31 August 2004

The Shosholoza Team relocated to Marseilles, France, last week, where they will contest their first AC regatta next week.

The Marseilles Louis Vuitton Act 1 takes place from the 5th to the 11th of September and will see the Shosholoza team pitting their skills against defenders Alinghi as well as challengers Oracle BMW, Emirates Team New Zealand and the French Le Defi and K-Challenge teams. This regatta, the first of three in the next two months, will see the teams competing in both match and fleet racing.

Of the six teams taking part the Shosholoza boat is by far the oldest and in that arena oldest translates directly into slowest, boat in the fleet. Don't expect to see the guys winning any races here, in fact they will be lucky not to be last in all the fleet races although they may fancy their chances in one or two of the match races. What they will be getting though is invaluable experience, something that they are desperately short of. Not only will this be the team's first opportunity to race against other AC boats but also they will be able to observe and learn from their more experienced counterparts. There will also be a lot to learn in terms of match racing these huge boats.

The Marseilles Louis Vuitton Act 1 will be followed by the by the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 2, a purely match racing regatta, from the 5th to the 12th of October and the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 3, a fleet racing regatta, from the 14th to the 17th of October.

For more information or to follow these regattas online go to www.americascup.com.