Victory are go

Leading boat builder named for Swedish America's Cup Challenge

He was principal boat builder for the two Dutch ABN AMRO yachts that are currently lying in first and second place in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Today, the Swedish-based Irishman, Killian Bushe, 50, has taken his position as principal boat builder for Victory Challenge ahead of the 32nd America’s Cup.

Work will begin straight away, with planning the building of a first boat in Göteborg, for Valencia 2007, and further modifications, in Valencia, to SWE 63 (Örn) and SWE 73 (Orm) ahead of this year’s pre-regattas.

While last year’s pre-regattas took place in Valencia, Spain, Malmö, Sweden and Trapani on Sicily, all the remaining races are in Valencia which is the host for the Challengers’ series, the Louis Vuitton Cup, and for the America’s Cup final next year.
That is also where the building that will be Victory Challenge’s permanent base has been built during the winter - and it’s in there that the continuing modifications to the boats that were used in Auckland and in last year’s pre-regattas will be done. To transport them to Sweden and the boat building hall would take too much time.

“With Killian Bush as principal boat builder and with Mani Frers as boat designer we have a fantastic team on the boat side of things. I’m very happy about the combination,” says Magnus Holmberg, skipper and helmsman.

As soon as the coming weekend those boat builders who will begin modifying Örn and Orm on Monday will gather in Valencia. Victory Challenge didn’t manage to modify the boats from Auckland enough ahead of the regattas, according to the new class rules that apply.

“Now they’ll be complete version 5.0 boats,” says Killian Bushe.

“And, therefore, we can be more competitive in this year’s pre -regattas,” says Magnus Holmberg.

Three of these are being arranged in Valencia this year, 11-18 May (match racing), 19-21 May (fleet racing) and 22 June - 3 July (match racing).

Killian Bushe has been in the boat building business for 30 years and, since the beginning of the 1980s, has specialised in the lightweight composite material - carbon fibre composite - that the racing boats are built from. He began working with his father, George, in Cork, Ireland, and the job was about bits of wood. He has lived in Ljungskile in Bohuslän, Sweden, for the past ten years, is married and has two children.

“I have had Sweden as a base, but I’ve mostly worked internationally. That’s one of the reasons I said yes to Victory Challenge, that I have the chance to work in the same country that I live in,” says Bushe.

He will now have to commute between Valencia and Göteborg. It’s in Sweden that the preparations for the building of the first new boat ahead of Valencia 2007 will take place. According to the rules the boats that are used in 2007 must be built in the country the challenger comes from.

Bushe was also in line for the same job as principal boat builder Victory Challenge before the America’s Cup in Auckland 2002/2003. “I had a two-hour long meeting with Jan Stenbeck at Düsseldorf airport,” he recalls. “I couldn’t say yes to Victory Challenge last time, I was bound to my contract with Illbruck.”

Jan Stenbeck was the founder of the Swedish America’s Cup challenger, but never had the chance to experience the successes of Auckland. He died in August 2002.

Bushe wasn’t just responsible for the building of the winning yacht in the Volvo Ocean Race 2002. He was also principal for the building of GER 68, Illbruck’s challenge for the last America’s Cup. However, the boat was never completed as the challenge ran out of money. The near finished GER 68 was bought by Emirates Team New Zealand who completed it and are now using the boat for training.

“The declaration that Killian Bushe is principal boat builder means that we have made progress as regards the long-term financing of Victory Challenge," says Martin Grävare, project manager for Victory Challenge. "I have always said that I’m optimistic, but we are still not fully-financed and we are continuing intensive efforts to find more sponsors with all our might.”