2021 – Time for a thank you!
We are fast nearing the end of the year. Just before the holidays, we would like to pause for a moment and look back on a remarkable 2021 in many respects – a year that literally flew by.
Start with delay
Initially, however, it did not look as if the GC32 Racing Tour would take off quickly. The tour schedule announced at the end of 2020 had to be changed already at the beginning of 2021. The risks and the pandemic-related restrictions on traveling and holding events were still too high. With a heavy heart, we had to say goodbye to the spring event in Port Camargue. And also the second event at Lake Garda had to be cancelled, because the situation was still unclear and Italy was still planning its easing.
For logistical and pragmatic reasons, the tour management decided to combine the start of the season with the next event and to hold two regattas in a row at the same location. Fortunately, the organizer in Portugal agreed to host the GC32 racing circus twice in a row. This gave the teams some breathing room for logistics, and the tour management as well as the organizer could more thoroughly adjust to the more complicated conditions.
GC32 Lagos Cup 1
At the end of June the time had come: With great expectations we set off to Portugal, where we could finally compete with the others again. Unfortunately, the lineup was somewhat shrunk. Due to travel restrictions, the teams from the overseas territories and Oceania were missing. All the more we could concentrate on the remaining rivals.
The extensive preparations and our detour into the M32 boat class in 2020 immediately had a positive effect on us. We sailed more often at the front and could even win some of the races.
The mast break on the second day hit us all the harder.
What at first looked like the “end” was turned around thanks to the generous help of the other teams. In an incredible night shift we rebuilt our boat with spare parts and were back at the start of the third day.
However, we had missed so many races on that day that we could not fight our way back to the podium in the remaining days of the regatta.
GC32 Lagos Cup 2
We made up for it at the second regatta at the end of July. The GC32 Lagos Cup 2 was a turning point for us. We still made mistakes that cost us time and points. But the number of duels we could win increased as well as the number of races we won. At the end of the regatta we could be happy about the second place and we already looked full of ambition towards the world championship.
GC32 Villasimius World Championship
In mid-September, the GC32 Racing Tour arrived in Sardinia for the 2021 World Championship. Black Star Sailing prepared thoroughly and wanted to leave as little as possible to chance. The fact that it didn’t work out in the end and that we missed the podium by only one point with 4th place was perhaps a bit of a coincidence. But mainly it was our inability to control our eagerness and to let our performance on the water be influenced too much by our ambition.
A weakness that needed to be overcome.
Season finale
At the GC32 Mar Menor Cup at the beginning of November, it was about nothing less than asserting ourselves on the podium. Despite some dampers we could prove that we can win.
The second place in the regatta and the third place in the overall ranking make us accordingly proud and are a confirmation that we are on the right track.
This success and the rich experiences of the 2021 season we now take into the winter break and are impetus to prepare soon for the upcoming season.
2022
The GC32 Racing Tour 2022 is as good as finished planned by the tour management. However, the announcement of the events is still a bit delayed, as we have learned from last year and want to avoid pandemic changes in the tour schedule as much as possible.
In any case, we feel great excitement at the thought that there might actually be a GC32 Racing Tour regatta in Switzerland. The clarifications and negotiations have been successful so far, and it is likely that you will be able to follow and cheer on the Black Star Sailing Team from close by next summer.
Which brings us to the most important thing: our audience.
Our thanks go to you!
After a season like this one we are richer by many experiences. But most of all, we realized once again that we have really great fans and sailing enthusiasts behind us, who always support us and hold the mast for us. We would like to thank you all for that.
We would also like to thank all our sponsors and partners. Without your support we would not be where we are today.
Support welcome
Of course, we will continue full of verve in the new year. For that, we still need your support. Please share our content and recommend us to others. We appreciate any form of support.
We count on you.
Happy holidays and a happy new year!