GERMANY: YACHTING - First German boat to participate in America's Cup christened on the wharf at Kiel on the Baltic Sea coast

Record ID: 872879

  • Title: GERMANY: YACHTING - First German boat to participate in America's Cup christened on the wharf at Kiel on the Baltic Sea coast
  • Date: 26th April 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (German) JESPER BANK, "GERMANY 1" SKIPPER SAYING: "The main thing I want to change is to no longer have any excuses. So far, we were sailing on a boat where we said 'the boat is too slow. We can't compete.' That's over now. Mentally (points to forehead), that's a huge change. There is no longer an excuse."
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • City:
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAACNH8LRQEAJNWU54X4LXFU498
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  • Story Text: Germany has unveiled the boat in Kiel on Monday (April 24) with which it plans to compete in next year's America's Cup.
    "Germany 1" will be the first German boat ever to race in the world's most prestigious sail race.
    First lady Eva Luise Koehler, wife of President Horst Koehler, attended a christening ceremony watched by several hundred spectators at Kiel's wharf.
    Danish skipper Jesper Bank told Reuters Television on the sidelines of the ceremony that the boat was "somewhat revolutionary, nothing like the boats down there right now," referring to the Spanish port city of Valencia where the 32nd America's Cup will take place.
    "It's unique," Bank said of his 26 metre boat built at Kiel's Knierim shipyard.
    "It's not a copy of anything, it's not a replica of anything. It's our own boat and a part of the feeling we're experiencing at the moment: Was it done properly? We believe so but we just don't know yet."
    A first German attempt to participate in the 2002/2003 America's Cup failed because of financial problems.
    The boat was not finished in time and could not compete.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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