German invasion

GER-72 arrives in Valencia to begin training

Only a week ago, the America’s Cup yacht GER-72 arrived in Valencia, Spain, and United Internet Team Germany were able to begin their training on Monday. Skipper Jesper Bank has recruited 22 sailors with whom he plans to take part in the Louis Vuitton Acts 4 and 5 for the 32nd America’s Cup in nine days’ time. The crew is a mix of sailing professionals with Cup experience, some newcomers and well-known German sailors. They all want to be part of the action when the first ever German challenge in the 154-year old history of the Cup will fight for the world’s longest-standing
sports trophy in 2007.

The Spanish sky was a brilliant azure and morning temperatures easily exceeded 20degC. Just a small breeze could be felt in the port when Bank called for the crew to leave the dock at 10.30 sharp. A first test had taken place the day before - after a little miracle had happened. After the former Mascalzone Latino’s conversion into a version 5 boat in a record-breaking six days, United Internet Team Germany’s yacht had been finished by the shore crew working thorugh the small hours in double shifts.

“The whole crew has stood their second test,“ reported Technical Director Eberhard Magg, on board himself for the test. The rig is up, the sail shapes are okay, the steering gear fits, the re-designed keel and all other high-tech equipment had all been mounted in a minimum of time.

“It is unusual to be out on the water as quickly as that with a modified AC yacht“, said Jesper Bank. “We can now make the most of the remaining seven training days alongside the official measurement to exercise the manoeuvres and get faster“. Howevr the 48-year old skipper from Abenraa, Denmark is also faced with the challenge of forming a new crew of 17, who will strive to give their very best when racing against the other ten challenger syndicates and Cup defender Alinghi in the Acts in Valencia from 16 to 26 June.

Bank will build his team around a core crew consisting of his Danish 'gold boys' Thomas Jacobsen (32) and Henrik Blakskjær (33), whom he won the 2000 Olympics in the Soling with and also sailed with in 2003 for the Swedish America’s Cup project Victory Challenge. Their compatriot Michael Hestbek, a 49er ace, will also be part of the core team. With Australian Michael 'Mike' Mottl and Conan Hunt from New Zealand, two more pros have already been contracted, too. Hunt also sailed for the Swedish team in the 31st AC.

Hunt, the 32-year old kiwi sail-maker is a sought-after sail trimmer from the Auckland’s strong offshore scene. Mottl, 37, from Sydney has already three AC campaigns under his belt – he sailed for US syndicate One World in the previous Cup – which makes him the most experienced hand in the crew. He is also a regular part of Peter Gilmour's match race crew.

To learn fast and be first choice for one of the 17 coveted crew places on board is the motto for the 13 Germans in the sailing team, who make up more than half of the crew. Under enormous pressure, Sports Director Andreas John (45) from Hamburg, who plans to be on board himself, and Jesper Bank have sighted more than 160 applications to filter out a few very promising candidates. “Despite the short lead time, only a few sailors had to decline our invitation, and all those had good reasons. Many German sailors seem to have grasped that this was a rare chance“, said John.

Following their joint success at the Match Race Germany three weeks ago in Langenargen on Lake Constance, where Jesper Bank and his crew came a surprising second in a world class field, Markus Wieser from Munich, now resident in Palma de Mallorca, will be part of the crew in Valencia. The 41-year old is to act as tactician. Then there is Gunnar Bahr (30) from Jochen Schümann’s Soling crew who were beaten in a tight final at the Sydney 2000 Olympics by Bank & Co. Matti Paschen from Hamburg (turning 33 on Wednesday, 8 June) has already proven his talent both in match-racing and offshore racing.

The two Hamburg match-racers Jan-Eike Andresen (23) and Henning Sohn (27) were already part of the plan when the German AC campaign went public last year. To be a grinder is the goal of 30-year old Munich aircraft technician Stefan Grossmann world-class indoor rower Eckhart Ralph from Mannheim. From Kiel is 27-year old Felix Weidling, Braunschweig sends Gerrit Bottemöller (29), Wolf Dietz (32) is from Munich. Nicolai “Nico“ Jeschonnek (28), Hamburg, has successfully crossed the North Atlantic in 2003 on board the UCA of Kiel-based businessman Klaus Murmann.

Because of the unusually short preparation time leading up to the first race, skipper Jesper Bank has hired four additional pros to join the crew for the Valencia ACTs: sail trimmer Frederik Green (27) from Malmö, Sweden, and Claus Olesen (30) from Zurich, Switzerland. Both had sailed for Victory Challenge in 2003. From the top AC teams, there is US-support for United Internet Team Germany from bowman Geordie Shaver, formerly with BMW Oracle Racing, and from the current America’s Cup winner with Alinghi, grinder Dominik Neidhardt.

“We will test a lot of different things during the training sessions to find the best possible crew for the first race day,“ explains Jesper Bank, “and we will certainly see a couple of changes during the ACTs.“ The whole crew of United Internet Team Germany will be introduced to the public on Tuesday, 14 June, two days prior to the start of Act 4 in Valencia. At the same time, the America’s Cupper will be christened.