Misfortune bedevils Spanish challenge

By Suzanne McFadden

Neptune has it in for the Spanish America's Cup challenge.

Within five minutes of hoisting the sails at the launch of Spain's new boat, Bravo Espana, her mast shattered and plunged into the Mediterranean.

And it all happened in front of a crowd of 1000 in Valencia, including the Spanish royal family.

Spain's cup campaign has been fraught with tragedy. In January, experienced crewman Martin Wizner was killed on one of their training boats.

One of Spain's top sailors, Wizner was struck on the head by a sheave off the mast.

Fortunately no one was hurt in last weekend's mast accident - except Copa America Desafio Espanol's pride and bank balance.

Team manager Alfonso Gomez-Jordana said the launch of the boat, christened Bravo Espana by Queen Sofia, was a "great success - until the end." The boat had just set sail, in 20 knot winds, when disaster struck.

"We had a problem with a small piece that links one of the cables supporting the mast. The piece was broken so the mast then snapped and fell into the water," Gomez-Jordana said.

"This is a normal incident in the America's Cup. The only thing is that it happened when everyone was watching - which was a pity.

"But I guess it was in the papers and on TV which helps the Spanish community to find out more about the America's Cup."

The rig, which broke in three places, is now scrap. The Spanish had already built two new masts, so another was placed in the boat and it sailed again the following day.

For the next two weeks, the crew will be trialing in their other yacht, SPN56 - their modified 1995 cup boat. The designers are reviewing the early performance of the new boat before both craft are ready to race each other.