By Suzanne McFadden
The future is brighter for the Swiss America's Cup challenge, rescued from the brink of collapse by a world-famous ice-cream maker.
The Swiss Fast2000 syndicates owes six-figure debts to the America's Cup Village in Auckland and had stopped building its boat in Geneva when it ran out of money.
But yesterday, the Swiss ice-cream company Movenpick melted at the news of the syndicate's plight and agreed to sponsor the campaign.
Fast2000 skipper Marc Pajot said the money - an undisclosed amount - had come at a crucial moment.
"This support will enable us to keep the yard working at finishing the mould of the hull, a critical step in the production of our racing yacht," he said.
But the writs will stay on the yellow cup boat sitting on the Swiss base in the village until the debts are paid.
Village company spokeswoman Sue Foley said staff had had talks with the Swiss but no payments had been received. "But it's really exciting news. They're saying, 'Hey guys, we're back in the race, keep talking to us'," she said.
In the meantime, the base will be put to good use. The world's fastest catamaran, PlayStation, will be repaired on the site after suffering hull damage in a fire last month. Movenpick explained yesterday that it wanted to help the stricken Swiss campaign to show the world that the Swiss were able to tackle daring enterprises.
"Movenpick is very sensitive to our country's international image, which always affects, in one way or another, our economic activities," said the chief executive officer of the company, Jean-Paul Gaillard.
Sixteen teams paid the $US250,000 ($441,700) bond for the cup challenger series, which starts on October 18.
But some of these enterprises are facing financial difficulties and the challenger series could come down to a 10-boat regatta.
