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While racing in 44Cup events usually goes to the wire, decided in the last few metres of the final race, this hasn’t been the case this year where the dominant force has been Monaco-based Dutchman Nico Poons and his Charisma team.

Winning two bullets from two races on Friday put Charisma into the lead of this 44Cup Portorož World Championship, the pinnacle event of the season for the tweaky high performance one designs. Local Slovenian favourite Igor Lah and his Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 was top scoring boat yesterday, but going into the final day still trailed Charisma by five points, albeit with a more comfortable eight point lead over third-placed Team Aqua.

The outlook for the final Sunday of the 2022 World Championship looked un-sailable with every forecast predicting sub-five knot breeze. Waiting out on the water Chris Bake was deserted on board Team Aqua, left to sail his RC44 singlehanded with much woops and hollering of encouragement from his crew in the support RIB. Several other brave singlehanded owner-drivers lined up against him in a mini-race.

With a race lost on Friday at the 44Cup Portorož World Championship, to recoup the schedule four races were held today (Saturday). The race area was further offshore with the medieval nearby town of Piran as an eyecatching backdrop in one direction with another headland to weather strongly affecting the light breeze causing it to shift frequently between the south and southwest. This made for highly tactical racing with much position changing.

Absent due to business commitments, defending world champion Chris Bake arrived last night and back aboard Team Aqua, promptly won the today’s first race. First to the top mark having played the left, Team Aqua fended off Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team that had gybed early on the run. Team Aqua then played the mid-right on the second beat to score her first bullet of the series. Meanwhile overall race leader, Nico Poons’ Charisma, had a shocking first race in which they picked up two penalties leaving them last only to fight back to fourth. Team Aqua went on to score the third best score of the day propelling them up the leaderboard from seventh yesterday to third today.

Another slow start for day two of the 44Cup Portorož World Championship saw the fleet held ashore with racing not getting underway until 1400. However when it did fill in, the breeze was a crucial two knots more than it was for the opening day and the eight RC44 teams were able to race with their high performance one designs fully powered up.

By rights the day should have belonged to event host Slovenian Igor Lah and his Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860, the defending champions here in Portorož. Today two races were held before the wind began to disintegrate and in both the Slovenian RC44 sailed a superb first upwind, to lead around the top mark only subsequently to lose it on the downwinds. In the first race on the second downwind Nico Poons’ Charisma on her own gybed early and perhaps into better pressure and from there managed to sail deeper and creep ahead of Ceeref to take the bullet.

An ultra-light onshore breeze at the 44Cup Portoroz World Championship should have made for a straightforward opening day to the high performance one design’s pinnacle event of the season. In fact it demonstrated how the nimble RC44 can race meaningfully in practically no wind, but still scores were high with all eight teams suffering at least one big result.

All the past winners of the RC44 World Championships.

Official racing starts at the 44Cup Portorož World Championship in Slovenia tomorrow (Thursday), but today the eight boat fleet enjoyed some warm-up competition.

While between themselves 44Cup teams may appear nonchalant that the annual World Championship for their high performance RC44 one designs is “just another regatta”, in fact this is far from the case with teams saving their best gear for the major event of the season.

Despite the America’s Cup having turned to foiling boats, many of its top sailors have still been attracted back to the 44Cup: from Dean Barker and Ray Davies to Terry Hutchinson and currently Peninsula Petroleum’s tactician Giles Scott and Team Nika’s Francesco Bruni.

The 44Cup has been returning to Marstrand, Sweden, for ten years; however, for 2022, a new partnership with Marstrands Segelsällskap has formed as the supporting yacht club for the event.

Ivan Peute started sailing optimists at the age of eight, but six years later had transitioned into bigger boats. Winning his first World Championship in 2005 in the J22 class, he has since won four other World Championships, one being the 2011 RC44 World Championships with Artemis Racing.

A miserable day weather-wise off the west coast of Sweden turned magnificent, like the fortunes of Nico Poons’ Charisma which after three races today claimed the 44Cup Marstrand over Igor Lah’s Ceeref.

From southwesterly winds gusting up to 20 knots, and one of the sharpest sea states the class has endured, dropping to five to six knots and the lightest conditions sailable by the nimble RC44

The waters off the Swedish holiday hotspot of Marstrand took on a different complexion on day two of 44Cup racing, with a sharp chop and the wind backed from the northwest to the south and gusting into the mid-high teens.

A special edition of bBeautiful shots from our photographer Nico Martinez at the 44Cup Marstrand.

Njörðr, the Norse god of the sea and the wind was clearly smiling upon both the 44Cup Marstrand and local team Artemis Racing for the first day of the 2022 44Cup’s third event off western Sweden’s holiday hotspot of Marstrand.

July begins and so too the holidays in Sweden, with a deluge of tourists set to descend on western Sweden’s most picturesque island of Marstrand for the first official weekend of the summer.

The RC44 fleet return to Sweden's west coast next week for the 44Cup Marstrand over the 29 June – 3 July, the 10th year the fleet has raced off the picture-postcard island.

Normally 44Cup events are decided in the final gybes of the last leg of the last race after four days of competition. But at the 44Cup Cascais, the second of the 2022 series for the high performance owner-driver one designs, the opposite was true.

After two days of sun, Atlantic swell and prevailing northwesterlies, conditions turned around for day three of the 44Cup Cascais. Overnight the wind veered into the south and in the morning the eight RC44 teams waited ashore for an extra hour and half as the wind filled in.

While the opening day of the 44Cup Cascais saw the rare occurrence of one boat - Nico Poons' Charisma - winning all three races, on day two it was back to the 44Cup ‘norm’ with lead changes and three different winners.

Traditionally a team of black or white results, Charisma of Monaco-based Dutchman Nico Poons was very much in the latter phase, when his team defied the odds to win not just one, but all three, races on the opening day the 44Cup Cascais.

Igor Lah, tactician Adrian Stead and their CEEREF powered by Hrastnik 1860 are the team with the biggest target on their back going into the 44Cup Cascais, which sets sail tomorrow.

Next week, the 44Cup will return to the Portuguese sailing mecca of Cascais for event two of its 2022 season. Racing for the eight high-performance one-design monohulls will take place from Thursday to Sunday, 11-15 May.

Muscat, Oman, is to host the final and deciding event of the 2022 44Cup season, set to be held over 7 - 11 December.

Hosted by Oman Sail, Muscat will be the last event of the five-stop international tour in 2022. This started in Lanzarote in Spain in early February and continues to Cascais in Portugal, Marstrand in Sweden and is followed by its World Championship in Portoroz, Slovenia before heading for its grand finale in the Middle East.

Switzerland’s Black Star Sailing Team has confirmed it will join the 44Cup for the second event of the 2022 season in Cascais, Portugal, over 11-15 May.

Effervescent Italian Vasco Vascotto made a welcome to return to one of “his sailing families” when for the 44Cup Calero Marinas Lanzarote he stepped on board Nico Poons’ Charisma as temporary stand-in tactician.

Rod Davis – Payback
A much needed initiative – but still a tough road

Going into the final day of the 44Cup Calero Marinas, Igor Lah’s Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 held a strong 11 point lead.

Four races were held on day three of the 44Cup Calero Marinas in perfect trade winds conditions – sun, waves and easterly winds at times gusting to 20 knots.

Having built up an impressive career and reputation, Torrijo became the first women to obtain the qualifications of an International Judge, International Referee, and International regatta Officer.

After a zero wind opening day of the 44Cup Calero Marinas in Lanzarote, forecasts indicated day two might repeat this. In fact, after an hour’s delay, an easterly filled in and built to 12-14 knots, allowing three good races to be held.

Sadly no water passed beneath the keels of the ten-strong 44Cup fleet on the opening day of their first regatta of the 2022 season off Porto Calero Lanzarote.

With the 44Cup Calero Marinas Lanzarote starting tomorrow, the high performance owner-driver one design class returns to having a double digit-sized fleet for the first time since 2016.

For its 15th season, the 44Cup will see ten teams on the start line for the first event of 2022 in Lanzarote, hosted by Calero Marinas in Puerto Calero over the 9 - 13 February.

We asked Gough a few questions to get a better understanding of how he became such an instrumental part of an international team.

Over four of the most difficult days of racing in 44Cup history, an impressive seven races were still held at the 44Cup Calero Marinas Lanzarote

This week a shallow depression centred due west of Gibraltar has effectively shut down the famous trades, which typically provide 20+ knot winds at this time of year in the Canary Islands, making it world renowned as a water sports mecca.

Conditions off Lanzarote’s moon scape south coast took on a different character for day two of the 44Cup Calero Marinas Lanzarote, with much improved sailing conditions albeit with the 8-12 knot wind blowing either along or off the shore.

Incredible photos from Nico Martinez of Martinez Studio on day two in Puerto Calero.

The 44Cup Calero Marinas Lanzarote, final and deciding event of the 2021 44Cup, got off to a difficult start today. To race the nimble RC44s only need 5/6 knots of wind and on several occasions the race committee valiantly began a start sequence in more than this, only for the wind to disappear.

The final event of the 2021 44Cup sets sail tomorrow out of Puerto Calero, Lanzarote with technically any of the five top teams still able to win the overall prize and any of the top seven capable of landing themselves a spot on the podium following the four events so far this season.

Having started sailing oppies at Salterns Sailing club to being an instrumental part of Team Aqua on the RC44 race circuit, James Dodd talks us through his role as pitman onboard the boat.

The fifth and final event of the 2021 44Cup Championship Tour is to conclude next week in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote. The nine boats entered are lining up for an ultra-competitive conclusion.

A last minute manoeuvre by Nico Poons’ Charisma won them the final race of the 44Cup Scarlino World Championship by a mere second, but it was the defending champions on Chris Bake’s Team Aqua that defended their title in this 11^th RC44 World Championship by one slender point.

Conditions could not have been better for day three of the 44Cup Scarlino World Championship.

After 30 knot winds prevented any racing on day one of the 44Cup World Championship in Scarlino, Italy, the race committee pulled out all the stops to ensure racing took place today, by bringing the start time forwards by two hours.

While the forecast indicated that it might be sailable, the opening day of this 11^th 44Cup World Championship was blown out with the northerly winds off Scarlino, Italy regularly reaching the high 20s and gusting into the high 30s.

Nine teams are in Scarlino, Italy this week to contest the annual 44Cup World Championship.

The 44Cup returns to Italy next week for the first time since Porto Cervo in 2017.

The final day of the 44Cup Cowes was always going to be big. Despite the overnight seven point gap between the leaders Aleph and second placed Ceeref, experience told Hugues Lepic and his team that they should take nothing for granted.

Behind them the battle for third was intense with three teams on equal points.

Practice or showcase, call it what you will, the 44Cup fleet simply call it another opportunity to line up against each other.

Since arriving in Cowes for the 44Cup all eight teams had been expecting conditions to build for the second day of racing and with 20-24knots to kick things off, that was precisely what was delivered.

What the opening day of the 44Cup in Cowes lacked in sunshine it more than made up for with close racing.

Sunshine, a solid sea breeze and a start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes was the perfect way to open the third event in the 44Cup calendar as the fleet took to the Solent.

It is rare even between the ultra-close RC44s for an event to go to the wire in such an extreme way as it did at the conclusion of the 44Cup Marstrand.

Just when the pecking order seemed to be firming up at the 44Cup Marstrand, so today’s final race off the picture postcard Swedish island, turned the results on their head, yet again.

In an example of the high performance RC44 one design class’ typically ultra-close racing, so yesterday’s winners dropped to the bottom of the pile at the 44Cup Marstrand today as those managing to remain the most consistent rose gradually to the top.

The 44Cup Marstrand had a tricky start today off the Swedish paradise island bearing its name. A weather front slowly moving across the west coast of Sweden brought with it solid 25 knots winds, 30+ gusts and the real prospect of no racing for the eight owner-driver RC44s.

On a circuit where the racing is as close as it is on the 44Cup, rarely does one team to claim back-to-back wins in the high performance, owner-driver one designs.

Beautiful drone shots from a foxtrot finish in Marstrand.

One of the most daunting jobs in the sailing is to be tactician on board Team Nika in the 44Cup.

The most regularly visited venue on the 44Cup, since the first full racing season for the high performance owner-driver one designs took place in 2008, has been the picture postcard island of Marstrand on Sweden’s west coast.

Watch the full event highlights from the 44Cup Portoroz. The opening event of the 2021 44Cup Championship Tour.

Four magnificent days of 44Cup racing in Portoroz, Slovenia concluded with further 20+ knot winds, flat water and sun, but mixed fortunes.

For the first 44Cup event in 17 months, Portorož could not have offered better conditions to date; slowly ramping up the wind strength to the third and penultimate day of racing, when the wind was at times solidly into the 20s, gusting to 25 knots.

In a fleet as close as the 44Cup's it is rare for one team to dominate. However, perhaps because of the 17 month absence caused by the pandemic, yesterday at the 44Cup Portorož there was one stand-out performer, Team Nika. Today it was the turn of RC44 legend Chris Bake, Kiwi tactician Cameron Appleton and Team Aqua to shine brilliantly.

With its light start, brilliant sunshine and the ancient town of Piran and the still snowcapped Slovenian Alps as a backdrop, the day could not have been better for the 44Cup fleet to blow away any cobwebs after such a long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a few days out on the water training here in Slovenia, owners and crews of the eight RC44s are now back in the saddle and ready for tomorrow's start of the 44Cup Portorož.

Following a huge effort on the part of the local organisers in Slovenia, the class, as well as the owners and teams arriving from the four corners of the globe, the 44Cup season will fire up again next week at the 44Cup Portorož.

The 44Cup is proud to celebrate the return to sailing and the sport that we love. We pledge that the health and safety of all our stakeholders – sailors, officials and partners – will be our priority.

Since the fleet last visited Bermuda in 2016, furiously writing notes and shooting video on their RIB has been towering Australian Andrew Palfrey, better known simply as ‘Dog’.

After a rollercoaster year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the 44Cup is ready to launch into 2021 with two new venues and a full fleet of nine boats.

The 44Cup has always been popular with Russian teams, the high performance owner-driver one design class attracting their nation’s top sailors.

The owners and Organising Authority of the 44Cup have today made the final decision to cancel the remaining two events of the 2020 season.

Team Aqua’s main sheet trimmer, US-based Kiwi Andrew Estcourt, reckons he, along with team mate Ben Graham, has missed only one event with Chris Bake’s team as they start their 14^th season on the high performance one design circuit.

Due to the travel restrictions imposed by the UK Government the 44Cup will sadly not be a part of Cowes Week in August 2020.

Taking place over every Wednesday in April the 44Cup Virtual Regatta Series saw 20 sailors, staff and race officials from the 44Cup compete over 12 races online while Europe is in the Coronavirus lockdown.

Due to the impact of the ongoing global outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) it is decided that the 44Cup Marstrand will be postponed to the summer of 2021.

Enjoying their first full season on the high performance one design monohull circuit this year is Pavel Kuznetsov’s Tavatuy Sailing Team.

The 2020 44Cup season will join one of the oldest and most respected regattas in the world, Cowes Week.

Baird is no stranger to the 44Cup having raced in the past with Synergy Russian Sailing Team, Team Nika and Katusha.

Team Aqua’s tactician Cameron Appleton discusses his first time racing an RC44, how the boat has changed over the past 12 years and why the things that have stayed the same mean it is still loved today by the sailing elite.

It was supposed to be a heavyweight bout between Chris Bake’s Team Aqua and Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika.

If Charisma and Aleph were the stand-out teams yesterday, today, the penultimate day of the 44Cup Palma, belonged to Igor Lah's Team CEEREF.

Racing in Palma in November was always going to be challenging not just for crews but especially for race officials more used to racing here in summer, in a sea breeze you can set your watch by.

Winds gusting up to 40 knots and a heinous seastate out on the Bay of Palma, kept the 44Cup fleet at the dock on the opening day of the 44Cup Palma.

Starting tomorrow is the 44Cup Palma, concluding event of the 2019 44Cup where the overall winner will be decided.

The pressure is on for the 44Cup fleet going into next week’s grand final in Palma, Majorca, over the 13 – 17 November.

Whether it is in big waves or small, gale force or sub-10 winds, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua has shone this week.

The conditions placed a premium on crew work and it was easy even for the most polished teams to come unstuck.

A selection of the best shots from Pedro Martinez of Martinez Studio.

At the halfway stage of the 44Cup Cascais, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua has joined Nico Poons’ Charisma at the top of the leaderboard and is even ahead on countback.

Charisma showed the way around the race track on the opening day of the 44Cup Cascais, posting a most respectable 2-1-2.

The annual 44Cup pilgrimage to the Portugese sailing mecca of Cascais is taking place this week.

Firing up next week is the penultimate event of the 2019 RC44 season, the 44Cup Cascais, running over the 2^nd - 6^thOctober.

One of the never-ending attractions of racing on the 44 Cup, be it for pro or amateur crew, but especially for the owner-drivers, is the ability to learn and improve.

As a part of the collaboration, Pelle P are making 44Cup merchandise for all customers and fans.

Much like the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, the 44Cup has Nico and Pedro Martinez.

Holding an eight point advantage going into the final day, and then doing enough to hang on, enabled Chris Bake’s Team Aqua to be crowned the 44Cup Marstrand World Champions for 2019.