Last update: 10 December 2018 by Jack Griffin
Smallest Country Ever with an America's Cup Challenge
Actually, that's not true. The smallest country ever to challenge was the US Virgin Islands, population around 100,000, whose challenge was accepted by then trustee Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in 1997 for the 2000 America's Cup. Peter Holmberg led the challenge. They brought an IACC yacht to the Virgin Islands for training. They later merged into Dennis Conner's "Stars and Stripes" and Peter Holmberg joined the afterguard on Stars and Stripes.
With a population of under 500,000, Malta is the (second) smallest country ever to have an America's Cup challenge. The Royal Malta Yacht Club submitted a challenge shortly before the 30 November close of the late entry period, and will have to pay the $1 million late fee in addition to the $2 million entry fee and $1 million performance bond. Details of the challenge are to be announced in the first quarter of 2019.
The Royal Malta Yacht Club organises the Rolex Middle Sea Race, a 600 mile race starting and ending in Malta, rounding Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, with the active volcano Stromboli as the top mark.
There are rumors of a yacht club existing in Malta as early as 1835 and documentation showing that in 1873 the club was granted a warrant to use the Blue Ensign by the British Admiralty.
Pascuale Cataldi is the team principal. He is not a sailor. Earlier in 2019 he was associated with, but then broke from Adelasia di Torres, a Sardinian group that had announced a challenge. Cataldi is CEO of Altus, a real estate lifestyle company. He is also chairman of the Malta-based cryptocurrency investment company BitBull Fund.
“Our goal is to do three editions of the America's Cup. If you want to build a strong team, then you need to commit to three America's Cup cycles. I think everyone in this edition is in it for the long-term. We have a new class, so the game is level for everybody, and the differences are not so much,” explained Cataldi.