Sailing: Colourful De Savary poised to re-enter America's Cup fray

Is the buccaneer back? The colourful Peter de Savary is due to announce today that he wants to make another flamboyant entrance on to the America's Cup stage. Speculation that he was trying to put together a £50m attempt for wherever the Cup is next held, either in Auckland if New Zealand defends successfully or wherever a winning challenger wanted, was heightened when his long-time spokesman Kit Hobday said yesterday he would make a statement today on behalf of De Savary.

Indications are that it would call on young amateur sailors, be funded by both corporations and individuals, and that De Savary – who headed the British Victory challenge in 1983 and is currently in the United States – has attached numerous conditions.

In a scathing attack on the structure of the current British challenge being funded by the man currently holding centre stage, Peter Harrison, Hobday said: "I will not sail with professional sailors, they are a pain in the arse, self-opinionated and not that good."

But he added: "In no way are we trying to steal any thunder from him [Harrison]."

He hoped to speak to Harrison before making any statement today, and warned that if the media was "remotely unpleasant" they will walk away.

Coming less than 48 hours after the second boat built by the British challenger for the America's Cup had been given a parade past the Royal Yacht Squadron on the barge taking it to Southampton on its way to Stansted, Harrison maintained his silence. Wight Magic, as the second boat is called, will be flown in an Antonov on Wednesday night to Auckland and a tune-up programme alongside Wight Lightning.

Joining the boat from Newport, Rhode Island, where he made amends for earlier performances with seven straight wins in the UBS match race regatta, will be Andy Green, the likely helmsman for Britain.

The first races for the Louis Vuitton Cup series to find the sole challenger to the holders, New Zealand, are scheduled for 1 October.

In the rather more benign environment of Skandia Life Cowes Week, Glynn Williams' Wolf made it two in a row to take the Sorcery Trophy.

Flying out in the opposite direction on Wednesday is one of Skandia's top hosts for the week, Iain Percy, winner of the gold medal in the Finn class.

Having seen fellow Sydney 2000 gold medallist Ben Ainslie try on that mantle for size by winning both the European and world championships, Percy and crew Steve Mitchell complete their training to face a dauntingly tough fleet in the Star world championship in Los Angeles from 18 August.

In Tallinn, Estonia, Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield, Britain's representatives at the Sydney Games, took bronze in the 470 European Championships. Though the runaway winners were Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page of Australia, Nicholas Charbonnier and Stéphane Christidis of France, as the top Europeans, won the gold as the silver went to Andre Kosmatopoulos and Konstantinos Trigonis of Greece.

The gold in the women's division also went to Greece's Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa. Christina Bassadone and Katherine Hopson were Britain's best in 10th.