As the 17-man crew begin to regroup in Valencia, Shosholoza met media representatives for a briefing.

Durban's grinder Shaun Pammenter, 27, said the Shosholoza crew members were brimming with confidence and looking forward to the challenge ahead.

"We have come a long way since we first came together in Cape Town a couple of years ago," he said.

"Currently, we are ranked eight out of 12 positions, but there is huge enthusiasm among the crew about what is to come", skipper Mark Sadler added. "We've done what we can to be ready for the race, and our America's Cup goal is to make the semifinal".

He said while Shosholoza's closest rivals were the Italians, Spanish and Swedish, the top teams to beat were the US, Italy and holders New Zealand.

Grinder Camron Wills, 27, of Westville, said that because of budget constraints Team Shosholoza would retain the same yacht for the next stage of the Louis Vuitton Cup. He sees this as a big factor in Shosholoza's favour.

"The boat has been undergoing important modifications during our break, mainly as a result of tests conducted by the design team on 7.5m models of the yacht in test tanks. Basically, the crew is very familiar with the boat, while those teams which have elected to construct new yachts will face a hectic and trying period to get the new boats up to speed."

"A few years ago, we started with a clean sheet. We had two crew members and a boat, later three crew and a boat", Sailing manager Paul Standbridge added. "We started putting together a list of what we needed and we built the campaign to what we have now. We have done well in 12 races so far and I'm just thrilled to be part of it all."

According to Salvatore Sarno, head of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, the main sponsor, the sail programme has improved dramatically and the new shape of Shosholoza's sails will be very similar to those of the top three teams.

Sarno has alerted the crew to the six-days-a-week training programme designed to bring them into perfect synchronisation with Paolo Cian, the prominent Italian appointed to succeed Tomaso Chieffi.

Alongside the number three in the world, Mark Saddler remains skipper and Ian Ainslie the strategist.

"We have the vehicle and are 100 percent confident in our abilities", Standbridge concluded. "Things are now in the hands of the crew for us to have success".