New base for South Africans

Team Shosholoza set up shop on Robben Island

The South African America’s Cup Team Shosholoza opened its new sailing and training center in Cape Town at the weekend.

Wolfgang Jakob, CEO of T-Systems South Africa, welcomed around 250 friends of Shosholoza at Robben Island on Friday evening (25 February) to celebrate the opening of the roughly 2,000 sqm base. Among the guests was the German ambassador, Harro Adt.

The base in Cape Town's V&A Waterfront will serve as the control centre for the first African team competing for the world’s oldest sports trophy.

“It is only fitting that we celebrate the opening of the Shosholoza base at Robben Island. What better place to learn about dreams than being here in this historic place - it is here that former President Nelson Mandela dreamt of a better South Africa. The completion of the base is only the first step in realizing Team Shosholoza’s dream of winning the
America’s Cup Challenge,” says Jakob.

The new sailing and training center will allow Team Shosholoza to prepare itself for the preliminary match races for the America’s Cup in Valencia (Spain), Malmö (Sweden) and Trapani (Italy) in 2005. Newcomer to the team and international sailing pro, Tim Kröger has been training with his South African team mates for close to two weeks and says he is impressed with the daily progress they are making. "The crew is highly motivated. In mid-April we’ll have a new boat. These are ideal training conditions."

Captain Salvatore Sarno, Team Shosholoza’s managing director, has this to say about the now completed sailing and training center: "Thanks to the main sponsor T-Systems we were able to significantly improve the base’s facilities. This is a building block in the joint sponsoring concept, which will allow us to successfully compete in the America’s Cup. As a result, the chances for a top finish in 2007 have increased."

As part of the event the commodore of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, Russell Vollmer, and his counterpart at the North German Regatta Verein (NRV), Gunter Persiehl, are promoting a youth exchange program called “Sailing without Borders.”

The program introduced by T-Systems makes it possible for 20 young sailors from each country to attend training in the other country. Promising young athletes between the ages of 13 and 22 are supported in three boat categories: Optimist, 420 and Laser.