No clear favourites to be seen.

The Swiss team Black Star Sailing is confident going into the first race of the RC44 Sailing World Championship tomorrow.

When multiple America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts came to Lugano with his entourage on a European Tour in 2007 to present his own high-performance racing yacht, he probably didn’t expect that almost two decades later his RC44 (RC stands for his initials) would be holding its world championship in Switzerland.

It is thanks to Christian Zuerrer that the giant racing boats are coming back to Switzerland. He has been involved in the racing circuit with his Black Star team for five years and was able to convince the organisers of the sailing area in Central Switzerland. ‘Lake Uri is the most beautiful sailing destination in Switzerland, and if the thermals don’t work, we still have the option of travelling from Brunnen to the Gersau basin in westerly winds,’ enthuses Zuerrer.

Shock in Sweden

Three events have already been completed in the RC44 Cup series this year. Zuerrer is not entirely satisfied with the results. At the start in Baiona, Spain, in mid-May, light and shade were close together. However, after mediocre results, a race win was achieved.

The team experienced a moment of shock at the last event in Sweden. While recovering the mainsail, the team rammed into an unmarked rock at a good speed and with a powerful ‘bang’. Unfortunately, the grinder injured himself so badly that he had to be treated in hospital.

The crew did not recover from this shock in Sweden and lost a lot of energy over the course of the regatta. Nonetheless, they are well prepared for the World Championships at home. Even if the events in Sweden were difficult to digest, they have welded the team together.

The outcome is completely open

From the Swiss skipper’s point of view, there is no clear favourite at the World Championships. ‘The winner will be the one who brings the most consistency, the field is so close together that it doesn’t help if you win one race but finish last in the next,’ he says.

Nine teams from seven nations are competing. Of course, Zuerrer believes he has a slight home advantage: ‘Sailing on a lake will be different to sailing on the sea because the conditions change much more quickly. I also get tips from the local sailing cracks like Pascal Marty or Urs Hunkeler, who know Lake Uri like the back of their hand. But the professional teams will adapt after the first few races and quickly get to grips with it.’

The first race is due to start tomorrow, Wednesday, at 12 noon, in good wind conditions. There will be several races every day until next Sunday. The regattas can be followed live on the tracking system in the marquee or at home via the following link.