Three new sailors join Victory Challenge

[Source: Victory Challenge] They made up the “youth team” in the Volvo Ocean Race. None of the sailors on ABN AMRO TWO were allowed to be older than 31. Now three of them have joined Victory Challenge: Simon Fisher, 28, Great Britain, Andrew Lewis, 24, USA, and Luke Molloy, 26, Australia.

“They are all young, but they have the international sailing experience we need, as well as specialities that are merits to have in our team. SiFi also has America’s Cup experience, he is one of seven in the team that sailed with GBR Challenge in Auckland last time,” says Magnus Holmberg, skipper and helmsman.

These are three young men that were selected from the 1800 that applied for ABN AMRO TWO. They didn’t have to have a background in international racing – but they had to have extensive sailing experience.

That is something possessed by all three, who have now chosen to move on to Victory Challenge and the fight for the world’s most prestigious sailing trophy, the America’s Cup.

Simon Fisher is unique as regards the 32nd America’s Cup. Victory Challenge is the third team he has signed up with. He was part of the GBR Challenge that didn’t register for Valencia 2007 and he sailed with the then K-Challenge (now Areva Challenge) in the three first voluntary pre-regattas during 2004. After that he chose ABN AMRO and the Volvo Ocean Race instead. He has broad experience both within electronics and navigation and has been employed as navigator.

Andrew Lewis will be the youngest of the sailors with Victory Challenge (he is four months younger than the other 24-year-old, David Carr). He has been sailing for the past 12 years and was the first person in American sailing history to win all the youth titles in the laser class in one and the same year. His recruitment means that the team’s grinders are given an additional boost.

Luke Molloy has a background as both a professional sail maker and sail trimmer. Besides the Volvo Ocean Race he has participated in a large number of off-shore regattas and has a broad experience of international competitions, including several World Championships. He will be a trimmer with Victory Challenge.

All three are very conscious of how dangerous sailing can be. All three were on board ABN AMRO TWO on 18 May when their Dutch team mate, Hans Horrevoets, was swept overboard into the Atlantic and died. Despite the tragedy the team chose to complete the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, finishing fourth overall.

These three have also had the feeling of achieving the apparently impossible, like when they beat the world record for the fastest 24-hour run with ABN AMRO TWO.

Victory Challenge will soon begin its two-boat training. With that the next phase begins for the team, ahead of next year’s final pre-regattas of the 32nd America’s Cup and the challengers’ series itself, the Louis Vuitton Cup. It is then that it will finally be decided which of the eleven challengers will meet the defender, Alinghi, in the America’s Cup Match.