution when apartheid ended in 1994 but look what happened -- South Africa became one. Shosholoza is the ultimate expression of that with people of all colours working together," the weather-beaten sailor told Reuters.
Shosholoza's arrival at the oldest sailing competition in the world marks a new era for the America's Cup, which will feature all five continents for the first time in 2007.
"I've been told it's great that we're trying to take the America's Cup to Africa but that's not what this is. This is bringing part of Africa to the America's Cup," Sarno said.
The African spirit is palpable as you walk into the team base, decorated with colourful bead patterns and photographs of all the team members.
While the richer, more established teams guard their bases with squads of security staff and allow visitors past reception on a strictly invitation-only basis, the white metal door to Shosholoza is open to anybody who cares to take a look.
Inside, team members cheerfully greet strangers as they wash down the boat, roll up sails or hang out between races.
"It's very cool here. We really are one big family and everybody's welcome to come in and share the dream," said Marc Lagesse the team's navigator.
As the crew take to the water, the strains of Shosholoza, originally a miners' song whose name translates as "Go forward", waft from the boat.
Read more at: Mail & Guardian Online
Team Shosholoza do SA proud
Ireland - Team Shosholoza, defending South Africa's title at the 2006 ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, won all four of their races in the final day of the round-robin section on Friday to win a spot among the top four teams going through to the semi-finals on Saturday.
Russia, France and the South Africans, who won the last edition of the Nations Cup in 1995, were through to the semi-finals after Flight 17 on Friday, but the remaining fourth slot was only decided in the final flight of the day, after the Americans won an all out battle against Sweden.
The French team skippered by Mathieu Richard won the round robin series with 15 wins and 3 losses while South Africa's Team Shosholoza helmsman Ian Ainslie, and Russia's Eugeniy Neugodnikov tied second with 14 wins and 4 losses each.
The deciding race for the South Africans was in Flight 16 against New Zealand. The boys from Shosholoza were slapped with a penalty after a port and starboard incident on the starting line.
But in freshening 15 knot winds they were ahead by the bottom mark, maintained their lead around the windward mark and just had enough distance on the Kiwis to execute their penalty turn before the finish and go on to win the match. The South Africans also won matches against Swedish, Portugal and India.
Ten nations are competing in the event.
"Racing with just four of our Shosholoza crew on these small J24 yachts is very different from sailing with 17 of us on Shosholoza - a 75m, 24 ton super hi-tech yacht - but it is important for us to compete on the match racing circuit as the format for the America's Cup is match racing and this is where we need to hone our skills. We have been racing and training constantly throughout this year from our base in Valencia. Our confidence is growing and all the training is beginning to pay off," said Ainslie in an interview with a Cape radio station.
Read more at: News24.com
Shosholoza in third place
Consistency and a superb solid performance brought South Africa's Team Shosholoza two impressive fifth places and third spot overall after the opening two races today of the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 11 fleet racing event being held in the Mediterranean off Spain.
Smart tactical racing in light, shifty winds and a lumpy sea saw the South Africans finish ahead of some of the giants of the Americas Cup in both races. In the first they put Cup Defenders Alinghi three boat lengths behind them at the finish and convincingly beat the Italian Luna Rossa challenger who finished 10th.
In the second race they finished two places ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand and beat the American winners of the Louis Vuitton Act 10, BMW ORACLE Racing, in both races.
"We gave a good solid performance. It is fantastic to be in third place. It is above our expectation and if we keep it solid we can stay there. The guys are feeling very proudly South African and very, very happy today," said a beaming skipper Mark Sadler when cheering supporters mobbed him at the dock.
Team managing director Captain Salvatore Sarno said he was hoping for a fourth overall today: "But here we are third! The crew are working very very well as a team. They are good. The boat is good. It is fast. We are not here to be the nice guys. We are here to beat the best of them.
"We still have three more races to go. But we are confident and unless we have a major breakage we should do well. My phone hasn't stopped ringing.
They are phoning from Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. It is good to know we are doing so well for our country. This team deserves a homegrown sponsor. It would give us the edge!" said Capt Sarno.
