Malaysia will not be at the start of the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia. Syndicate boss Kristine Condell announced the cancellation today. This reduces the number of possible entries to three.
Team China in co-operation with Le Défi is considered a certainty, Sausalito from San Francisco is a shaky candidate, and the German Fresh Seventeen initiative is currently in the decisive phase.
"If anything beat us, it was time," says Kristine Condell, who originally started setting up a team in Australia and eventually ended up in Malaysia. The latest news from the syndicate, which also involved the national Ministry of Youth and Sports, sounded very positive. But two years of preparation were not enough.
"We are now aiming for 2011," says Kondell. In 2005, the C7 team will appear on other boats on the European and international sailing circuit.
Meanwhile, the situation for the German Fresh Seventeen team has not yet been decided. Yesterday, Willy Kuhweide continued his web tour through Germany at the Mühlenberger Segelclub in Hamburg and expressed his confidence.
Other signs from the team's environment also give cause for optimism. Negotiations with two sponsors are very advanced, according to reports following yesterday's internal supervisory board meeting, which was postponed by a week. A final decision is expected next week.
