Impressed commentators at the current America's Cup precursor regatta yesterday described a Team Shosholoza crew's quick action to prevent a disaster while racing as the sort of "astonishing act of bravery that could win or lose a contest".

Team Shosholoza strategist Mark Sadler was on the top spreader of the vast 32-metre mast scouting for breeze during a tight duel with the big budget US BMW Oracle Racing Team when Shosholoza's spinnaker ripped as they approached the weather mark.

The South Africans, who are racing in the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 4 match racing event in Spain, immediately started peeling to a second spinnaker while simultaneously dropping the ripped one.

Sadler quickly realised that the second spinnaker was on a halyard that was twisted around the genoa halyard that he himself was clipped to. To prevent a disastrous snarl-up he quickly disconnected his support line to allow the second spinnaker to be hoisted cleanly.

In so doing his support halyard flew up to the top of the mast, and without thinking he immediately free climbed some six metres to the mast head to retrieve it.

Not wanting to distract the rest of the crew from their manoeuvres, he clipped himself on again and scuttled six metres back down the mast unnoticed to his previous position.

In typical South African fashion nobody thought anything of it, but race commentators who had heard about it in the pub on Friday night waxed lyrical about the incident during their race commentary on Saturday.

"It was a brave and very wise move, and shows big guts for a guy to go up the mast like that. It is the sort of skill that can determine winning or losing a match," said the commentator, repeating again that it was "truly an astonishing and heroic act of bravery".

Sadler, 28, a top South African dinghy and big boat national champion in numerous classes shrugged off his perceived heroism, while Team Shosholoza sailing manager Paul Standbridge, a veteran of two America's Cups said: "Yes, of course it was potentially dangerous, but racing in the America's Cup is a highly dangerous sport".

Meanwhile members of Team Shosholoza had the honour of a brief greeting and hand shake from His Majesty, Don Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, who visited Port America's Cup today to meet the 12 teams entered for the 2007 America's Cup.

Representing Team Shosholoza was the president of the South African America's Cup Challenge for 2007, Mr Mafika Mkwanazi, former CEO of Transnet and board member of JCI.

Bowman Golden Mgedeza, Julian Calefato, a high performance consultant with the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town who is travelling with the team, midbowman Ashton Sampson, Siphiwe Mthandi, who is a software engineer with the Shosholoza design team, and Grant Scholtz of the marketing team also met the king.

The king, a former Olympic sailor who still races competitively, has a special interest in South Africa's maiden challenge as he races a yacht built in Cape Town and designed by Jason Ker, the principal designer of the new Shosholoza RSA 83.

Ker's 55 foot yacht, Aera, was built in the Cape Town boatyard, Acheson Rossa, and chosen by the King of Spain as his yacht for the 2003 Admirals Cup. Renamed 'Bribon'' for the event, it won all seven of the inshore races.

Valencia won the pitch to host the 32nd America's Cup two years from now, and this current series of Louis Vuitton precursor regattas in Spain and other venues in Europe count for bonus points in the lead up to the main event.

No challengers will be eliminated from competing until the final Louis Vuitton Cup in 2007.

  • Meanwhile on the race course on Sunday, Team Shosholoza came to within just six seconds of winning their first race of the week long Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 4 match racing regatta when they came up against United Internet Team Germany.

    In a dramatic match South African helmsman Ian Ainslie was aggressive on the start and it paid off, as he led his counterpart, Jesper Bank, across the line.

    South African supporters held their breath as Shosholoza looked strong nurturing a lead that at times extended to four boat lengths. But on the final run to the finish, a poor gybe allowed the Germans to close the gap right down.

    On the final sprint to the finish on the inside of the African boat, the Germans were able to surge past Shosholoza, beating the African boat to the line by just six seconds.

    Earlier on Sunday the South Africans had lost to Italy's Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team.

    So the South Africans are still looking for their first win after a tough month in Valencia with boat problems.

    "It's hard for the folks back home to understand, but we are really happy with our performance so far. A hi-tech leading-edge racing machine like our new Shosholoza RSA 83 should have at least three weeks of sea trials before serious sailing, let alone racing at the pinnacle of world yachting," said Mark Sadler.

    "A week ago we didn't even think we would make it to the start line. But we have sorted out our hydraulic problems now and only have a few other technical problems to iron out. We are take each day as it comes, and we are confident that by the time we get to the next Louis Vuitton even in Malmo, Sweden everything will be fine," said Sadler.