Sausalito
Challenge on verge of confirmation
(10/17/04) (source
: John
Sweeney)
According to a long interview given by John Sweeney
to the Spanish newspaper Las Provincias, the Sausalito
Challenge will soon become the second American syndicate
to submit a challenge for the 32nd America's Cup.
The Team is negotiating with Mascalzone Latino about
buying the former ESP-47 (Bravo España, Spanish boat
for America's Cup 2000). Designed by Rolf Vrolijk
and Manuel Ruiz, the SUI-64's fathers, she was the
best 2000-generation boat according to Bertrand Pacé.
Meanwhile, John Sweeney said that their Cup budget
is now sufficient (€48 million) and that most
of the key people are now secured.
A
major sponsor for the Sausalito Challenge ?
(09/16/04) (source
: John
Sweeney)
The Sausalito Challenge released a picture of one
of its vintage boat (the former ITA 1) with new colors
and she has this slogan painted on the hull : "The
world's most flexible adaptable software" (Here).
"Can anyone guess who the sponsor is on Sausalito
Challenge 2007 training yacht?", asked John Sweeney,
CEO of the American team. "To be continued Sunday
when she sets sail with her new colors".
CFD
in the America's Cup spotlight
(08/03/04) (source
: John
Sweeney)
The Sausalito Challenge will break new ground in
the 2007 America's Cup by being the first team in Cup
history to rely 100% on Computational Fluid Dynamics
(CFD) for its new yacht design.
Current design practice involves the use of CFD combined
with the use of 1/3 scale models in large tank testing
facilities to validate the computer generated designs.
Update
from Sausalito Challenge
(07/22/04) (source
: Cup
Info)
As you know, we have been very quiet of late because
we are working on the details of finalizing our sponsorship
with a company that will allow us to compete on the
level of Alinghi and Oracle.
That being said, we are on track to announce the deal
in August and plan to try and make the second and third
Acts in Valencia. We will most likely also look for
one other sponsor to share the naming rights of the
team.
We don't think it will be hard to find after we announce
the first one. We have had a number of private backers
inquire about being a Sausalito Challenge supporter.
We will set up a program for five to ten individuals
to contribute, which will allow them unparalleled access
to the team and its facilities.
Our team has now grown to include designers and some
sailors. Tina and I have added a partner in Nic Clarke
to give us a complete and solid base. Our facilities
at Treasure Island have been remodeled and the pier
is ready for training in 2005. The rest of the team
will be hired in August when we have finalized our sponsorship.
Sausalito
Challenge auction on eBay has ended
(04/24/04) (source
: John
Sweeney)
The final auction on eBay for the exclusive sponsorship
package has ended with a final bid of $20million. The
final bid count was ten bids by three companies which
were from Japan, France and Switzerland.
The reserve price of $26million was not met during the
auction, precluding a sale, but the auction format let
millions of people know about the team and the revised
America's Cup format.
At this stage, the Sausalito Challenge will engage in
private discussions with companies who have come forward
as a result of the exposure from the sponsorship auction.
"It's a three year marriage between a team and sponsor",
stated co-founder Tina Kleinjan. "We want to make
sure the company we choose is in it for the long haul.
We look forward to speaking to the bidders and any new
companies who haven't contacted us yet. Our goal is
to find that special company who shares our passion
for the cup and smart marketing".
"Using the eBay format has given us front row seats
to CEO's worldwide", said co-founder John Sweeney. "It's
a sample of what we can create for our sponsor and proof
that we lead the way in innovative ideas in our sport
on and off the water".
" We want to give the America's Cup some personality
and let everyone see what our team is doing around the
clock", Sweeney added. "At the end of the
day we expect to win the America's Cup and give our
sole sponsor the best possible ROI. This, after all,
will be the company that sponsors the return of the
America's Cup to the US and San Francisco Bay".
America's
Cup bidding continues on eBay
(04/18/04) (source
: E-bay
Motors)
If the first eBay sailing sponsorship auction has
ended with no sell last week, the second is a great
success with at least two unidentified bidders have
said they're willing to spend $19 million or more to
sponsor the San Francisco Bay yacht.
Within hours after it opened Tuesday evening, the auction
attracted an opening bid of $18 million from an unnamed
European company. As of Wednesday afternoon, a second
European firm had pushed up the bid to $18.5 million.
At the end of the week-end, John Sweeney, co-founder
of the Sausalito Challenge, said the winning bidder
will need to ante up a lot more than the latest bid,
received April 18, for $19.6 million. He declined to
say how much but the eBay "buy it now" price is $35
million.
Sweeney said both he and EBay have prescreened the buyers,
so he's certain the bids are legitimate, but he declined
to name the firms.
The winning bidder gets what Sweeney calls a "revolutionary
new boat" along with a crew of top sailors from four
different America's Cup teams.
The auction, which is scheduled to end April 23.
Sausalito
Challenge Team Details
(03/28/04) (source
: John
Sweeney)
The Sausalito Challenge Exclusive Sponsorship
Auction will go live on eBay Motors at 1am PST - Friday,
April 2nd. Final tests are being run and the auction,
eBay's largest to date, will also be the largest to
ever sell online.
The online audience is expected to top that of Virtual
Spectator during the 2003 America's Cup races. When
the auction goes live, more than 1500 companies will
have downloaded the sponsorship package worldwide and
the Challenge-Series web site hit by more than 500,000
people in less than a month.
"This is just the first step in our campaign to change
the way the America's Cup team operates," stated the
co-founder John Sweeney. "From the auction idea to the
design of our radical new yacht, this is new thinking".
They have planned for six months to come up with a team
that will challenge the very notion that the America's
Cup is only for billionaires.
"We have worked hard to not allow previous experience
to dictate how our team will operate, thus allowing
a new vision", John Sweeney said. "When fully
revealed, the plan will show that our budget, team and
ideas are not only forward thinking but the formula
to win the America's Cup."
The team is also the first designed to offer the public
and press unlimited access to an America's Cup team.
"Our compound in Valencia will be a clear glass
box allowing the world to watch our team at work day
and night. We will be the first team ever that will
be open for all to see - 24 hours per day. Television
crews will document our entire campaign from the day
the auction ends until the day we take the America's
Cup home to San Francisco. Our exclusive sponsor will
enjoy media attention never seen before in sailing or
other sports."
"We will announce the acquisition of a 2003 America's
Cup yacht May 1st. Following that we will announce our
design and sailing team June 1st. On June 17th we will
hold a press conference and unveiling party for our
exclusive sponsor on the eve of the first Challenge
Series regatta".
"And finally our new America's Cup yacht will be
launched July 1st 2005 in San Francisco. The Sausalito
Challenge and its yachts won't look like previous teams.
We have come up with a solution to the same puzzle,
but our solution doesn't look like anything ever seen
on or off an America's Cup course."
Co-Founder Tina Kleinjan will represent the Sausalito
Challenge in Valencia for the ACM meetings in April.
