America's Cup challenge unites South Africans

Deep in the days of apartheid, Italian yacht captain Salvatore Sarno started teaching a small group of black children to sail off the coast of South Africa and was laughed at for trying to cross the race barrier.

Sixteen years later he is leading Shosholoza, Africa's first America's Cup challenger, proudly presenting a multi-race team to show how far his adopted country has come.

"People were scared there would be a revolution when apartheid ended in 1994 but look what happened - South Africa became one. Shosholoza is the ultimate expression of that with people of all colours working together," the weather-beaten sailor told Reuters.

Shosholoza's arrival at the oldest sailing competition in the world marks a new era for the America's Cup, which will feature all five continents for the first time in 2007.

The African spirit is palpable as you walk into Shosholoza's team base, decorated with colourful bead patterns and photographs of all the team members.

While the richer, more established teams guard their bases with squads of security staff and allow visitors past reception on a strictly invitation-only basis, the white metal door to Shosholoza is open to anybody.

Inside, team members cheerfully greet strangers as they wash down the boat.

"It's very cool here. We really are one big family and everybody's welcome," said Marc Lagesse the team's navigator.

As the crew take to the water, the strains of "Shosholoza", originally a miners' song whose name translates as "Go forward", waft from the boat.

Shosholoza are not only in Valencia for novelty value, however. The team have made an impression with some excellent racing, beating top teams and ending the 2006 season seventh out of 12, a huge leap up from 2005 when they ended second last.

Rivals say Shosholoza is looking strong for next year's Louis Vuitton Cup, which will decide which boat takes on Swiss defender Alinghi in the America's Cup.

With BMW Oracle, Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand well ahead of the pack, Shosholoza are one of the mid-table competitors vying to take the fourth place in the LV Cup semi-finals.

"We have some ideas about how to improve and we still haven't done our best," Sarno said in the team's makeshift canteen.

This year, Sarno brought in some experienced European blood to help lead the team, including two Italian helmsmen, and Shosholoza are already racing their new boat which meets next year's America's Cup rules.

Other teams might speed up when their new yachts hit the water so Shosholoza know they have to use the next few months in Valencia and back in South Africa to build up strength and keep their edge.

Sarno also has work to do as he tries to raise enough money to see the team through the 2007 challenge and on to the next.

He originally wanted 18 South African companies to sponsor Shosholoza but met resistance from managers who saw the America's Cup as elitist and a white man's sport.

The team's immense popularity back home seems to be assuaging some of that doubt and new sponsorship deals are helping to keep the team of more than 50 people in Valencia for another year.

"I told the team I would try to match their pay but that they should think 2,000 times before coming on board because they would often regret it when they went home with their muscles aching and mind broken," Sarno said.

"They all stood up, came to me one by one, shook my hand, left their jobs and joined the team," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

Sarno, managing director of MSC shipping company in South Africa, is keen to use Shosholoza's fame to help raise awareness of the AIDS plague ravishing the country.

He has printed one of Shosholoza's spinnakers with a huge red ribbon and wants to do more.

"Our revolution was peaceful but we have a new battle. I don't want to play politics but we must shake people, make people invest more in research and education," he said.