KEY POINTS:
The night air is thick and hot in Valencia, the beer on tap is Estrella Damm, the menu is tapas, and the view from the deck spans the new America's Cup racecourse. The scene is unmistakably Mediterranean but the music belting out loudly across the waterfront is distinctly Kiwi.
From the stage at the Loaded Hog's new Valencia bar, a band is thumping the Exponents' classic Why does love do this to me? The three guys on stage are rock stars, but not necessarily in the music sense. Tony Rae, George Jakich and Ray Davies are members of sailing's elite, their usual stage at sea - stars of New Zealand's latest effort to hoist the America's Cup.
But they can play a decent tune, too. Plenty of The Exponents and Dave Dobbyn pepper the playlist (along with rock'n' roll classics, Pink Floyd, Cold Play, U2 and Green Day).
Though you won't hear them playing Loyal, the standard Team New Zealand anthem of campaigns past. "Sometimes George [Jakich] will play the first few chords [of Loyal] and we'll just look at him" says Tony Rae, shooting a steely glance which says, "don't go there".
Rae, lead singer of the band - simply referred to as The Band - is better known as the war-horse stalwart of Emirates Team New Zealand.
He heard enough of Loyal during the last, ill-fated Cup campaign to last a lifetime. He's been there long enough to recall Sailing Away from the 1986/87 campaign in Fremantle. Joining him on stage are ETNZ rig-man Jakich and crewmate Ray Davies.
This gig in Valencia - a party for a colleague's 30th birthday - will go down as The Band's favourite. "One of the best ever," says Davies. Not that you'll find them deluding themselves that they're destined for pop chart stardom.
"The difference between us and other bands, is that we're really cheap - really, really cheap - so people don't expect too much," says Rae, deadpan.
There's no such self-deprecating humour when this band of sailors talk about their day jobs. The rock stars of ETNZ are set on taking the syndicate back to No 1 on the Cup charts, under the leadership of boss Grant Dalton and skipper Dean Barker.
The quest to win the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series begins next month, with the winner claiming the right to fight Alinghi for the America's Cup in June. Between them, Rae, Jakich and Davies provide plenty of insights into how well the team, the top challenger thus far, is placed.
They each come from different parts of the team, have different backgrounds, and are at different stages of their careers.
Rae is a pitman/runner, the veteran campaigner of ETNZ who knows the team inside-out.
Davies, a round-the-world race helmsman, will slot into the afterguard alongside Barker, with whom he grew up. Jakich, who joined from OneWorld, is in the shore crew, working on "special projects" for the rig.
As a band, they first played together in 1996 on the round-the-world race scene (they've all been part of round-the-world teams over the years). When they bumped into each other at events from time to time, they'd play together but it wasn't until they were all members of ETNZ that they performed together regularly.
Most of the time, it's nothing more than a casual, relaxed sideline to the intense world of the America's Cup, although Jakich - who used to play on the Auckland pub circuit back in the 1980s, opening for acts like The Mockers and Netherworld Dancing Toys - has plans to write some original songs for The Band.
For now, their gigs are team birthdays, weddings or engagement parties, and they will often rope in a drummer, usually mutual friend (and non-team-mate) Gene Kirkpatrick.
"It's an awesome way to relax. Sometimes we just carry ourselves off to a little corner and jam," says Jakich.
Rae says they thought being in the same team would mean they might be able to shape themselves into a slicker unit. "When the team was formed and George was in it, we thought, 'Great, there'll be heaps of time to do some practice sessions', but it hasn't really happened," says Rae.
No wonder. Previous America's Cup campaigns have always been serious business, of course. But there's a feeling around this one that it's gone to another level. The stakes are high - if ETNZ fails in Valencia, will it be able to mount a challenge next time around? Dalton had to badger sponsors to come on board for this campaign. And there's taxpayer money on the line too.
So, do The Band think they're ready?
* Ray Davies, 35
Afterguard, bass guitar:
Ever since he joined Team New Zealand, Davies has had an eye on the sky. He was a part of the 2003 campaign, working in the weather team. This time around, he's set to debut in the afterguard as the strategist, feeding information about the brewing conditions to Barker and tactician Terry Hutchinson.
Davies, a helmsman in Illbruck's victorious 2001-02 Volvo Ocean Race, is in demand internationally. He's been signed up as skipper of the Mean Machine entry in the Volvo race starting next year. He is on the verge of being the next big thing in New Zealand yachting. But it was the chance to sail alongside Barker again which convinced him to stay with ETNZ.
"It's great to sail with your buddies from when you were growing up," says Davies, recalling the days when they learned to race dinghies together off Murray's Bay and on Lake Pupuke.
Each won the P Class and Starling nationals - Davies in 1987 and Barker in 1988.
They have a strong mutual respect, and know each other's strengths.
"So when the chips are down, you can count on each other and you know you can expect to pull through." "Dean is extremely focused and dedicated. He's got this passion to win and to set things right after the last campaign. He is so driven to prove to everyone that the team is right up there at the top level."
For Barker to look good, Davies has to do his job right. It's a stressful position where the wrong call can cost the team - and the sailor - heavily; just ask Hamish Pepper, an indisputably good sailor but whose performance when the rookie member of the 2003 afterguard ended up costing him a place in the team.
Davies, however, is not worried. "A lot of people are under stress in their jobs. You get conditioned to it and get used to working in that environment."
Part of that preparation has come through the in-house racing programme, with the team's crews sailing on the Waitemata Harbour in tough, no-holds barred duels.
Davies says they want to be ready for what they expect to be a far more brutal breed of sailing, with new racing rules and boat design parameters aiming to contrive closer competition.
"It's going to be a lot more of a street-fight type of racing with a huge emphasis placed on boat handling. We're comfortable with that."
* George Jakich, 42
Rig special projects, lead guitar/vocals:
Jakich has got the kind of job title which sounds like he is involved in some sort of secret squirrel design breakthrough, the kind of technical leap which will stun and sink the opposition.
But the shaggy-haired boatbuilder insists there's nothing too dramatic in his job. He describes it as "making all the little bits and pieces that push the sails in and out". Jakich says all he strives for is that the parts he makes are sound and dependable.
He doesn't shy away from the gear disasters of the last campaign. In fact, he thinks it's a useful reminder.
"As soon as you say you work at Team New Zealand, a lot of people mention the blue buckets and broken mast," says Jakich. "I think it's a good thing - it's a little cloud that hangs over you."
Jakich cannot bear any responsibility for the gear failures of 2003 - he wasn't there. He sailed on board New Zealand's Big Boat campaign of 1988 as a grinder and was part of the 1992 team, but had a break from America's Cup sailing until 2003 when he was a member of OneWorld.
When he heard a whisper ETNZ was looking for a composite materials specialist, he rang Dalton. Jakich and Dalton go back years, through round-the-world campaigns, giving Jakich plenty of confidence about the team's direction.
"The first thing about [Dalton] is he's a straight shooter - there's no bullshit," says Jakich.
Dalton's determination to eliminate gear failures and breakages, and come up with ways to deal quickly with any that do occur, also goes down well.
It means the shore crew has to be prepared for every eventuality. They have become efficient at carrying everything they need, creating a long inventory over the past few years.
Jakich said the team has aimed to be self-sufficient when in Valencia. "It is Spain and things don't happen quickly," he says.
"It's about planning and the classic old 'Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance'."
Apart from the fanatical groundwork, Jakich respects Dalton's egalitarian approach.
"He doesn't suffer egos. Everyone is treated equally," says Jakich. "Obviously in the last six months, the sailors are the guys who are going to be on the front page and that is the way it should be.
"It's our job to back them up, but they're the ones who have to get out on the racetrack and come first."
* Tony Rae, 45
Pitman/runner, lead singer:
He's featured in sponsors' TV ads, has had a secure place in the team for every New Zealand campaign bar one (he skipped the Big Boat challenge of 1988) - and he's the frontman for The Band. But if there's anyone who epitomises the low-key, ego-free style of the team, it's Rae.
Ask him about the public support and you can tell he's genuinely grateful, delivering a response that is anything but the trite "it's all about the fans" speech some sports stars favour.
"When we're towing out [in Valencia], it's always amazing how many people will be standing on the dock, waving Kiwi flags. There are always a couple of guys with black singlets standing on the wharf doing a haka - that's usually a dead giveaway," he says.
It's the kind of support which makes this veteran still determined to do his best and make sure he's competing at the top of his capability. Rae is a fitness fanatic and thrives on the work required.
The series of warm-up regattas have meant the crew has had to hit fitness peaks several times a year.
"It's meant that we've got a lot of race fitness too and we can adjust what we're doing so we can work on areas that we're struggling with," says Rae. "The fitness side of it has definitely ramped-up.
"It's not so much that we are doing much more, it's that it's much more customised for the individual and there's plenty of testing to gauge what level you're at."
When he sits back and thinks about it, Rae is strengthened by the tradition of Team New Zealand, warts and all.
"It has been going for a long time and it has had its ups and downs like any team, but it's got tradition and it's good to feel like we owe the country."
By some measures, there are comparisons to be made between this Team New Zealand and the successful 1995 incarnation. Back then, it was another ocean racing legend, Sir Peter Blake, leading the team from the top and sailing on board in his red socks. This time, it's Dalton and he'll be on board too (no word on any lucky apparel).
But Rae says the similarities end there. "1995 was different because it was such a small operation. It was a bit, 'go over there and have a go'. We got it right and others got it wrong.
"This time, it's a huge campaign and the whole thing has tightened up. The level of professionalism is a lot bigger, everything's on a bigger scale," says Rae. "Even The Band has got a bit better."
