2022 – A big thank you for a great year
Christmas and the holidays are just around the corner. The Black Star Sailing Team is looking forward into the new year full of excitement and drive. So much has been initiated and achieved this year that we can hardly wait for 2023.
Some say that anticipation is the best joy. Perhaps this is also true. In any case, in order to really savor our joy of looking forward, we would like to look back once again on a truly eventful, but above all also gratifyingly successful 2022.
But first and foremost, we would like to thank all our partners, sponsors and fellow campaigners, our fans, all those who are interested: You are the impetus for us to always strive for more and to become even better, you are the reason that we can conclude a really great year with 2022.
Opening the season with a bang
At the end of the 2021 season, we set ourselves the goal for 2022 of continuing our upward trend and finally succeeding in the GC32 class. That alone was ambitious. In order to set the bar even higher, we decided during the winter break to also compete in the 44Cup starting in season 22, and to participate in a race series with our own RC44 yacht, which is in many ways complementary to the GC32 hydrofoiling catamaran. Black Star Sailing thus became not only the first Swiss team to compete in the 44Cup, but also the only team in the world to try to reconcile these two highly competitive racing series.
GC32 – The big leap forward
What sounds like a gamble with little chance of success was also quite a challenge in the beginning – after all, the first thing was to get everything under control logistically, which meant that the sailing aspects were somewhat out of focus. But what may seem like a major stumbling block turned out to be a recipe for success: Our calculation was to use the very different boat classes to detach ourselves from small problems and instead to gain more of an overview of the big picture. Still meticulously honing our technique, the switch between the contrasting sailing methods made us question our routines, rethink the entrenched and try new things.
After a promising start to the tour with a third place at the GC32 Riva Cup, we had to chalk up our fifth place at the second regatta in Lagos as a setback. But we drew enough lessons from the first two GC32 events and our 44Cup baptism of fire in Cascais to enter the GC32 World Championships stronger and more confident.
GC32 World Champion 2022!
What is clearly the highlight of this season was by no means simply given to us. An extremely strong performing Team K-Challenge from France, unusual sailing conditions and our own shortcomings initially confronted us at our third GC32 World Championship. But on the third day of the regatta we managed to break free and grab the trophy.
Unfortunately, with the GC32 World Championship Lagos the GC32 Racing Tour 2022 was already over. Actually, we would have liked to continue racing this season, because with the win of the world championship title, the overall victory of the tour was within reach. So we had to finish the season 22 on the 2nd place.
#27 – our new RC44 yacht
After a good start at the 44Cup Cascais and an increase of our result at the 44Cup Marstrand, we reached our limits with the chartered yacht, and the completion of our own racing yacht came just in time to participate in our first 44Cup World Championship.
At the 44Cup World Championship Portorož we were again at the bottom of the table, but this time with only a small points gap.
44Cup Oman – a reunion and double joy
The fact that our last event of this season will lead us to Muscat, gave us a lot of joy, we had the location and the hosts of a regatta and a training with the GC32 catamaran in the very best memory. This joy was then doubled on the water, we could improve again with our RC44 and work our way up to the 6th final rank at the 44Cup Oman.
More information and insights into the 44Cup Oman can be found in our regatta report.
2023 – a first outlook
The 2022 season was a complete success. By winning the GC32 world championship title, we were finally able to prove what we are capable of as a team. We also had a great start in the RC44 boat class, which is new to us.
For the coming year, we have set our sights high again: Of course, we are striving to defend our title in the GC32 class, and beyond that we would like to contest the tour as far ahead as possible or even lead it. But we also want to continue the upward trend in the 44Cup. This means that we want to improve our sporting performance, win more races and, if possible, achieve a place on the podium at an event. Of course, we know that we are up against the elite of the regatta sport here as well as there. But as we all know, one should grow with one’s goals.
In the RC44 class we will continue on our chosen path with the integration of young talents and would also like to integrate a woman permanently into the board team.
The regatta calendars for both boat classes are largely set and will be announced in the next few weeks. For all those interested, a regular visit to our website is worthwhile.
Time to say thank you again!
2022 was for us a year where we arrived at the top and at the same time started somewhere else at the bottom. In this extreme spectrum of experiences, we once again felt how important it is to have support. Once again we experienced what great fans and sailing enthusiasts we have behind us, who support us and stand by us. We would like to thank you all for that.
We would also like to thank all our sponsors and partners. Without you we would never have achieved so much.
A last thank you goes to our families, relatives and friends. Your consideration and support, and especially your encouragement and support in difficult situations, can hardly be measured in gold.
Support is welcome.
Of course, we have a lot of plans for the coming 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 also in 2023.
Happy holidays and a happy new year!