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Club:
Reale Yacht Club, Canottieri Savoia, Italy
Skipper: Paola Cian
Design: Giovanni Ciccarelli
Main Backer: Vincenzo Onorato
Main Sponsor: TIM
Budget: Undisclosed |
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www.mascalzonelatino.it |
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The
poor relations to the mighty Prada, Mascalzone Latino are based almost
within sight of the Italian rich kids on the island of Elba, but the
philosophy of their campaign could not be more different. The team
are the brainchild of Vincenzo Onorato, who will be among the crew
of the single boat that has been built and flown to New Zealand at
a cost of around $500,000. Prior to their new boat launch in May,
the team had been conducting sailing trials and crew training aboard
the former Stars & Stripes, purchased as a OneWorld castoff. Prior
to that America’s Cup 2000 acquisition, the team were sailing
a 1995 vintage Spanish boat.
ITA 72 was designed by Giovanni Ceccarelli, an engineer with no previous
America’s Cup design experience, and built at the Tencara yard
just outside Venice, the yard set up by Raul Gardini to build his
fleet of five Il Moro di Venezia Challengers for 1992.
The crew of ITA 72 will be exclusively Italian, although there are
a scattering of overseas players in the team, including building co-ordinator
Tom Weaver, a former sailing ambassador for Farr International. Paolo
Cian is the nominated skipper. Cian has turned his hand to match racing
with good effect over the last couple of years and the team are being
coached by Eddie Warden Owen, who was navigator of White Crusader
in 1987 and has since coached TNZ and the Spanish through successive
America’s Cups.
The Mascalzone team are short on finance, short on Cup experience
and short on resources. However, for Onorato, this a fact-finding
mission for the future and progressing past the round robin stage
would be a real achievement.
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