Desafío Español: Very satisifed with our performance, construction of second new boat starts next week

Desafío Español 2007, the Spanish America's Cup challenger, summoned the press this morning in order to assess their performance but, equally important, announce their plans for their second new boat, whose construction starts next week.

Appearing before the press in the green base were Agustín Zulueta, general manager, and Luis Doreste, sports director, both with an upbeat tone in their speaches. Obviously, the were no reasons to be euphoric in the Spanish team, but without the smallest doubt, Desafío Español has achieved all the goals set a few months ago, consolidating in the meantime its fourth place in the Challenger Rankings and further distancing themselves from fifth Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team.

Performance in Louis Vuitton Act 12

Doreste had all the reasons to be very satisfied with the team's performance in Louis Vuitton Act 12. The Spanish challenger had 7 victories and 4 defeats in the round robin, the goal set a month ago. In the semi-finals the only unexpected defeat was against Shosholoza due to technical problems. In addition, the two final races against Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team ended with very comfortable wins.

According to Doreste, the team is on an ascending path and the results confirm their strategy to focus on match racing. Even if they have a disastrous performance in Louis Vuitton Act 13 (fleet regattas) next year and finish tenth and the Italian team fifth, there will still be one or two bonus points at stake. Excellence in match racing on the other hand will guarantee much more in the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The team's sailors have this week off and will be back next Monday, for their first training with Emirates Team New Zealand on Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 and 12 of July. According to both men, the fact that more of the Big Four teams want to carry out more frequent training match races is a sign of the perception they have of Desafío Español. With the exception of at most three one-week breaks, Desafío Español will be continuously training in Valencia till the arrival of the second boat next year.

Second new boat

This came as a surprise to the audience since the team had not given any hint it would talk about it. Zulueta announced the syndicate has finalized 7 hull desings and today, tomorrow and on Wednesday, the design and technical teams will hold intensive meetings in order to take the final decision that will be sent to the boatyard as soon as possible so that next Monday, July 10, construction of the hull can begin at full speed.

Entering further in the details of the project, Zulueta mentioned that if all goes according to plan, the new boat will have her sail number assigned in the first week of October. The plan calls for the end of hull construction in mid January of 2007. At that time the hull will be transported to the base in Port America's Cup where the technical team of the Spanish challenger will be in charge of fitting the yacht, making her ready to sail during the first week of February.

One of the key persons in this decision-making process during the next three days will be the team meteorologist, given the influence of weather conditions in the design process of such high-caliber yachts. According to Zulueta, Desafío Español has made a correct decision to optimize their current new boat, ESP-88, for an average speed of 13 knots. Since that was also the average wind speed in Louis Vuitton Act 12, the Spanish boat performed well, except during days with lighter air.

Concerning ESP-88, Zulueta considers they sail at 90% of its capacity and considering the fact they could achieve 110% of its design capabilities, one option for the second boat would be an "extreme design", without explaining what he meant with that phrase.

Finally, Desafío Español is about to finish the design of its new mast. By mid July its construction will start in New Zealand and will be ready to be fitted on the new boat in February next year. This will be the third mast of the Spanish America's Cup challenger, while the fourth, and last, will be a simple copy of it.