A Swedish crew member was injured during the first
sailing days after the first round robin of the Louis
Vuitton Cup. The latest of a series of incidents which
have made the Victory Challenge syndicate the unluckiest
so far at the America's Cup.
Martin Krite was in his usual position in one of the
most exposed places on the boat - the bow. The bow hatch
slid open and he had an unfortunate fall into the boat,
landing on his back.
He was taken back to base in Viaduct Harbour on the
tender. For safety's sake, there was an ambulance waiting
to take him to Auckland Hospital's emergency ward. An
x-ray showed there were thankfully no broken bones.
This was the third time in two years for Martin Krite.
He was hit by a spinnaker boom in Gothenburg during
the autumn of 2000 and was taken to hospital to put
five stitches in this forehead.
In Sčte, France, last summer, he got his fingers jammed
and had to go to hospital. And he doesn't look too worried
this time either.
Victory Challenge spokesman Bert Willborg on Friday
said Krite, 21, suffered no serious injuries but was
in considerable pain. He still hopes to sail aboard
the Swedish boat in the second round of the Cup challenger
series starting Oct. 22.
Sweden finished the first round of challenger racing
with a 3-5 record from eighth place and a share of sixth
place among nine teams. That standing was considerably
below pre-regatta expectations and came after it had
won its first three matches.
Victory had first-round wins over France's Le Defi,
Italy's Mascalzone Latino and New York's Stars & Stripes.
But Victory has taken heart from relatively narrow losses
to the leading syndicates OneWorld of Seattle and Alinghi
of Switzerland. Victory lost to OneWorld by less than
a minute and to Alinghi by less than 30 seconds.
The Swedish challenge was troubled during the round
robin by a serious structural failure before one race,
a blown jennaker in another and a broken jib halyard
in a third, which forced it to sail upwind legs without
a headsail.
The Victory Challenge was founded by Swedish media entrepreneur
Jan Stenbeck, who died in Paris, aged 59, a few weeks
before racing began. Stenbeck's son Hugo has become
the titular head of the team and has sailed in a guest
role in all of its races to date.
Victory is expected to make a boat change for the next
round, sailing the second and reportedly faster of its
new Cup boats, SWE-73 or Orm. It sailed SWE-63, or Orn,
in the first round robin.
Örn has one remaining match in the first round
of the Louis Vuitton Cup, but had a rest day yesterday.
But there was no rest for Victory Challenge. The crew
had to take Orm (SWE 73) out sailing.
There were strong winds out in Hauraki Gulf
and SWE 73 needs to be tested in these as part of
the preparations for sailing later on in the challenger
series.
The teams out to Hauraki Gulf were Le Défi Areva,
Oracle BMW Racing and OneWorld.
From Tuesday the nine challengers are guaranteed competition-free
days. They need the days between then and 22 October
to make any necessary modifications to the boats they
have used – or to prepare their second boats for the
second round.
The syndicates are entitled to change boats for round
robin two. As before the start of the Louis Vuitton
Cup, they can wait until next Sunday to announce which
boat they will be using.
Victory Challenge are testing their second boat Orm
in today’s wind conditions to give them as much freedom
of choice as possible.
First
sails for the Swedish duo (08/29/02) (Source
: Victory
Challenge)
It was the test everyone in the Victory Challenge
was waiting for - the first sails with Örn and Orm in
the Hauraki Gulf.
A tense expectation was gradually transformed to satisfied
head nodding and finally smiles and joy. When project
leader Mats Johansson was asked if he was happy after
today's tests, he answered without uttering a word.
He just put his thumb up.
"The boss would have been happy", was his first comment
referring to Victory Challenge's founder Jan Stenbeck,
who tragically passed away the same day Orm was christened.
"The boat feels very good, I'm relieved that it turned
out as I'd planned, so far", said German Frers Jr.
Jesper Bank was back after breaking two ribs on board
Örn two weeks ago and was helmsman on Orm during the
two days running (Magnus Holmberg had been steering
when she was taken out the last four times on Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday and Saturday).
Jesper Bank tells of his first spontaneous reaction
when standing at the wheel: "I was surprised, there
was a distinct difference. Considering Örn and Orm are
built with such a short time between them I hadn't expected
such a difference. I could feel it with the rudder,
and hear it as well. I felt it in the way the boat performed
in the water and in the response to the wind. I'm relieved,
it's not difficult to see that Orm is a step forward".
"Orm lived up to our expectations", Mats Johansson summarises
the tests afterwards. Meanwhile, it usually takes time
before such a complex, high-tech creation as an America's
Cup Class yacht reaches its full potential. That would
be impossible to achieve after just four days of sailing.
"We won't be there until the Louis Vuitton Cup
starts, perhaps not even until we get started with the
semifinals", concluded Mats Johansson.
Memorial
service for Jan Steinbeck (08/27/02) (Source
: Victory
Challenge)
America's Cup took a final farewell to Jan Stenbeck
at a memorial service this morning.
As the Swedish challenge crewmembers were lined up on
the forecourt of the Victory Challenge base, tenders
from all the syndicates arrived to form a parade outside
the Victory Challenge base.
Representatives from the syndicates stood in their boats
ten minutes later when Bruno Troublé, representative
of the Louis Vuitton Cup began the memorial service.
Mats Johansson, project leader for Victory Challenge
then spoke. Ross Blackman represented Team New Zealand
and the 2003 America's Cup; Dyer Jones was there on
behalf of CORM, the challenger organisation.
The short eulogies repeated condolences to Jan Stenbeck's
family and the Victory Challenge team.
Mats Johansson also gave the following message : "This
base, those boats, this team, all is here because of
Jan Stenbeck's vision. He wanted to make a competitive
challenge for the America's Cup. He provided us with
everything we needed, including his confidence in us.
Therefore - not for one single moment, not even in our
deepest sorrow after his tragic death - has it occurred
to us that we had a choice.
"There is only one course for us to take - and that's
to fulfil Jan Stenbeck's dreams. Humbly we will enter
this most fantastic regatta. Every day we will do it
with him in mind, forever proud and thankful."
The Rev. Tony Ross from the Anglican Church finished
with a blessing and called for a two-minute silence
that was followed by the sounds of the horns from all
the boats in Viaduct Harbour where the America's Cup
syndicates have their bases.
Four
day of testing with Orm for Victory (08/25/02)
(Source
: Victory
Challenge)
This week, the Swedish Victory Challenge syndicate
left its base in Viaduct Basin, Auckland, for the
first time onboard the newly constructed America’s
Cup boat Orm.
The whole process - from Orm arriving at the base
in Auckland until testing - has taken only eleven
days. It took three times longer to get the first
boat, Örn (SWE 63), ready after her arrival here.
Each individual detail has gone so much faster.
On the programme Tuesday and Wednesday has been structure
testing.
Tuesday's maiden sail with Orm (SWE 73) was relatively
short. The hard testing was started Wednesday. It
was blowing 18 knots and the America's Cup yacht was
put under hard strain just two days after her christening.
"We've all reason to be very pleased", says Mats Johansson,
skipper and project leader. "We're testing and making
any adjustments that are necessary. With an 18-knot
wind, Orm was exerted to 75 percent of full load".
Thursday he was given the chance of sailing Orm flat
out, after just three days in the water. The whole
range of manoeuvres was performed with tacking, gybing,
etc.
"It all worked faultlessly and you can feel she's
accelerating well", says helmsman Magnus Holmberg.
"The wind was quite light of course, six to eight
knots, but I could feel the difference compared with
Örn. Orm is more sensitive, she responds better to
manoeuvres and it's evident she accelerates even better
after tacking and gybing".
Structural testing with Orm was continued the following
day and, at the end of the week, the four days of
testing with Orm have gone completely according to
plan. This means that the time for Örn and Orm to
sail against each other for the first time is approaching.
A minute's silence was held at the
Victory Challenge base today in respect of the tragic
passing of Jan Stenbeck. Stricken by sorrow, the team
could do the only thing possible. The crew took Orm,
christened and launched just the day before, on her
maiden voyage in Auckland's harbour.
As Orm was being towed out of Viaduct Harbour, the flags
of all the syndicates that are so far in place were
flown at half mast.
"We acknowledge the support shown to us with a warm
heart", says Mats Johansson, project leader and skipper
of Victory Challenge. "We shall also forward the condolences
to Jan Stenbeck's family."
Mats Johansson has been in almost daily contact with
Jan Stenbeck ever since the project was initiated with
the purchase of the New Zealand Black Magic boat NZL
38 two and half years ago. Jan Stenbeck should have
returned to the base in Auckland, which he visited earlier
this year, to follow the racing.
"Everything we've achieved here has been according to
Jan's thoughts and instructions", says Mats Johansson.
"It's an enormous loss to us, meanwhile we have received
clear instructions to carry on with Jan's wishes. The
project will go on. We're focusing on getting ready
for the Louis Vuitton Cup now. Everyone in the team
is thinking of him and his family."
Cruel
coincidence for Victory Challenge (08/20/02)
(Source
: stuff.co.nz)
After launching their new America's Cup yacht,
members of the Swedish Victory Challenge team were stunned
to hear that the head of their syndicate had died.
Jan Stenbeck, 59, died suddenly of a heart attack at
the American Hospital in Paris after a brief illness.
The man behind the Swedish America's Cup entry had developed
an extensive network of media and telecommunications
companies in Sweden.
He was the founder and chairman of mobile-phone operator
Invik & Co, Tele2, MTG, Millicom International, Transcom
WorldWide, and chairman of the management company Industrifoervaltnings
AB Kinnevik.
"It is very sad news," Victory Challenge spokesperson
Bert Willborg said. "The team were told after the launch
of our second yacht. He said it had yet to be decided
what the team would do to pay their respects to Stenbeck.
"It is too early to say. It has been an emotional day."
Among the guests at the launch of SWE73 in Auckland
were Team New Zealand chief executive Ross Blackman
and Lady Pippa Blake, widow of former Team NZ leader
Peter Blake.
It might seem odd that a rival syndicate was invited
to another team's launch, but the Swedish syndicate
said they had invited Blackman and asked him if he could
bring Lady Pippa. "We have a special relationship with
Team New Zealand after we purchased NZL38 off them,"
Willborg said.
Team New Zealand and Lady Pippa weren't the only ones
flying the flag for New Zealand at the launch. The boat
was blessed by Brenda Rawiri of Te Whetu - a haka group
that impressed the Swedish team and their 120 guests
with a Maori cultural performance. Rawiri also christened
the yacht in the traditional way by smashing a bottle
of champagne over its bow.
Sweden's first yacht, SWE63 or Orn as it is known, was
launched in Gothenburg in October. It arrived in Auckland
last year and has impressed many with its speed.
Victory Challenge designer German Frers junior said
the second yacht, SWE73, is even faster. "I can't wait
to test her against our first boat. There is still some
work to do and not much time left," he said.
"I think it was an advantage to get a new-generation
boat here early and get all the team cranked up on her.
It was also useful for getting information for the second
boat."
With just over a month until the start of the Louis
Vuitton Challenger series on October 1, the Swedes would
welcome New Zealanders getting behind them for the challengers
series.
Orm
arrives at the base in Auckland (08/12/02) (Source
: Victory
Challenge)
Just at sunrise today, she was rolled into the
Victory Challenge base at the America's Cup village
in Auckland. Orm (SWE 73) has arrived.
This means that the Swedish America's Cup challenge
has its second boat in place for the Louis Vuitton Cup
challenge series, which starts on October 1.
The transport from Auckland harbour to the base on 85
Halsey Street took place in the early hours of the morning.
She came to Auckland yesterday afternoon on the ship
M/V Takio, which loads both containers and vehicles.
Many agricultural machines and cars were rolled off
in Auckland harbour before it was time for Orm, which
then stood on the dock for the night.
Orm has been on board Takio all through her ordinary
route. She was loaded in Gothenburg destined for Auckland
via Rotterdam, Hamburg, Southampton, St. John's in Canada,
Baltimore and Savannah in the USA, and through the Panama
Canal to the Pacific before reaching her destination.
After arriving at the Victory Challenge base, Orm was
taken straight into the boatyard and the doors closed
quickly. Inside is where Örn (SWE 63) has been ever
since she arrived in November last year. Örn, with bulb
and fin under cover, has now been placed outside.
"The arrival of Orm is something the whole team in Auckland
has been waiting for", says Mats Johansson, project
leader for Victory Challenge, while leaving his office
to stand on the balcony outside to overlook the final
stage of the transport. "We're counting on another ten
days before she's ready for launching and we can start
our testing."
Two-boat training with Orm and Örn is hoped to get started
by the end of August.
Cristina left the Victory Challenge base on 85
Halsey Street in Auckland at dawn today. This event
marked the retirement of one of the real workhorses
in the history of the America's Cup.
It's Team New Zealand, who sailed Cristina as Black
Magic NZL 38 when they won the America's Cup in 1995,
that describes her as "one of the greatest workhorses
of the America's Cup" in their tribute after sailing
her final match with Victory Challenge.
Mats Johansson remembers what Peter Gilmour, then Nippon
now OneWorld, said during the last America's Cup when
Victory Challenge was just starting up and NZL 38 was
up for sale: "With her speed and capacity, this boat
would have made it to the semifinal of this year's Louis
Vuitton Cup."
But there's no room for her any longer in the Swedish
America's Cup stable. They must make room on the base
for the arrival of the newly built Orm (SWE 73). The
first boat, Örn (SWE 63), is already in place here and
the base will not take more than two America's Cup yachts.
At the base, Örn (SWE 63) is standing on the tarmac
outside and not inside the boatyard. Of course, the
most secret on Örn, fin and bulb, has been draped. It's
time for spring cleaning inside the boatyard, even though
it's still winter in Auckland. The second new boat Orm
is approaching.
