Spanish America's Cup Challenger comes to grief in Valencia

by Pierre Orphanidis on 30 May 2014 Vsail.Info's Pierre Orphanidis report on the sad fate of ESP-65, Desafío Español’s first IACC boat for the 32nd America’s Cup.

After being abandoned at the yacht club, docked for years, her keel fell off, breaking her mast and revealing her sorry state. She began her life as USA-65, one of the two boats of One World Challenge, the US challenger to the 2003 America’s Cup, part-financed by Microsoft mogul Paul Allen and skippered by Peter Gilmour.

She was acquired by Desafío Español in 2005 and together with ESP-67 (former USA-67) she served as the Spanish challenger’s test and trial boats until 2007. Now, more than 11 years after her birth, her keel lies somewhere at the bottom of the sea and her hull is covered by a thick layer of, otherwise delicious, Valencia mussels.

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