Vasco Vascotto talks to Valencia Sailing

It was yet another grim and rainy morning on Tuesday but our day started nicely, very early at the base of Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team where we had the chance to meet with the team's skipper, Vasco Vascotto, and have an interesting discussion about the Italian Challenger.

Valencia Sailing: With official racing starting in just a week can you tell us what goals you have for the Louis Vuitton Cup?
Vasco Vascotto: It's really tough to say what are goals are. I would like to sail real nicely on the race course. First of all, what we are looking for is to show what we have learned during the last two years. If we learned enough then the results will also be good, otherwise we will have to work better next time. We are quite confident we worked hard.

Valencia Sailing: You just talked about "good results". What is your definition of "good". I can't believe you haven't quantified it.
Vasco Vascotto: It's a matter of sailing properly around the race course. It's not a matter of numbers. Sometimes you can sail bad and finish first while you can also sail quite well and finish last. Personally, I want to sail the way we are able to do it. This is the most important factor, to show all our potential not just a part of it.

Valencia Sailing: Conventional wisdom here in Valencia wants Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team to be one of the teams with serious possibilities in getting the much-coveted fourth place in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robins. Would you consider it a failure if you finished at a lower position and didn't advance to the semifinals?
Vasco Vascotto: No, I don't consider it a failure. Obviously, in this fleet of 12 teams nobody has worked hard 2 or 3 years to be last or lose the races. Neither have we, of course. But once again, I believe that it's a matter of showing our best face. That's it. If we don't do it then I will be upset because it will show we haven't learned enough. In all the interviews people will think I keep repeating myself, but this is exactly how I feel.

There are 100 people working in this team. My message to them is always that if one person in the administration department carries out their duties better than another team then we have a point in our favor. If our press department is also more performing that's another point. It's not just a matter of the sailing crew winning, it's a combination of all these people trying to do their best. Each and everyone has to show his and her best face.

ITA-90 and ITA-99 training in Valencia. Photo copyright Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team

Valencia Sailing: Shorter term, the Louis Vuitton Act 13 begins in exactly one week. Do you have a specific target for the fleet race? How important is it for your team?
Vasco Vascotto: I think that all teams are still in a learning process, testing their new boats. For us as well, it will help us see where we are with our boat, our speed and the new things we are trying. There will be a lot of things to discover for us. As far as the Challenger Ranking is concerned, it will be very difficult to earn an additional bonus point since Desafío Español is 12 points ahead of us. It will also be very difficult to lose a bonus point since in our turn we are quite ahead of the three teams behind us. Nevertheless, we will have to work hard and still learn a few things before the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Valencia Sailing: Have you decided what boat you will use in Louis Vuitton Act 13?
Vasco Vascotto: No, not yet. We are sailing with our two boats right now and we are happy with both.

Valencia Sailing: That was going to be my question. How do you feel with the two boats, ITA-90 and ITA-99?
Vasco Vascotto: I'm quite confident we have worked correctly in this direction and have considerably improved all the aspects of the boats, such as construction, sails or appendages. This work is reflected in the results in our training races during the last two months and this is why people consider us a serious candidate for the fourth place. I think this America's Cup will be really close for everybody and I'm happy to be in the group of boats considered by people to be fast.

Valencia Sailing: Have you reached the desired level of the two boats?
Vasco Vascotto: For me and for the vast majority of the team members this is the first experience in the America's Cup. Every day we learn something new. Obviously, we haven't reached the peak performance of the boats but every day we are discovering something new. The first priority now is to collect all the positive out of this and Act 13 will be part of the process to decide what boat to use in the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Valencia Sailing: You have been sailing against other teams during the last two months, yesterday I saw you racing Areva Challenge. Do you feel confident when you compare yourselves to the rest of the challengers?
Vasco Vascotto: Honestly, the only question mark I have at this stage is the Chinese team because nobody has sailed against their new boat. All the other teams have won and lost races. All the boats and all the crews on the water have the potential to win races. As a result, we feel confident because in the last two months we have been able to win 85% of the races but I obviously can't give you more details. As you understand, it is an excellent result.

ITA-90 and ITA-99 training in Valencia. Photo copyright Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team

Valencia Sailing: Do you give your best in these training races or do you try to hold back and not reveal too much, especially against Desafío Español, Victory Challenge, Areva or Shosholoza?
Vasco Vascotto: I believe everybody gives their best. Nobody wants to lose even if they are not official races. I get really angry when I lose a simple game of cards with my friends, imagine losing an America's Cup training race. When you go out sailing you always try to give your best. Sometimes a team might be trying new material or ideas and that could be the only reason why they would intentionally hold back. In this competition, every single hour counts and nobody would waste their time on the water amusing themselves. Otherwise they'd better stay at home.

Valencia Sailing: Which of the challengers do you fear the most?
Vasco Vascotto: In my personal opinion, Emirates Team New Zealand is the best challenger. They are the ones with the best organization, teamwork, experience and results. Nevertheless, at this stage, anybody could beat any of the other teams on a given day. I'm sure we will see many surprises in the next few months.

Valencia Sailing: But then, last year we hardly had any surprises. Why should we have them this year?
Vasco Vascotto: It's true but don't forget that in the last Louis Vuitton Act 12, just 3 or 4 teams had a new boat. This time all teams have new boats, I could consider that even Shosholoza's RSA-83 is a new one. Right now, all teams have the opportunity to win a race. It's not like the previous America's Cup where you could see differences of 3 minutes in one race. This time differences will be less than 1 minute. I hope so....

Valencia Sailing: My final question concerns the most important factor in sailing, the weather in general and the wind in particular. It has been quite volatile lately. Do you think it could play a tricky game in next week's races?
Vasco Vascotto: Concerning the weather let me first point out one thing. We are very happy to have stayed in Valencia this winter since we enjoyed excellent conditions. We have been able to sail 90% of the time, 4-5 times per week. You can't really train more than 5 times a week for a long period, the crew will get exhausted. Obviously, we are a small team and we couldn't have afforded to move the base and the boats to Dubai, Auckland or another place. We have an excellent base here with everything we need. In that sense we have been lucky because as you remember 12 months ago the winter was more difficult.

Regarding your question, anything could happen of course in spring but I think that by late April it will be much warmer here. Don't forget that the seabreeze is created by the difference between the cold water and the warmer land. Right now the sea is very cold. All we need is a couple of really warm days and a nice breeze will build up. Don't forget that in February we had a week where the air temperature almost hit 30 degrees. Such temperatures will return quite soon. I have sailed many times in Valencia during the last ten years and know the situation quite well.