K-Challenge goes yachtin'

2000 generation Team New Zealand boats now Version 5ed

There was a great moment for K-Challenge French America's Cup challenger on the water today in Gandia (Spain), when FRA 60 finally joined her sistership FRA 57 for a preliminary sail.

FRA 60 (ex-NZL 60 - winner of the 2000 America's Cup) has now been modified to comply with version 5 of the America's Cup Class rule and set sail to the immense satisfaction of her team members who have worked intensively over the last months at the team's training base in Gandia to prepare her.

FRA 60 will be the race boat of K-Challenge during this year's Acts.

Cameron Appleton (team-member in the afterguard and former member of Team New Zealand) was at the helm today of FRA 60 for her first sailing in Spain: “It was a very exciting moment for all the team after many months of work to get the boat ready. We have checked many things today, and there will be still some others to check in the next days, before we will really start on the two boat test program. It is a good achievement by the team, and now everyone is ready to go on the next stage!”

To celebrate the launch shore boss, Yannick Le Morvan (with Alinghi during the 2003 Cup) allowed the whole team out on the water today to see the new boat sail.

Dawn Riley, General Manager, and skipper Thierry Peponnet were on board FRA 57 and said: “we were very happy to see FRA 60 joining us for sailing. We will really be able to work with two boats now. We have been waiting for that for a while”.

Dimitri Nicolopoulos, Coordinator of the Design Team, also gave his view: “FRA 60 has a very important potential, we really waited to start to work in navigation to optimize it to the maximum for the next Acts; here we are!”

FRA 60 will be christened on 29 April at the Gandia base.