RC44 News-Feed

For 2023 the rules concerning crew on the RC44s have been changed – now it is not mandatory to carry a female crew, but highly beneficial to do so. Until this year most RC44s sailed eight up: the owner-driver, a maximum of four pros with the remaining three required to be ‘amateur’, technically World Sailing Category 1 sailors. Under the latest rule one of the amateur sailors can now be replaced with a pro female sailor in which case the maximum combined crew weight limit is raised to 730kg (for an all-male crew it remains at 680kg). As a result every team this year has at least one female crew or two in the case of Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team, which has Kiwi match racer Celia Willison on bow.  

In fact having female crew on board is not a new move on the 44Cup. In recent seasons Aleph Racing has included Lara Poljsak in their line-up, while previously Flavia Tomiselli raced for two seasons with Bronenosec Sailing Team and another two with Peninsula Racing and today is perhaps the class’ most capped female sailor. As a result when the rule came into effect she was quickly recruited into Nico Poons’ Charisma, while Poljsak has remained with Hugues Lepic’s French team. 

However the remaining female crew on the RC44s are entirely new to the class, including from highly experienced two time 470 Olympian Federica Salva, who races on Team Nika and another two time Olympic 470 sailor Tina Mrak from Slovenia. In terms of nationality Italy dominates with Salva, Tomiselli and Artemis Racing’s Elisa Mangani, who, like Tomiselli, works in the marine trade in Palma – Tomiselli is a designer for North Sails, Mangani works on business development for Ronstan. 

One of the youngest to be signed up is the circuit’s sole Spanish woman, 22-year-old Julia Miñana, who like Salva (who works the bow on the Team Nika Melges 20), was already well known to the crew of her team having had first-hand experience five years ago racing with Peninsula Racing’s team coach Gustavo Martinez Doreste and boat captain German Panei on a J/70. All heralded from Club Náutico de Jávea, located mid-way between Valencia and Alicante, and both were sponsored by Fermax, a Valencia-based manufacturer of door entry systems. At the time Miñana was in the headlines having been crowned 2015 Optimist European Champion, a regatta in which she topped a fleet of 97 girls, before graduating up to the 420. 

Miñana, 22, is just ramping up her sailing again having last year finished her degree in aerospace engineering (a qualification Elisa Mangani also has). However her studies have not yet ended as she is continuing with a Masters on Computational Fluid Dynamics and data analysis – two areas of expertise, along with her sailing background, that she hopes will one day see her signed up to the design team of an America’s Cup campaign or similar. She has already been trialling for the Spanish SailGP team, where her added qualifications over her sailing were put to good use: “It is like you pool your knowledge of sailing and data analysis to make it helpful.” As she holds out for another Spanish America’s Cup team (since the last in 2007), in the meantime she is racing the 44Cup with John Bassadone’s Gibraltar-based team and also races on the successful Swan 42 Pez de Abril, which last season was second at the Swan Worlds and at the Rolex Swan Cup. 

To race on Peninsula Racing, she was recruited in November. “I think perhaps it took me one second to decide,” she jokes. While largely a dinghy sailor, she says she knew about the 44Cup thanks to her Peninsula Racing friends at her yacht club. Compared to other keelboats to which she is used, the RC44 is a proper race boat with no compromises in trying to be used for cruising, and with lots to tweak and adjust. 

On board Miñana gets to race with some legends. Italian Vasco Vascotto is back in the tactician’s role following his stint with Luna Rossa, while joining the Gibraltar team this year is Spanish 470 Olympic Gold medallist and America’s Cup winner (with Alinghi) Jordi Calafat, who is trimming main. “I am very excited to sail them,” Miñana says. “Vasco and Jordi – they have won a lot. All of the time I am asking them things and I learn a lot. I am very happy.” 

A significant issue remains the role of the female crew on board. Clearly the added 50kg is useful but what to do with their hands while on board in a team so well versed and with such a developed play book? On Peninsula Racing, Miñana says “I am multitasking. Upwind I help Jordi with the mainsail and at the mark I help with the sail changes. In the next years we can work [to develop our roles]. Perhaps I can learn how to trim the mainsail. Or maybe I win a lot of money and can buy my own boat!” 

While there is some debate over artificially getting women to race on board via rule changes, it has clearly worked in other avenues in sailing such as the Ocean Race and it certainly breaks the chicken-egg scenario where women don’t get invited to sail because they lack experience but can’t get the experience without sailing. “We have to evolve the women in sailing and if you put a woman in the boat it is progress,” says Miñana. “If you don’t push this to happen, it won’t happen. We need a rule now, but perhaps in five years we won’t…”

Usually racing on the 44Cup between the high performance owner-driver one designs is tight with ties or just single points separating the leaders. At the 44Cup Oman, opening event of the 2023 season and hosted out of Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina by Oman Sail, perhaps due to the strong conditions of the first three days, the leaderboard was clearly defined going into the final day with Nico Poons’ Charisma seven points clear of Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860, in turn eight ahead of John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing.

Unlike the previous three days when conditions built to 20 knots with a vicious short sea, today racing took place in light 5-8 knots, more typical of the Omani venue. Fortunately the wind held, enabling PRO Maria Torrijo to complete the full racing schedule. 

In today’s opening race Peninsula Racing was the runaway winner. This compressed the leaderboard points but only slightly with Ceeref coming home second and Charisma fourth. 

Sadly for Nico Poons’ team, the second race was a disaster. As Charisma’s tactician Hamish Pepper explained: “We weren’t going particularly well and after a bad start, went the wrong way up the first beat and got a little bit stuck in the middle and didn’t recover. And we got a penalty on the downwind - we thought we were racing Team Aqua for the title and they thought they were racing us…”

As result Charisma finished eighth, while another second for Ceeref caused Igor Lah’s team to take the lead by one point going into the final race. Ceeref was also ahead on countback so Charisma would have be two places ahead of her rival to win overall in this last race. 

By this time the wind was down to 5-6 knots, but still more than sailable for the nimble RC44s. 

At the start fate was smiling on Ceeref as Charisma tied herself in knots, OCS and with a penalty against. Fortunately for Poons’ team there was a general recall and they made a better job of it when the second attempt got away successfully. However, a nose ahead, Ceeref maintained a loose cover at the top mark was where she needed to be – immediately ahead of Charisma. This position she held to the leeward gate where she rounded the port mark, allowing Charisma to split right. At this critical moment Ceeref received a penalty for failing to keep clear of Peninsula Racing: “That penalty was a little harsh, but we dealt with it and we got back into it,” said Stead, but his opposite number Pepper observed: “They got a penalty and it seemed not to affect them at all - they were right back with us at the next cross.” 

Coming into the top mark, Charisma was indeed ahead of Ceeref, but with Peninsula Racing on her inside, was not ahead enough… Ultimately it was all settled on the run: Ceeref gybed early and recovered the extra metres bringing her home sixth to Charisma’s seventh. 

“I feel really good!” said Igor Lah of his victory. “Today was like a new day. We knew that we could do it and we did it. We have to come back to Oman!” 

While it could be argued that Charisma lost this regatta as much as Ceeref won it, Stead observed: “You have to bear in mind in this fleet it is so easy to come first or ninth – everyone is so good. No one gives you an inch. If you mess up the start and miss the first two shifts you are at the back and then there are gold medallists and AC sailors and everyone to get past.”

According to Stead this is the fourth year Ceeref has won the opening event of the season. 

Winner of today’s second race, Team Nika had a slight zero to hero and back regatta. New British tactician Nic Asher assessed: “The guys sailed well - we were going fast. I just made a couple of mistakes today. I was kicking myself in the first race: We wanted to start at the boat, but it got crowded so I thought we’d start under the fleet, which was a mistake. Then I missed the layline into the gate which was pretty costly. After that we sailed well.”

As a relative newcomer to the RC44, Asher is still coming to terms with its light wind speed: “Often you don’t realise how light the wind is, because you are still powered up and heeled over. It can be only 4-5 knots.” 

While there were distractions deeper in the fleet, Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing won the final race. Of his week the London-based Frenchman observed: “We were doing very well when it came to our speed and our tactical choices. We had a few hiccups with two MOBs, one OCS, three penalties and two penalty points and considering this, the result was actually very good. But a lot of action took place which was not very positive!”

Elsewhere in the fleet Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team had a better day with their new crew, finishing with a fourth, while the Oman Sail team found it easier today in the lighter conditions. 

The next 44Cup event will be Marstrand, Sweden over 28 June-2 July. 

While Nico Poons’ Charisma, the 2022 44Cup Champion, is the event’s runaway leader at the 44Cu, albeit still catchable, on day three of the 44Cup Oman  several other teams had the opportunity to shine. 

After an hour’s delay waiting for the wind to build, the race area off Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina for a third day offered the nine teams competing at the 44Cup Oman perfect conditions, starting with 8 knots and building into the teens for the final race. 

In the first race it was tight coming into the top mark between Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860, John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing and Charisma. After a slightly chaotic run, Peninsula Racing led around the starboard leeward gate mark with Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing. From here it was a battle of the sides with the Gibraltar team taking the far right and Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing the most extreme left. Coming into the top mark with rights on starboard tack, while seeing off several threatening port tackers, put Peninsula Racing firmly into the lead which she maintained to the finish, with the Swedish team second.  

In addition to new female crew Julia Miñana, Peninsula Racing has recruited Spanish sailing star - former 470 gold medallist and America’s Cup winner - Jordi Calafat to trim main this season. For Calafat, this is his first ever 44Cup race. “The boat is very good. It is fun to learn how it works and it is great fun racing. It is especially a fast downwind boat. The conditions have been excellent. I am really enjoying it.” According to Calafat their success in today’s first race came from successfully managing to reach the top mark despite a very tight layline. “In that case you can easily be first or sixth…” 

At that race’s leeward gate, Team Nika had rounded the starboard mark immediately astern of Charisma and had collided with her transom. This had cost Team Nika a penalty turn plus two penalty points for hard contact and the damage incurred. 

From ‘hero’ to ‘zero’, in the second race Peninsula Racing was pushed over the line and it was Charisma’s turn to lead up the first beat, coming across on starboard with rights and forced most of the fleet coming across on port to duck them. For the remainder of the race, Poons, tactician Hamish Pepper and the rest of the Monaco-flagged team did a good job cutting down any potential threats from the rest of the fleet to secure their second bullet of the regatta. 

For the third and final race today the ENEerly wind was into the mid-teens and steadily building. With Chris Bake back behind the wheel today, Team Aqua found gold at the top left of the first beat, coming into the top mark with a solid lead. They extended down the run, only to lose their advantage trawling their kite at the leeward gate. Nonetheless they remained in first onto the final run. Here they remained on starboard gybe while Team Nika gybed early and, finding better pressure on the right, and after gybing back, sped into the finish line pipping Team Aqua to the post. 

“He could have let me win one race - I worked so hard!” quipped Chris Bake afterwards. “It is really good to be back. The wind built through the day. The last race we played the ‘butterfly strategy’, but on the last downwind, we had 12 knots and Nika had 15. It looked like they were cruising…and we certainly weren’t…” 

For a second day, Charisma was top scoring boat, but Artemis Racing also did well in the first two races and managed to salvage a fourth place in the last race despite having been eighth at the final top mark rounding, by heading to the right as the eventual winner, Team Nika, did ahead of them. This left them with a 2-3-4 today, and had Ceeref not stolen second place from them in the final metres of today’s second race, they would have equalled Charisma’s top points tally for the day. 

“It is very close,” said Torbjörn Törnqvist of the final race. “Clearly at the top mark, there was only one way to go and that was where no one was…and it worked out. I am happy with the sailing here. We are doing very well around the course. We are getting there. There are fantastic conditions – I don’t think anyone was expected this - 25°C and 20 knots of breeze. I like the action and it is very special with these boats: they are fast and lively and a technical challenge,” he added, showing the blisters on his hands, he picked up helming his RC44 at high speed today.  

Racing continues tomorrow with a first warning signal at 1200 with a three final races scheduled. While the top two places are looking solid between Charisma and Ceeref, they are by no means unassailable and in this class there is never a shortage of surprises. 

Day two of the 44Cup Oman started off sedate as forecast, but finished with the wind gusting to 20 knots, providing further ‘yeehaa’ moments for the nine crews as they clung on, blasting off on the downwinds into the building sea state. 

After six races and at the half way stage of the 44Cup Oman, there is a new leader. 

For a second day the forecast suggested moderate ENEerly winds but unlike yesterday these actually materialised. In the first race in 10-12 knots. Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing ducked the fleet on port to claim the right team and the lead at the top mark, albeit with Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 inside her. By the leeward gate Ceeref and Team Nika had overtaken, but they split, with Ceeref going left, a move from which they went on to claim, impressively, their third bullet in four races. 

On board Artemis Racing, new tactician, 49er gold medallist and Moth World Champion Dylan Fletcher admitted: “At times I didn’t make all the right decisions and got a bit annoyed with myself, getting caught out of phase and being bouncing around like a pinball. Hopefully I’ll iron out these schoolboy errors.” 

He added: “It is a fantastic fleet - the RC44 is great, everyone is really nice. The thing that really stands out is just how good it is in light winds and how much fun it is too when it is big breeze and windy. It is a jack of all trades: Close racing and intense.” 

There were several incidents too: Peninsula Racing was OCS and, as she started bearing away to restart, her transom swung into Aleph Racing’s port topside. However as windward boat, Aleph had failed to keep clear and so she received a penalty. She also received a penalty point for 'hard contact' plus an extra one as there was damage. For Aleph things went from bad to worse when, just before the finish, she was penalised again when her spinnaker touched Charisma. Chris Bake’s Team Aqua was also in trouble when coming in on port to the starboard layline she was involved in a port-starboard incident  with Oman Sail and subsequently collided with them while failing to keep clear. For this she had to complete two sets of turns and received two penalty points.

With the breeze up to 15 knots, the second race saw John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing punch out furthest to the right and lead into the top mark. By the leeward gate Peninsula Racing was still ahead, but rounded the port gate while Nico Poons’ Charisma took the favoured starboard mark. Charisma went on to finally get their first bullet of the regatta.

The last race, in which the wind was gusting to 20 knots, saw a change of fortune for Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing. While Charisma again looked strong initially, the French team found a nice lift at the top of the first upwind enabling them to reach the top mark, comfortably ahead of Team Aqua. This she increased down the run and from there was unassailable, finishing ahead of Charisma and Team Nika.

“It was a nice birthday present for Hugues,” said Aleph’s Michele Ivaldi. “Finally we put all the pieces together: We had a good start and we went almost all of the way left. I was happy to stay on one tack. When you have a small lead at the top mark you can just stretch. It was good fun on the downwinds.” Aleph Racing was on her J2 jib while just two boats Team Nika and Artemis Racing had gambled on the wind increasing and hoisted J3s. 

A solid 3-1-2 has caused Charisma to take the lead overall from CEEREF now three points astern, with Peninsula Racing another three behind. 

“We made many mistakes, but the results were fine,” commented Nico Poons. “We had good speed and we made mistakes and did things wrong, but we did that less than everyone else. Doing the small things less badly!”

Kiwi tactician Hamish Pepper added: “It was a good day results-wise. We are slowly getting back into the swing of things. It is our first couple of days of breezy sailing.” Traditionally Charisma has always been strong when the wind is up: “Nico likes the breeze and the guys sail the boat really well in a breeze. Typically our boat handling is pretty good and it gives me good opportunities to put the boat in the right place. The 44 is such great racing, so close and it was our day today.” 

Second best scorer today was Team Nika with 2-3-3 - surprising given they pulled out of racing yesterday when they almost broke their mast at deck level. “I have no idea how it didn’t come down,” admitted the team’s tactician Nic Asher. Overnight the bottom section of the two piece carbon fibre spar was replaced with a spare. “We put the rig back in at 0700 this morning, put our numbers in and went out early to check it. Then we just tried to go racing and see where we were at.”And clearly where they were at was somewhere good. 

Tomorrow conditions are forecast to be similar to today. Racing will again start at 1200 local time. 

The 2023 44Cup set sail today with the opening races of the 44Cup Oman Cup, hosted by Oman Sail from its base in Muscat’s Al Mouj marina in 20+ knot winds. This made for spectacular downwind legs, the RC44s frequently speeding down waves then submarining, occasionally broaching, all the while providing a thorough work-out for the owner-drivers and their crews.

The 17-22 knots was in stark contrast to the conclusion of the 2022 44Cup here in December, held in four days of ultra-light conditions, in which most other keelboat classes would not have been able to race. While 17-22 knots is nothing exception for the high-performance, owner-driver one designs, today the onshore easterly wind had been blowing for some time, kicking up an evil short chop with frequent breaking waves. 

“What a great season opener – fantastic sailing,” declared Adrian Stead, tactician on Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860. “Three cracking races - it was the first time we have sailed in such breeze since Marstrand last July. I think it was a question of who remembered ‘how to do it right’, the quickest.”

However a bigger issue was that no forecasts suggested there would be any more than 15 knots. As Stead observed: “We all left the dock with genoas and J2s – but no J3s. But it was okay - we knew there was going to be a seaway because the breeze had been blowing from the east overnight.”

Considering the boats were overpowered, there were relatively few incidents, but it was still a high scoring day. 

After losing the 2022 season at the final event here, Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 today came out top, winning the first and third races. 

In the first Team Nika led around the top mark but was rolled by Ceeref on the run, compounded when Team Nika severely broached. With good tactics and meticulous handling, the Slovenian team hung on to get the first bullet of the 2023 season ahead of Nico Poons’ 2022 champions on Charisma and Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing. 

In the second race Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing trailed Charisma into the top mark. The French and Dutch teams remained close for the next lap, despite splitting at the leeward gate with Charisma going left. At the top mark, the two rounded overlapped. As Aleph Racing came upright, one of her crewmen was flicked into the water, dragging another with him. Aleph expertly spun into the wind to collect her swimmers. Meanwhile, in tandem, Charisma was carrying a penalty turn for failing to keep clear. This handed John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing the lead only for them to lose it after gybing prematurely handing the win to Team Aqua, with Peninsula Racing second and Charisma third, her second podium of the day. 

For race three, the course was overshadowed by a giant cumulonimbus cloud over the mainland, its mushroom top extending over the race track. This caused the wind to build to 22 knots, the seastate still lumpy. However the outcome was simpler with Ceeref winning the left side, lead at the top mark and then hanging on for the remainder of the race.  With two bullets, but a deep result in between, Ceeref leads by just two points from the three-way tied Peninsula Racing, Aleph Racing and Charisma. 

“It is nice to be here,” said Igor Lah. “Today we finally got some nice breeze. We have been waiting for this for almost a year. The waves were quite short and I don’t remember when we got as wet as today! But it was warm, so okay.”

Today was the first time RC44s have raced with women on board each boat. On Ceeref was Slovenian two time Olympic 470 sailor Tina Mrak. “Tina did a fantastic job today. She is a key part of the team,” said Stead. “She is always looking at the breeze and helping trim, to keep our mainsheet trimmer hiking out. It’s great for the other amateurs on board as she is there pushing them. I am really pleased with her addition to the team.”

Getting off to a good start today was John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing, which is tied in second. The Gibraltar-based team hasn’t managed a podium finish at an event since 2017. In his own unique way, tactician Vasco Vascotto explained: “We decided not to take the J3 because we thought it was going to be lighter. So now we are wet and a little upset because we could have had the correct sails on board. Apart from that we did a good job. And, the most important thing was that we feel that we learned.”

Racing continues tomorrow with the forecast suggesting similarly brisk conditions to today.

In another step towards re-energising the 44Cup, the rules for the International RC44 One Design class have been revised for 2023 so that going into the 44Cup Oman, which starts out of Muscat’s Al Mouj marina tomorrow, all nine teams will race with at least one female crew. 

While not a completely new development, like so many professional sailing circuits it is possible to count on one hand the number of female crew that have competed during the 44Cup’s 16 year existence. This will change for 2023. 

To date 44Cup crews have only been permitted to race with four World Sailing Category 3 ‘pro’ sailors on board. Now this has been amended so that the remaining positions on board, can now not only be filled with WS Cat 1 ‘amateur’ sailors, but also each team’s boat captain, plus women and under 30-year-olds - even if they are pro sailors under World Sailing’s classification.

Racing with female crew is not mandatory, but the maximum weight limit rules have been altered making it beneficial to do so: a crew with a female or a substitute direct family member (several owners very much enjoy sailing with their children on board) can have an all-up crew weight of 730kg, whereas for a crew without it is 680kg. An all-female crew, should one ever materialise, can have a total crew weight of 760kg. 

As a result there has been a strong recruiting drive for all teams with the exception of Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing, which had the prescience to have Slovenian sailor Lara Poljsak already racing with them. Similarly Flavia Tomiselli, who previously raced on Peninsula Racing was quickly snapped up by Nico Poons’ Charisma, the 2022 44Cup champions. Meanwhile, two time Slovenian Olympic 470 sailor (and two time European Champion) Tina Mrak joins Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860; Team Aqua has Tinka Visser from the Netherlands; Artemis Racing has Italian Elisa Mangani; Spain’s Julia Miñana joins John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing; another 470 Olympian Federica Salva is with Team Nika. Oman Sail’s crew will rotate Ibtisam Al Salmi and Maria Al Khaifi. Uniquely Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team has two women on board, Anina Fässler  and Celia Willison as bow-woman. 

One of Christian Zuerrer’s aims with his team has been to develop young sailors. His Black Star new recruits are, by coincidence, both trained nurses but otherwise have very different backgrounds. From Switzerland, Fässler has mostly raced offshore on former Volvo Ocean Race boats running corporate/charter programs. Meanwhile, a graduate of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s youth training program, Willison is a successful female match racing helmsman whose Edge Match Racing Team were 2019 NZ Women’s National Match Racing champions. She came to Europe in 2022 to seek her fortune as a pro-sailor and has ended up on the RC44 after spending a season racing various keelboats in the UK, including winning the UK Cape 31 Nationals. She admits she has not worked the bow for years but is pleased that the opportunity has arisen making it more possible for women to race RC44s. 

The 16th season of 44Cup racing set sails this week out of Muscat, Oman for the fleet of high performance owner-driver one design monohulls. 

At this first of five 44Cup events taking place in 2023, nine of the best RC44 teams will be competing, including many past winners. While his team only finished third in Muscat at the conclusion of the 2022 season, Nico Poons’ Charisma team, led by tactician Hamish Pepper, had won the three previous events in Cascais, Marstrand and Portorož. Nonetheless, a disappointing eighth place at the opening event of the season, meant that going into the 44Cup Oman in December, Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 was leading overall. This was overturned when in the final tally Charisma was able to discard her eighth while a disappointing final event result for the Slovenian team enabled Charisma to claim the 2022 title by a mere point. This was the second occasion Poons had won the 44Cup – in 2018 Charisma overcame both Team Nika and Team CEEREF by a single point. 

“I was very much amazed that we won so convincingly last season,” reflects Poons. “It shows that when you have things in order - but you never know when that will be - you can be at the head of the class. But saying that, it also takes nothing to fall back again, especially in this very competitive fleet. All of the teams are strong. If you look at them - CEEREF, Aqua, Nika - they are all a threat and Aleph can have his good moments as well.”

In 2023 the 44Cup will return from Oman before returning to Europe, when the circuit will head first to a regular favourite, Marstrand in Sweden. It then moves to Cowes and one of yacht racing’s most famous stretches of water – the Solent, in the UK – where the 2023 44Cup World Championship will take place. The fourth event is at a brand venue, the 44Cup Alcaidesa Marina, in Spain, neighbouring the border with Gibraltar, while the season will conclude in an favourite venues for the teams, the Canary Islands.

“I’m looking forward to the season coming up,” continues Poons. “We are going to some nice venues and Gibraltar for somewhere new. It’s always good to go to new places, especially in the summer when you have a bit of breeze rather than the heart of the Mediterranean. That's the charm of this class. And then next year we might go to the Caribbean and the US, which will give another dynamic. I'm quite happy with the development of the 44Cup.” 

As the 2022 winner, Charisma starts the new season with the 44Cup leader’s ‘golden wheels’, the class’ equivalent of the Tour de France’s yellow jersey. “Being in the lead makes you more nervous and it still makes the team nervous,” admits Poons. “But the more good results we have, the more we learn how to deal with it. But there is always some pressure on everyone. There is always something to deal with and we all know it takes nothing to be the underdog. When we have really bad results there is normally a reason - last season we had a problem with our trim tab. It could be an illness or whatever - the smallest thing can drop your performance.” 

But which teams are most capable of topping Charisma? Naturally, it could easily be the turn of Igor Lah, British tactician Adrian Stead and the crew Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 having come so close in 2023, before their unravelling in Oman in December. Chris Bake, tactician Cameron Appleton and Team Aqua also are regularly in the hunt having won both the season and the World Championship in 2021, but not their usual immaculate selves last season. 

The dark horse is probably Team Nika which ended the season on a high, the first event win for the team since claiming the RC44 World Championship in 2018. Much of the heavy lifting to achieve this result is felt to have been carried by Italian tactician Francesco Bruni, but he has since disappeared on America’s Cup helming duty with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, leaving British former 470 World Champion turned pro tactician Nic Asher to take over from him. Remarkably in 2022 Team Nika was the third RC44 Asher racing on following La Pericolosa in Puerto Calero, then standing in for Adrian Stead on board Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 for a few races in Cascais.

Asher is continuing with Team Nika this season. As to the 44Cup Oman he says: “We are just taking every day as it comes. I've only done one event and although we got a win we don't want to set our expectations too high for the rest of the season. We're not looking at anyone else in the fleet, all the boats can win races so we don't focus on it at all, just keep our attention on our own performance and try to do the best job we can.”

Another British Olympic medallist is taking over tactician’s duty in Oman aboard Artemis Racing, which already has triple Olympic medallist Iain Percy on main sheet. Dylan Fletcher was the 49er gold medallist from the Tokyo games and is also the reigning champion in the hotly contested Moth class. 

Racing at the 44Cup Oman kicks off on Thursday 2 March and continues on until Sunday 5 March. 

The most competitive owner driver one-design racing in the world. This is the 44Cup. 

Designed to perform well in 5 or 25 knots the RC44 is fast upwind, able to plane downwind and is crewed by America's Cup and Olympic level tacticians. For the 2023 season the 44Cup will increase the number of female sailors in the fleet with the introduction of a new class rule, grow the fleet with two new boats in production and race for the first time on the Strait of Gibraltar. 

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The 2023 season of the 44Cup has been unveiled, with five events scheduled for what will be the 16th season of racing between the high performance owner-driver one design monohulls. 

The fleet size will kick off with nine entries for the first event and over the course of the season is expected to grow to more than ten with two new RC44s currently in build at Pauger Carbon Composites in Hungary. This follows the launch last season of another brand new RC44 for Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team from Switzerland. 

New to the circuit for 2023 will be the 44 Cup Alcaidesa Marina in Spain. This will be held out of Puerto Alcaidesa Marina in La Línea de la Concepción, right next to the border with Gibraltar where it will be hosted by John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing team. If the events Bassadone has generously supported in the past out of nearby Sotogrande had Gibraltar in the background, this time the famous 426m tall Rock, that marks the entrance to the Mediterranean, will be towering over the fleet as it races on the neighbouring Bay of Gibraltar. 

“I am honoured to welcome the 44 Cup to our home waters – the Bay of Gibraltar,” says Bassadone. “Having grown up here, I am proud to be able to showcase everything we have to offer from the hospitality to the sailing experience. The Gibraltarian and Andalucian way of life is uniquely ours. It knows no bounds and there are so many exciting things to experience. From prehistoric caves to world famous golf courses and everything in-between, you will be left wanting for nothing.

“I am certain this leg of the Championship will produce some very exciting races and nail biting sailing. The backdrop of the Rock of Gibraltar and the Atlas Mountains in North Africa are known as the Pillars of Hercules and what a fitting setting for the 44 Cup Championship.”

The 2023 season kicks off where it concluded in 2022, in Muscat, Oman. Here the 44Cup Oman will be held out of the Al Mouj Marina on the outskirts of the Omani capital Muscat over 1-5 March. The event is hosted  by Oman Sail, the well-known organisation set up in 2008 with the blessing of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to rekindle Oman’s maritime heritage, promote the Sultanate of Oman around the world through sailing and provide long-term learning opportunities for Omani youth. Hence Oman Sail will also field a team in the event. 

The 44Cup is no stranger to the Arabian Peninsula, having concluded its 2008 and 2009 seasons in Dubai; nor to Oman, which it visited previously in 2013 and 2014. 

After Oman, the 2023 44Cup will then return to Europe and its most regularly visited venue, the paradise island of Marstrand on Sweden’s west coast. Over 28 June until 2 July, the fleet is being hosted in the 44Cup’s Scandinavian stopover once again by long term 44Cup competitor Torbjörn Törnqvist and his Artemis Racing team. Racing will, as usual, take place to the west of the island and at the end of at least one day, the RC44 teams will get to finish a race inside Marstrand Fjord, off one of the picturesque seaside village’s ancient forts. 

For just the second time ever, the 44Cup will visit Cowes. Taking place over 9-13 August, this will be a busy period for the British venue with the 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race setting off from there two weeks beforehand and with Cowes Week taking place immediately prior to the 44Cup Cowes. One of yacht racing’s most famous venues, the Solent and the Isle of Wight are also among the most historic too with Cowes Week having been held for the first time officially in 1826, the first round of what would become the America’s Cup lapping the Isle of Wight in 1851 while the first Fastnet Race started from there in 1925. 

Hosted by Chris Bake’s Team Aqua and the Royal Yacht Squadron, the event will also double as the 2023 RC44 World Championship.

The 44Cup then moves to Spain for its final two events, the first in Puerto Alcaidesa Marina, while the 44Cup will again conclude its season with the support of the Calero family and their marina group over 22-26 November. As ever the Canary Islands provide a welcome end of year venue for the 44Cup combining warm temperatures compared to the rest of Europe at the end of November and the welcome possibility of strong northeasterly trade winds blowing. 

As ever, events will include post race drinks and food close to the dock where owners and crew can mingle to swap war stories and there will also be a return to holding owner and crew dinners in the evening. 

44Cup class manager Bertrand Favre adds: “It’s great to see the size of the fleet increasing year-on-year and new venues coming online for the class. The quality of the competition is outstanding, the racing is physical and exciting, the boat is affordable and what really makes a good 44Cup event is a friendship and camaraderie ashore amongst the teams. We are looking forward to another good season.”

2023 44CUP EVENTS:

1 - 5 March - 44Cup Oman, Muscat 
28 June - 2 July - 44Cup Marstrand, Sweden
9 - 13 August - 44Cup Cowes, UK
18 - 22 October - 44Cup Alcaidesa Marina, Gibraltar Straight 
22 - 26 November - 44Cup Calero Marinas, Canary Islands

On the concluding day of the 2022 44Cup’s final event, the 44Cup Oman, PRO Maria Torrijo defied the odds and was able to stage three races. As is usual with this fleet of high performance owner-driver one designs, the results were close going into the final day with Team Aqua, Team Nika and Aleph Racing separated by just one point for the lead. But today’s results would not only have a bearing on the event scoreline, but on those overall for the season. 

Despite the race course being moved further out to sea light winds combined with cumulus clouds made for massive race winning/losing shifts across the course. Tornjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing read these to perfection in the first race, winning by the largest margin of the week, with Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team second, her best result of the event. After this race still just two points separated the lead trio, a third place for Team Nika putting her back on top. 

Team Nika consolidated her position winning today’s second race, which also saw a return to form of RC44 World Champions Nico Poons’ Charisma, coming home second with John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing scoring her best result in third. This left Team Nika six points clear of second placed Artemis Racing, with still just five points separating the Swedes from Charisma in fifth. 

With the sun getting low in the sky, the third race was held as the gradient breeze was establishing. Once again Artemis Racing was in winning form, tactician Andy Horton having a sixth sense about the shifts. With the Swedes comfortably out in front, one third of the way down the run on board fourth placed Charisma tactician Hamish Pepper made the call to gybe, and out to the right found better pressure and a favourable shift, enabling her to take the final race win. 

This was a fitting season’s conclusion for Charisma which won three events back-to-back, including the class’ World Championship in Portorož in October. Here off Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina today she was best scoring boat of the day, elevating her from fifth place to the bottom spot of the 44Cup Oman podium. It was also enough to secure Charisma the 2022 44Cup title by seven points. 

Charisma won the 44Cup in 2018 but this year’s victory was definitive. “In 2018 that was victory in the last race,” recounted Poons. “This was completely different. We even finished third here, which I wasn’t expecting - some of my crew were a bit ill this event. We had three event wins in a row, so this has been a sort of a fall back compared to that. Here CEEREF could only harm us if we did badly, but in the end they did badly.” 

Poons was ably supported by his tactician, plus trimmers Chris Hosking, Ross Halcrow and Dimitri Simmons, pitman Ryan Godfrey, grinder Robin Jacobs and bowman Ivan Peute and American coach Morgan Reese, boat captain Julian Hampe and shore crew Sophie Heritage.

“It was just the experience of the team,” explained Hamish Pepper of their success. “We have been together for a few years now. We are just starting to sail the boat really well 99.9% of the time which gives me the opportunity to place the boat where I want to place it. 

“This regatta about the overall season title. We knew CEEREF was close so we had to keep one eye on them and one eye on the breeze which quite intense.” 

Aside from a lowly eighth in Saturday’s ultra-light race, Team Nika’s 44Cup Oman performance was exceptional. Their new British tactician Nick Asher has gelled well with the experienced team, despite having sailed with none of the crew before. “It is really pleasant to sail with them and a nice atmosphere on board,” said Asher. “The first two days we weren’t looking for the best start but we were in the race and picked our way through. Yesterday I messed it up a little bit and went for the win and rather than just ‘being in the race’. So we had a bit of a reset today.” Judging from today’s 3-1-5, this worked. 

With Team Nika, Artemis Race put in the second best score today. The final minutes of the last race, tactician Andy Horton said were nerve-racking: “I don’t know where Charisma came from on that last run, but the places in that race really affected the season. It was crazy, but it kept everyone on their toes. It was fun!”

The prize-giving was held in the square by the Al Mouj Marina was attended by Omani dignitaries including His Excellency Sultan Salim Saeed Al Habsi, Chairman of the Oman Investment Authority and Dr. Khamis Al Jabri, CEO of Oman Sail. Here Team Aqua owner and RC44 Class President Chris Bake thanked the hosts and complemented Oman Sail’s own crew, Team Asyad Shipping which competed here: “It has been a challenging week. It is a real pleasure having Oman Sail sail with us – it is an ambitious program and their team has done an incredible job.”

Bake concluded: “It has been an incredible year and we look forward to coming back to Oman for the start for the 2023 season.” 

Check out our favourite photos from the 2022 season by our photographer Nico Martinez. In November, Nico won the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award 2022 and the Delegates Award 2022. Below are some of the outstanding shots that have been taken over the course of the year.

The forecast for the penultimate day of the 44Cup Oman was for either a moderate northeasterly or for a light northwesterly. In fact the near non-existent gradient breeze and the similarly soft sea breeze made it a tricky day for both race officials and the nine 44Cup teams alike. 

Ultimately one race was held, the north-northwesterly wind never exceeding 6-7 knots, but enough for the nimble RC44 owner-driver one designs to make this speed both upwind and downwind. 

Starting to weather of the nine boat fleet, Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing was best positioned on the line and after sailing into a big lift up the first beat was able to lead around the top mark. However hanging on to their coattails in second place was not Nico Poons’ World Championship winners on Charisma nor 44Cup Oman leader Team Nika, or indeed any of the A-list 44Cup teams but local host Oman Sail’s own crew on Team Asyad Racing, who had done well making some sensible decisions up the right side. 

Despite sailing the former Artemis Racing Youth boat, which for the past season has been made available to aspirant teams wishing to try out racing in the 44Cup, Team Asyad Racing managed to fend off the 44Cup hot shots on the run. They led round the starboard leeward gate mark, a few seconds after Artemis Racing had led around the port mark. After tacking on to starboard, the Omanis dug into a major lift as they crossed the breadth of the course and by the time they had returned to the starboard layline, Team Asyad Racing was leading. 

Sadly for the local team, this proved to be their ‘five minutes of fame’ for while turning at the top mark their bowman was pitched into the water. They put their boat head to wind as their bedraggled crew was returned to them, uninjured save for his pride, by one of the 44Cup’s on the water umpires. They then continued racing.

“It was good, but it went wrong at the top mark. We just tried to hang on until the end after that,” said Team Asyad Racing’s skipper and Oman’s top 49er sailor Musab Al Hadi, admitting that if perhaps he had made the bear away slightly later they might have prevented the MOB. Of their success otherwise today (they ultimately still finished sixth– their best result to date), Al Hadi added: “It was great. It was exciting. We were just trying to keep it cool. If we can just continue matching the other boats…”

Ultimately it was Chris Bake’s Team Aqua led onto the run. Anticipating the breeze going right, they were quick to gybe and so held their advantage to the finish. 

Team Aqua tactician Cameron Appleton commented: “The race was really tricky with a lot of decisions and a lot of thought going into positioning. For us it was a really solid race in the end, but there were a lot of up and downs, trying to balance out the whole fleet versus the wind. We got ourselves out to the right when the breeze went right and so we were able to lead on to the last run. It went heavily our way and we are really happy that it did.”

Appleton paid tribute to Team Asyad Racing: “They have been sailing a fantastic race and doing a fantastic job. It was unlucky for them that they lost a guy overboard - we felt bad for them.” (Team Aqua themselves had had a MOB incident yesterday…) 

A disappointing eighth place finish in the race for Team Nika saw their carefully constructed six point overall lead evaporate. They ended the day tied on points with Team Aqua, but second overall on account of Chris Bake’s team having scored three bullets to their two. 

Going into the final day the pointscore is showing the 44Cup’s usual closeness with just one point separating the top three and eight points between the top five. Any of the top seven teams remains mathematically capable of winning. 

Tomorrow is the final day of racing with three races scheduled. Hopefully there will be more wind – Inshallah… 

All the stats from the beginning of the 2009 season to the present 2022 season. What are the differences between the teams, their performances and just how close is the racing on the 44Cup Circuit?

The first graph below shows a summary of who has won the most races in 2022 so far. Charisma have won a total of 14 races, five of which were in Cascais in May and another five were at the World Championship in Slovenia in October. Charisma went on to win both the Cascais event and the Slovenia event by a comfortable margin. Team Aqua have taken eight wins so far this season, followed closely by Team Nika and Aleph Racing who have each had seven wins this season. 

The second graph below shows the average score of each team at an event based on the four events prior to Oman. Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 and Charisma have an accumulation of 154 points heading into the final event of 2022, both averaging out a 39 point event score. Even though, Charisma have had ten more race wins this season, Ceeref have been far more consistent to enable them to be on joint points with Charisma. Team Aqua are on 189 points and Team Nika are on 191 putting them both on an average 48 point score. Aleph racing has scored 198 points so far, closely followed by Artemis Racing who are on 199 points. They both create an average of 50 points. This shows how close the racing is.

Interestingly, the lowest net score this season was Charisma who scored 26 points in Cascais having sailed 11 races. They also had the second lowest overall score of the season in Slovenia where they scored 28 points having sailed ten races. 

Below, shows the number of events each team has won since 2009. Team Charisma won three of the five events in a 2022 and 2018. This is the most amount of event wins in a year by any team except Team Aqua, who also won three of the events in 2011. Team Aqua have been the most consistent and have won a minimum of one event each year. However, so far in 2022, they haven't been able to win an event. Could 2022 be the year where they break their 12 year winning streak?

Below shows who has been the World Champion each year since 2011. Artemis have won one World Championship in 2011 similarly to Charisma who won the 2022 World Championship and Team Peninsula who won the 2012 Worlds. Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 have won two World Titles, Team Nika have also won two. Team Aqua have been the only team to secure back-to-back Titles in 2019 and 2021.  

After a light start, conditions were optimum off Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina for day two of the 44Cup Oman, the fifth and concluding event of the 2022 44Cup. Three races were again held, but today the northerly wind peaking at 15 knots, enough to get the nimble RC44 one designs planing on the downwind legs. Meanwhile as temperatures elsewhere in the northern hemisphere plummet below freezing, so the air temperature today in Oman remained in the high 20s°C. The only small downside to the otherwise outstanding conditions was the lumpy sea state. 

Today’s first race saw Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing continuing her winning ways. In today’s first race they made gains out on the left of the first beat, then found a good lane out to the right, setting them up with a solid lead at the top mark ahead of Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing. Following this with a 2-4, the French team was the lowest scoring boat of the day, elevating it from fourth to second place overall. 

Standing in for Hugues Lepic on the helm for this event is experienced American driver Steve Howe, who, with his father Fred, has successfully campaigned Farr 40, TP52s and Melges 32s named Warpath. Steve has also previously raced in the RC44 although the last time was in 2013. The competition remains as hot in the 44Cup as it always has been, he maintains: “Everyone is good - there are no breaks out there. Our last race today we had to fight it out around the race course - nothing’s changed.” On Aleph Racing, Howe has old sailing friends like coach Steve Erickson, and crew James Dagg and bowman Greg Gendell.

Of today’s first race, Howe added: “It was hard. We made a good start and Michele [Ivaldi, tactician] did a nice job getting us around the race course. It was puffy, shifty, everything.” 

Having a spectacular day was Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing, which didn’t win a race but today was the only boat to score three podium finishes. This was despite an incident in the second race when, after rounding the leeward gate, they tacked ahead of Black Star Sailing Team and Team Asyad Shipping, still charging downwind, and ended up being struck by the Omani RC44’s bowsprit, resulting in them receiving a small hole in their sacrificial stern. “Luckily it was a glancing blow,” explained tactician Andy Horton and they still went on to secure a third place. Back in their berth within the Al Mouj Marina later, they removed their RC44’s sacrificial transom and replaced it with their spare.  

Of their day generally, Horton continued: “We battled back really hard. The guys sailed really well and we were in the pack with just good boat handling and speed.” Fortune was also smiling upon them: “We won the little battles today - we had a leeward mark rounding with Team Nika and we came in and had room to go right. If they had been 2m further forward they would have been able to get clear air in front of us and we would have had an awful one… Similarly there were just a couple of crosses and tight lanes that we lived in that were game changers.” 

After two mid-fleet finishes, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua won todays’ third race by which time the wind had reached its peak. “I was a bit rusty in the first two races. In the last race we joined the dots up pretty well,” admitted Bake. “We had a good start and powered through and went all the way out on starboard – one tack and in. We got a few favourable shifts. That left corner seemed to have some decent wind channels. It all worked. We just managed to stay ahead of the fleet. We got clear and had a clean downwind. It was hard because the wind was really fluctuating in terms of direction and speed and with the waves it was hard to stay in the groove.” 

Several 44Cup owners race with their offspring and today Bake was sailing with his eldest son Andrew, who despite his enthusiastic father’s long tenure in the class has managed, remarkably, to escape racing on the Team Aqua RC44 until this week. “It was a lot of fun,” said Andrew of this new experience. “I left for university in California in 2015 and I only moved back to London in October, so before I wasn’t old enough and then I left, so it just never lined up. Ben [Graham] offered to step down and I stepped up. I would like to stay involved because it is such a fun circuit.”

Team Nika’s run of supreme consistency only came to an end in today’s final race when they posted a fifth, however at this half way stage of the 44Cup Oman they continue to lead with a six point margin, although now over Aleph Racing. Behind it is close with just six points separating second place from Nico Poons’ fifth placed Charisma.

Racing continues tomorrow at 1200 local time (UTC -4 hrs).

British sailor Nic Asher, who lives on the East coast of England, has joined Team Nika for the last event of the 2022 44Cup. The 38 year-old won the 470 World Championships in China in 2006 and in Australia in 2008. After a strong start to the 44Cup Oman, taking the lead after day two by six points, we spoke to Nic about stepping into a team this late in the season. 

What is your position onboard Team Nika?

I am the tactician which essentially means I position the boat where I want it on the race course for the best wind and the right shifts relative to the other boats. It mainly involves assisting the owner at the start of the race and from then on helping with the moding of the boat and seeing how fast we can go compared to the other RC44s on the race course.

 What is the most important skill to have as a Tactician?

Communication is probably the most important skill. Trying to get across to the team and the owner exactly what you are aiming to achieve; painting the picture so they know what you are wanting to do. Another important skill is within starting, and its nailing the time and distance and the control of the boat.

How do you interact with the rest of the team during the racing?

In the pre-start, I’m very much with the owner helping him with where we are going to place the boat on the start line. Then once we are upwind, it’s about the moding of the boat for the trimmers and the helm, discussing how high or fast we want to go. Also, just generally keeping everyone in tune so they know what is happening so there are no surprises around the course. 

What do people not appreciate about your role? 

People probably don’t appreciate how tough it is to ensure everyone is in the right frame of mind after a bad race for example which sometimes can be a big weight on your shoulders. That is something people probably don’t realise.

What is the biggest problem that can go wrong in your role as tactician?

Being over the start line is a massive problem. But probably a crash is the biggest thing that can go wrong especially if you cause a lot of damage to another competitor.

What advice would you give to those aiming to become a tactician in the future?

Take any opportunity to go sailing with different teams and different boats and try and learn off other tacticians as well. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions and find out how they do stuff. All the guys [on the 44Cup Circuit] are really open, they would happily talk through what they do and how they do it.

After a light World Championship back in October in Portoroz, Slovenia, the nine teams competing today off Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina at the 44Cup Oman were well dialled in for the opening day of the 2022 44Cup’s grand finale. However today it was not the turn of Nico Poons’ Charisma, with her newly installed season leader’s golden wheels, to come out on top, nor that of past 44Cup season winners and World Champions Chris Bake’s Team Aqua but Team Nika, which, across today’s three races, posted a nearly immaculate 2-1-2. And this was despite having a new tactician. 

With Team Nika’s regular tactician Francesco Bruni tied up with the Italian challenger for the America’s Cup, his shoes are being filled by British two time 470 World Champion turned pro tactician Nic Asher. According to Asher the secret today was down to “very good communication. We had a lot of gear changing and it was quite tough out there. So it was our communication and we were fast - that was the secret.

“It was definitely tough out there, although I quite enjoy the light and shifty stuff. It was a case of keeping everyone calm - a lot can go right, but a lot can go wrong quite quickly. You just had to keep everyone calm and keep doing the right things.”

Still being relatively green to the RC44 Asher was impressed with the high performance owner-driver one-designs ability to race well even in the lightest conditions: “It’s incredible: At times we had 4-5 knots [of wind] and the boats are still powered up and going - you can race them well in next to nothing. With this class there is a lot of chat about how you get a lot of racing in. I don’t think a lot of the other classes would have raced today, so there was a lot of learning in those light conditions.”

In the first race, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua did well out on the left of the first beat, leading into the top with Team Nika on her transom, then defending well to take the event’s first bullet. This was followed by Team Nika’s win in the second, again from a good start and claiming the left. 

With the afternoon wearing on and shadows getting longer, the third race was claimed by Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing, on which Steve Howe, an American former Farr 40 skipper, is steering this week. The French team’s tactician Michele Ivaldi explained: “It was pretty tricky - in the first race we struggled a bit. In the second we had a good start and were launched but then when we got to the left side of the course there was a massive split breeze and fell out of the rightie, so we were then playing catch up. The third race was the same set-up, but we managed to go all the way to the left with speed and then we tacked and crossed all of the fleet and led from then on - which wasn’t easy…”

Given the lightness of the conditions, the day was tricky with the northwesterly gradient fighting with the northerly sea breeze that would occasionally kick in. For most it was a high scoring day. Local fans were thrilled that the Oman Sail crew on board Team Asyad Shipping, sailing their first ever 44Cup were in the mix – huge testament to the progress Oman Sail has made since it was established in 2008 by the order of the then Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said to rekindle Oman’s maritime heritage.

“It was good to catch up with this strong fleet for the first time,” explained helmsman, Musab Al Hadi, Oman’s 49er helm, who is otherwise currently attempting to gain Oman its first Olympic berth. “It should be a good finale regatta. We are just trying to learn as much as we can because it is an opportunity.” So does being the local boat help?  “It gives us some tricks, but once again you can have the best tactician but if you don’t have the best helmsman then you can’t go anywhere,” continues Al Hadi. “You need everything – good helmsman, tactician and a good reading for the wind and there you go…” 

As a local weather expert, Al Hadi is forecasting substantially more wind tomorrow, perhaps 11-13 knots. 

Once again racing is scheduled to have its first warning signal at 12:30. 

With three races sailed every day of a four-day regatta and five events taking place throughout a season, the 44Cup delivers more racing than any other owner-driver class in the world. But that doesn't always mean the owners can make it. Sometimes a substitute driver has to step onto the precious one-design racing machines and perform into this competitive fleet. No pressure.

After the first day of racing in the 44Cup Oman, we spoke to the substitute helms of Artemis Racing and Team Aqua about the pressure and responsibilities that come with taking the wheels.

Sarah Gundersen, who usually runs the logistics for Artemis Racing, started the day with a shocker, finishing last in the first race but quickly turned it around with two third-placed results to end the day a respectable fifth overall, "of course there is pressure. Torbjorn [Tornqvist] has obviously had a great season so far so I feel the pressure because I don't get much time behind the helm and when I do step onboard, I am trying to fill in for him which are massive shoes to try and fill.”

So what's the most challenging thing when it comes to helming an RC44? “It's hard being thrown into such a tough fleet at the last minute and you obviously want to do a great job for the guys at the end of the day, who expect a lot from you to get the team around the race course,” Gundersen adds.

After getting two third-placed results, Sarah explained that Torbjorn “expects us to go out there and have some fun and he puts a lot of trust in the fact that we can get the boat around the racecourse safely and get him good result. It requires a lot of trust from Torbjorn which is something I am very appreciative of”.

On Team Aqua today Ben Graham, who has been part of crew for the last 13 years, explained that when he is asked to step in for Chris on the helm, the dynamic onboard "doesn't change too much, everybody's still trying to pull their weight within the team. When Chris isn't there, we obviously have one person onboard who normally isn't onboard and luckily, Andrew (Chris's son) fits into the team really well."

One of the biggest personal challenges when switching from grinder to helmsman is "making sure we can get a good result for the team. It's a different stress on the helm, more of a mental stress than a physical stress, which is the different end of the spectrum compared to my normal role onboard," he said.

"Being given the opportunity to helm really allows you to appreciate how hard it is for the owner. They are twitchy and hard boats to drive, so the owners have a hard job helming the boats for sure. It's not just a passenger role; they must work hard to keep the boat moving"

 And what extra pressure is there not being the owner of the boat but being able to helm the boat? "Well obviously, you don't want to crash the boat! It is important to make sure we don't make too many mistakes and mostly just trying not to crash. Chris usually sends a message saying good luck and enjoy the yelling!"

To kick off the first day of the 44Cup Oman, four of the teams joined Oman Sail to take part in a beach clean-up.  Team Aqua, Aleph Racing, Artemis Racing, Black Star Sailing Team, Asyad Shipping Team, the staff from Oman Sail and local Omani children from Ahmed bin Majid Private school helped collect 32 black bin bags worth of litter. The most frequent item that was found along the Al Hali beach in Seeb, Muscat was single use plastic bottles. 

Oman Sail embed a beach clean in all their events delivered in the Sultanate of Oman to ensure international sailors come together and raise awareness of the importance of protecting beaches and highlight the dangers of single use plastic. 

We asked Christian Zuerrer, owner of Black Star Sailing Team, why he felt it was important to get involved and support beach clean-ups and he said 'Firstly, i think it is important to find a solution where the beach is cleared of garbage already. But, in the end, it's not only in the environment, it is also in our bodies from the fish we eat which eat the small micro-plastics pieces which is why I think it is important to participate in beach clean-ups.' 

44Cup racing returns to Muscat’s Al Mouj marina in Oman this week for the first time since 2014. Taking place over Thursday to Sunday, the 44Cup Oman is the final and deciding event of the 2022 season for the high performance owner-driver one design monohulls. 

While the annual 44Cup championship is usually close, even at this late stage of the season, this year it has developed into a two horse race with 2022 RC44 World Champions Nico Poons’ Charisma, the current holder of the 44Cup leader’s ‘golden wheels’, just two points ahead of Igor Lah’s Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860, the 2019 44Cup champions. In third place, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua, the defending 44Cup champions, are five points from second but will be looking over their shoulder since mathematically it remains possible for any of the four teams below them on the leaderboard to relieve them of the podium’s final spot. 

At present Charisma, on which Kiwi Hamish Pepper calls tactics, remains the stand-out team. After a miserable result at the first event of the season in Puerto Calero, they have won the last three events back to back. Once upon a time, they were often spot in light airs, but this presented Charisma with no problems during October’ light World Championships. This is will be valuable this week with similar conditions forecast off the Oman coast. 

Nine teams will contest the 44Cup Oman. Joining the line-up for the first time is Team Asyad Shipping, fielded by local event organisers Oman Sail. Oman Sail was set up in 2008 by the order of the then Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said to rekindle Oman’s maritime heritage, especially to develop Omani sailors. To continue this, the shipping arm of Asyad Group has enabled them to enter a 100% Omani-crewed boat both this week and when the 44Cup resumes here in March 2023. 

Team Asyad Shipping is led by Musab Al Hadi, Oman's top 49er helmsman while their no1 Laser sailor Hussain Al Jabri is tactician. Also among the crew is the highly experienced Nasser Al Mashari, long term crew on repeat Extreme Sailing Series podium placer and 2015 winner, The Wave, Muscat.

“This is a team of the best people from Oman Sail - a mix of dinghies and keelboat sailors,” explains Al Mashari, who is jib and spinnaker trimmer. “This year was the first time that all of our Oman Sail sailors have got to sail together. I have been racing for the longest, but we are at a similar level. There are eight of us, so a lot of people compared to what I’m used to, but they are great people. We are happy to host this RC44 event in Oman - we hope to have some really good racing.” 

Defending champion here from 2014 is Team Nika, currently lying fourth in the 2022 44Cup, two points from the podium. With tactician Francesco Bruni disappearing on America’s Cup duty, British former 470 World Champion turned pro tactician Nic Asher has replaced him. Asher has sailed on the 44Cup twice already this season first with the German La Pericolosa in Puerto Calero, then standing in for Adrian Stead on board Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 in Cascais. 

“It is great racing - the boats are amazing, I very much enjoy it and I am pleased to come back,” said Asher, who has previously raced in Muscat on the Extreme Sailing Series in 2015 and more recently on the Tour of Oman. “The country is great – I love it here, the people are so friendly and it is always nice to come here.”

As to the conditions this week Asher reckons “it will be fairly light. It looks like we will have sea breeze and then it will go to the gradient direction - it could be either. The water is obviously very warm, so the wind is quite turbulent. It will be difficult for the trimmers but, for the RC44, it will be exciting racing.”

Still trying to step up their campaign is Black Star Sailing Team from Switzerland, which only took delivery of its new RC44 in time for Portoroz. Owner Christian Zuerrer has raced off Muscat previously and was supposed to again at the beginning of 2020, just before the world went into lock-down at the start of the pandemic. “I am happy to be back in this beautiful country,” said Zuerrer. New to his team for this event is Christa Kuster, their offside trimmer, displacing Gregoire Siegwart, who moves into the pit role replacing Simon Johnson. “For me it was important to take this opportunity to get a girl on board,” continued Zuerrer. 

Racing at the 44Cup Oman will set sail tomorrow off Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina with a first warning signal scheduled for 1200 local time (UTC -4 hours). 

The 44Cup 2022 season will come to a fitting climax next week, with the final event taking place in the splendour of Muscat, Oman, on the beautiful waters off the Al Mouj marina. There will be a full nine-boat fleet on the start line, including eight of the most competitive owner-driver teams in the world and a guest team from Oman Sail, Asyad Shipping Sailing Team, helmed by Musab Al Hadi with Hussain Al Balushi calling tactics. 

Nico Poons' Charisma leads the season standings by five points ahead of Igor Lah's Team CEEREF powered by Hrastnik 1860. Chris Bake's 2021 champions Team Aqua and Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika are not far behind, and both are looking to finish the season with a regatta title win.  

As the world's leading owner-driver racing circuit, typically, the 44Cup competition goes to the wire, with regattas decided in the last few metres of the final race. However, this hasn't been the case this year as Monaco-based Dutchman Nico Poons and his Charisma team have dominated, with a hat-trick of wins at the last three regattas, including the 2022 World Championship title.

Second-placed Igor Lah said of the current leaders: "Charisma are really good. Winning three events is extremely rare in this fleet, so our challenge is to stop this progression. We have one last event to beat them." 

Hamish Pepper, Charisma's tactician, explains the team has found their winning form this season by focusing on their weak points: "We have worked hard on our light air performance. The guys on the boat are so damn good that I don't need to be concerned about anything. It allows me to be the best I can be at my job. We were fast downwind last month in Slovenia; Rosco, Chriso and Nico worked the boat well, and the guys on the bow were using their body weight to help, so I hope we can do the same in Oman".

Oman is likely to prove a tickly venue to close out the 2022 championship with few sailors familiar with the waters and a light, shifty sea breeze. The question is can Charisma prevail again and secure the season title that they have dominated all year? 

To follow the 44Cup Oman coverage live visit www.44cup.org