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Italy produces two Cup challengers Posted: Wednesday September 25, 2002 1:42 PM
MILAN (Reuters) -- The nation that gave sailing the word regatta, Christopher Columbus and the ubiquitous Genoa jib sail has spawned two very different challengers for the America's Cup, the oldest and most coveted trophy in yachting. Italy's high-cost, high-profile Prada team will compete against lower-key compatriots Mascalzone Latino -- the "Latin Rascal" in Italian -- as well as seven syndicates from other countries for the chance to challenge America's Cup holders Team New Zealand. The challenge, which has captured the hearts and wallets of some of the world's richest men, starts on October 1 in Auckland with the Louis Vuitton Cup, pitting nine boats against each other for the honour of competing one-to-one against New Zealand's state-of-the-art yachts next February. Stemming from a race around the Isle of Wight in England in 1851, the America's Cup has roused the blood of some of the world's richest dynasties -- the Vanderbilts, the Liptons and more recently Fiat's owners, the Agnellis. Patrizio Bertelli, head of fashion group Prada, has invested 98 million euros (US$95.61 million) -- 60 million personally and 38 million from Prada -- to finance a second Prada Challenge, almost double the $50 million spent in 2000. In the last America's Cup in 2000, Prada's sleek Luna Rossa boats finished as runners-up, losing 5-0 to Team New Zealand in the Cup. Prada used the extensive publicity, estimated to be worth $75 million to $80 million in advertising equivalent, to launch its Prada Sport line. "The first time we competed because it was an interesting challenge, a sailing adventure. The second time, after being in the final, it was almost a necessity to retry," Bertelli told Reuters from his minimalist, all-white headquarters in Milan. Bertelli, married to Muccia Prada, declined to predict his chances this time. "We are starting from zero. Every America's Cup starts from zero so we can't make any forecasts." Popular song Vincenzo Onorato, the creator of Mascalzone and chairman of Moby Invest -- the holding of Italian ferry operator Moby Lines -- is taking a more light-hearted approach. "We were watching a program about the America's Cup on television and we said: 'Let's go as well. Let's do a study. Let's see how much it costs'," he told Reuters from his downtown Milan palazzo filled with yachting trophies and family pictures. Onorato, the fourth generation of a three-century-old shipping family from the Naples Gulf, has, like Bertelli, been a sailor all his life, and won the IMS World Cup in 2000. "The idea of the America's Cup is present in the heart of any sailor, professional or amateur. It is the dream of all sailors," said Onorato, who baptized his challenge in the name of a popular 1980s song by Italian singer Pino Daniele. Mascalzone Latino is one of the more conservative challengers in terms of spending, receiving only a reported 35 million euros in sponsorship from Telecom Italia Mobile. "Mascalzone Latino is the only team that has not been created specially for the America's Cup. We are a group of friends that are used to sailing together," said Onorato. "The consortia in America live from external sponsorship, which is what I have tried to create in Italy," he said. The Cup has captured the imagination of other big-name challengers: Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle Corp with his Oracle Racing challenge, Ernesto Bertarelli, CEO of Europe's biggest biotechnology firm Serono with Alinghi and Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft Corp with OneWorld Challenge. "All the other challengers are very strong," said the cigar-smoking Onorato. "This will be the best America's Cup ever." High salaries The competition, held every three to four years, tests the latest in yacht design and the world's top sailors. The two Prada teams, of which only one will compete, have been training since the last race in 2000. Most syndicates build two boats, although Mascalzone Latino will have only one. They are designed using the latest ideas and state-of-the-art equipment. Each sloop carries up to 30 sails costing up to $30,000 apiece. The crew are, in the main, professional sailors who train for years and command annual salaries reportedly as high as $5.5 million. Most of the yachts are kept secret until the Louis Vuitton Cup, making it hard to weigh their chances until the start of racing. "We will know on October 1. After three races we will know exactly what our level of preparation has been," Bertelli said. Jostling has already begun among the teams in Auckland waiting for the competition to begin. Bertarelli's Alinghi Challenge raised some eyebrows by signing up several of the victorious New Zealand crew from the 2000 challenge while Prada has been to court to complain about alleged peeping by the Oracle syndicate. Mascalzone, whose crew have trained for only a year, are cautiously optimistic. "In every competition it is important to win but we have to keep our feet on the ground. It is our first experience in the Cup," said Onorato, who has no fixed role on board. Prada's Bertelli, who himself was second to yacht designer Bruce Farr in the 1974 world sailing championships, may join his crew, unchanged from the last Cup, from time to time on board.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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