Two world class yachtsmen join Team Shosholoza

Two world class professional yachtsmen who are well known on the America’s Cup class racing circuit will support Team Shosholoza as part of a strategy to strengthen the team. Italian Tommaso Chieffi, 45, and Australian Brett Jones, 40, have joined the team as crew/coaches in a part-time capacity so that they can also continue their respective careers.

Chieffi comes on board as helmsman, a position he will share with South African Olympic sailor Ian Ainslie, while Australian Brett Jones is an expert sail trimmer. The team has also announced the appointment of a German meteorologist, Günter Meschkat.

Chieffi has been part of the afterguard of four previous America’s Cup campaigns: Helmsman in the 1987 Italia campaign, strategist on the 1992 Il Moro Challenge which won the Louis Vuitton Cup, tactician/strategist with Oracle Racing in 2003 which made the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup and most recently as tactician for the Italian +39 Challenge in the 2005 Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts. “I’ve only been with the team a couple of days but I already feel very comfortable with them. I am very proud to be part of such a young and popular team. They have brought a breath of fresh air to the America’s Cup competition. They are on a steep learning curve which was demonstrated by their result in Trapani last year and I hope my addition will bring the experience needed to get us as high as we possibly can. I am looking forward to this new experience and hope we can have a long and successful journey together”, said Chieffi. Chieffi has won numerous world championships, European championships and Italian national titles in a variety of classes during his long and illustrious 30 year sailing career.

Brett Jones is an Australian based in Miami in the United States. Being one of the most sought after trimmers on the international match racing circuit, this will be Jones’s fourth America’s Cup. He was a member of the Oracle Racing team in 2003 which made the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. He joined Shosholoza in Valencia this week straight from the World Match Racing Tour in Brazil where he was crewing for Gavin Brady (NZL).

Shosholoza skipper Mark Sadler said Chieffi and Jones would bring valuable knowledge and experience to the team. "This is a big step in our development process. Brett sailed with us for three days in Trapani last year and we all enjoyed having Chieffi onboard with us last week. It will be great for all of us to have them here."

Meteorologist Günter Meschkat whose appointment was made possible by T-Systems, the business customer brand of Deutsche Telekom and Official Chief Sponsor of Team Shosholoza, has been working with the weather team since the beginning of March and is developing two weather models for Team Shosholoza.