MADRID - America's Cup veteran Paul Cayard, who skippered the Italian challenger Il Moro di Venezia, has joined Spanish team Desafio Espanol for the next edition of sailing's most prestigious regatta.
Many of the preparations for the 33rd America's Cup have been stalled by a legal case broughtagainst defenders Alinghi by BMW Oracle. One of their arguments is that the Spanish team is not a viable challenger.
However on Friday, Desafio Espanol went ahead with its plans to lead the challengers against Swiss syndicate Alinghi, signing seven-times world champion Cayard as their sports director.
It will be Cayard's first fulltime involvement in the America's Cup since 2000 when his AmericaOne lost the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection in New Zealand.
He also worked with Desafio Espanol as an adviser in the weeks running up to this year's America's Cup.
"The Spanish team is a good team that aspires to be great," the 48-year-old said in a statement. "This is an opportunity to put my experience to work."
Cayard, a central figure on the international sailing circuit, first hit the America's Cup scene in 1983 as a sail trimmer on Defender US-33.
He stayed with a US team in 1987 before taking up the challenge of skippering Il Moro, which won the LV Cup in 1992.
They lost the America's Cup to America3 but the challenge won the heart of Italy and even 15 years later in Valencia this year, dozens of Italian fans crowded around the tall American to get his autograph.
Cayard was also at the helm of the unsuccessful defender Young America in 1995 before skippering AmericaOne in a failed attempt to win the "Auld Mug" back for the United States.
"This Cup will have a new design rule so the experience in getting a new class of boat to its maximum potential will be valuable," said Cayard, who has sailed everything from the Star class to round-the-world yachts and has now set up the big-money catamaran World Sailing League.
The 33rd America's Cup is due to be raced in Valencia in 2009 but the timing is uncertain because of BMW Oracle's law suit.
