Yachting: Germans set sail for debut Cup challenge

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

The Germans have stamped their mark on sailing history, entering the America's Cup for the first time, in New Zealand in 2002.

Not only will it be Germany's debut in the battle for the Auld Mug in 151 years, but the Illbruk Challenge will be the first syndicate to ever attempt the double - sailing in the Cup and the round-the-world race, all in the same year.

With a cluster of Kiwi sailors and an American skipper, the Illbruk syndicate have paid their entry fee, booked a base in the Cup village and say that they are definite starters for October 2002.

They are already well into their campaign for next year's Volvo Ocean Race and will start sailing to Auckland next week in a shakedown for their round-the-world venture.

As the Germans broke their news at the Hamburg Boat Show early today, other new syndicates were making positive noises about coming to Auckland.

A second Italian challenge, backed by a billionaire businessman, has stepped forward, and the British are talking up their chances of returning to the Cup after a 16-year absence.

Shipping magnate Vincenzo Onorato has told the Italian media that he will enter the Louis Vuitton challenger series.

The owner of Moby Lines has bought Spanish boat Brava Espana, from the last Cup, to sail off the island of Elba.

A collection of British businessmen has bought four old Cup boats and claims to have conditional commitments for £15 million ($55 million), all dependant on the names they can attract to the crew.

The first-ever German challenge will be backed by the Illbruk family, yachting fanatics who made their millions in the plastics industry.

Patriarch Willi Illbruk started his line of Pinta yachts in the 1960s, and the boats have gone on to win the Admiral's Cup and the One Ton Cup.

The Illbruks have always had an affinity with New Zealand - hiring Kiwi stars such as Russell Coutts and Peter Lester to sail the Pintas, which were often built in Auckland.

Now they have turned to other New Zealand sailors for their round-the-world campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race and the America's Cup.

Former Team New Zealand trimmer Ross Halcrow, who sailed for Young America in the last Cup, has been part of the Pinta team for the past 10 years.

He and fellow Kiwi matchracer Ray Davies have signed up for the Cup team. New Zealanders Stu Bannatyne and Mark Christensen - watch captains on the Volvo boat - and Stu Bettany look certain to follow.

Olympic Star sailor Jamie Gale will try out for the team next week when Illbruk sail their round-the-world boat from Perth to Auckland.

American John Kostecki, tactician for Paul Cayard's AmericaOne syndicate in the last Cup, is the Illbruk skipper in both ventures.

"When the last America's Cup finished, we had 90 per cent of our team for the Volvo race, then everybody started getting approaches from all these other America's Cup teams," Kostecki said.

"It was looking like we would cross the finish line in Kiel in June 2002 and the team would break up to go all over the place.

"I explained that to Michael Illbruk and he didn't like the sound of it. He figured we had a unique team, and it seemed logical that we stay together and do an America's Cup."

Because the Illbruk Challenge will have only four months to work solely on the Cup campaign, Kostecki says this first challenge will be a low-key one.

"We haven't committed to two boats yet and we have no idea what our budget will be. You know that there aren't many teams who win the America's Cup on their first try, so we will really ramp it up for 2006."

The Illbruk Challenge will fly the Dusseldorf Yacht Club's burgee, and their design team will be headed by Dane Michael Richelsen, who worked with AmericaOne, and the Judel-Vrolijk design house.

The British are not that far down the harbour yet, but their confidence was boosted by the performance of their Olympic sailors in Sydney, where they picked up three gold and two silver medals.

One of the businessman behind the fledgling campaign, John Caulcutt, said: "The success of the Olympic squad has been the final little bit of the jigsaw to encourage people to make it happen.

"I'm confident there will be a challenge and that in the next couple of months an announcement will be made."

So far the British have bought Chris Dickson's 1995 Kiwi boat Tag Heuer, one of the Il Moro di Venezia boats from 92, and France II and III from 95.

Herald Online feature: America's Cup