After all, it's hard to talk about spring when it's snowing outside and the German Ice Sailing Championship took place barely a fortnight ago. In the America's Cup circus, however, a different calendar obviously applies: the teams are building, training and planning.
The United Internet Team Germany kicked things off. Water training began shortly after Christmas. While the other teams were merely building their camps in Valencia - one of the most spectacular being that of the China team - the Germans had some friendly competition on the water from the Italians of Team +39. The two teams plan to train together several times in the future, according to a press release. The other Italian teams, Luna Rossa and Mascalzone Latino/Capitalia, are also already in Valencia, but are not sailing.
The beginning of the year also marked the deadline for members of one team to switch to another: From 1 January 2006, according to America's Cup protocol, the so-called 180-day rule comes into effect, which prohibits members of a syndicate from changing sides after 180 days of paid work for a team in the America's Cup. Sporting directors John Sweeny and Tina Kleinjan, for example, left the "Shosholoza" team from South Africa because they each had difficulties with team boss Salvatore Sarno.
But it's not just the Mediterranean that's busy. On the Baltic Sea, in Sweden, there's no resting on one's laurels either. It has been announced that Killian Bushe, an Irishman living in Sweden, has been appointed to head up a new ACC yacht to be built for Victory Challenge. "The designer is Mani Frers," said skipper and helmsman Magnus Holmberg. The yachts SWE 63 ("Örn") and SWE 73 ("Orm") were not sufficiently modified after the Cup in Auckland, according to the team. The boat builder Bushe, who has already been responsible for a whole series of famous yachts, such as the VO 60 racer "illbruck" or the German America's Cupper GER 68 (which was chartered to the New Zealand team Emirates New Zealand by Michael Illbruck as a training boat), is delighted in Gothenburg: "Our two training yachts will soon comply with version 5 of the Cupper rule."
