The weather makes the race

Like so many aspects of our everyday lives, sailing is subject to the whims of nature. It is therefore hardly surprising that Black Star Sailing also has a lot to report after the well-known weather caprices of recent months.
After an extremely windy start to the season with challenging conditions on Lanzarote, all the teams were hoping for better conditions at the upcoming events.

44Cup Biona

8 – 12 May 2024, Baiona, Spain

Baiona is located in Galicia, in the north of Spain just above Portugal. Contrary to our expectations, we were not greeted by picture-book weather in Baiona. We soon found out for ourselves why this beautiful region is so wonderfully green compared to other parts of Spain or Portugal. When we were setting up our RC44 yacht, it was raining cats and dogs and it was also cold. Under such extreme conditions, it is always a challenge for a Shore team to keep up their motivation. Nevertheless, the yacht was in top condition in the water at the planned time. We take our hats off and say thank you to our team ashore!

The weather changed just in time for the start of the regatta week. It became sunny, but the forecasts promised rather weak winds, the exact opposite of Lanzarote, and therefore of course less spectacle.
While we were able to start the training sessions in the well-protected bay of Baiona, the races then took place in the more open bay of Vigo off the Illa de San Martino.
We started the 44Cup Baiona with very good results on the practice race day. That gave us hope. But all the teams immediately tightened their screws…
On the actual opening day, we found out just how close the field can sail and how high the standard in the line-up is: In the first race, we barely made it across the finish line in midfield, and then even came last in the second race.
However, the fact that anything is possible in regatta sport at this level became clear when we sailed to first place in the third and final race of the first day of competition! This not only gave us an evening on the sunny side of everyday regatta life, but also a nice headline in the 44Cup blog.

One of our strengths as a team seems to be that we actually manage to improve during a competition. We were happy that we were able to confirm our race win on the opening day during the actual course of the event. We were able to prove that we can fight our way from the very back to the very front, and not just in light wind conditions. We were also able to maintain our positive form curve when the conditions became increasingly windy and therefore more challenging over the remaining three days of competition.

44Cup Marstrand

19 – 23 June 2024, Marstrand, Sweden

If you want to predict Marstrand after Calero Marinas and Baiona then a saying comes to mind: Out of the frying pan into the fire!
We arrived in Sweden with third place at the 44Cup Baiona in our pockets and an extremely optimistic feeling in our stomachs, only to be brought back to reality almost literally with a bitter setback.

We knew from previous years that Sweden can be wet and cold in June. Accordingly, our hopes of sunshine and some warmth were rather low. Highly motivated, the team in Marstrand set out to make the best of the weather – but above all to confirm our results from Baiona. The trimmer team and the sailmaker were already at work a little earlier than normal: based on specific findings from Baiona and Lanzarote, we decided to make small modifications to the mainsail. Of course, these were changes within the regulations of the class rules.

From 100 to 0 in one second!

As also stipulated in the regulations, we set off for training on Tuesday morning. Well prepared and timed, our first goal was to test the modified racing sail in order to analyse how the “re-cut” affects the boat speed and sail trim.

After around two hours, we had confirmation that we had done everything right with the modified mainsail. We returned to the shallow bay directly in front of Marstrand in high spirits, as the swell was too heavy to replace the racing sail with the training sail “out there”. During the manoeuvre to salvage the mainsail, the unbelievable happened: We hit an unmarked rock at high speed and with a mighty bang. The sailors on deck were thrown about by the violent impact or even crashed into the masts. Unfortunately, our grinder, who was going to start the engine below deck, injured himself so badly that he had to be hospitalised.
Fortunately, the hull of the yacht remained intact. We returned to the harbour and were able to get out of the water straight away. When the boat came out of the water, severe damage to the keel and the keel bomb was clearly visible.

From 0 to 100 in 36 hours!

The RC44 class always carries an additional container with them to events, which contains all kinds of replacement material, including a replacement keel. However, the damaged keel first had to be removed and dismantled before the new keel could be fitted and installed. Dismantling the keel bomb proved to be an unexpectedly big challenge. This routine operation was practically impossible, as the fastening screws had been bent by the impact. The bitter realisation from the complexity of the repairs was that we were unable to sail the practice race day.

Instead, the shore team worked non-stop to get the keel bomb and replacement keel ready and fitted to the boat. The sailing team checked the yacht for damage, tidied the sails and helped where they could. The coach, tactician and owner travelled to the regatta area by motorboat to follow the starts, receive tactical input and analyse the wind and current conditions. On the early Wednesday evening before the opening day, the good news came from our guys, who had worked through the day and night: The yacht was ready for action on Thursday morning. The boat was launched that evening, but kept in the dock as not all of the newly painted areas had yet hardened.

Competition, nevertheless

For Guy Endean, our grinder, the regatta came to an early end due to injuries sustained in the impact. With Trystan Seal, we were lucky enough to fill the gap in this important position for this regatta.
Over 25 knots of wind were forecast for the opening day. The race committee therefore decided against a start in the morning.
Chris and Freddie from our shore team were particularly happy about the unexpected rest day, as they had worked 36 hours straight to get Black Star off to a punctual start on the opening day. For this reason alone, we were determined to deliver only the best and honour their tireless efforts.
With a third place in the first race on Friday, we got off to a good start in the regatta that finally got underway. Unfortunately, we were then unable to maintain the same level of performance and finished lower and lower race after race.
On Saturday, the third day, we failed completely. We suddenly made small mistakes that were new to us, mistakes that we hadn’t even made as class newcomers, but which then added up and were mercilessly reflected in the results. Throughout the races, we were never focussed enough to fight our way back to the front. Unfortunately for us, four races were held on Saturday of all days to make up for the missed first day.
On Sunday, however, we showed what we were capable of again and took second place. That restored our confidence.

Our conclusion on the 44Cup Marstrand: Although we failed as a regatta, it was a team-building event that could hardly have been planned in this way: absolutely tough and very formative. Everyone now knows exactly what needs to be done in their position in order to sail successfully. These few days have welded us together as a team like nothing before and we will emerge stronger than ever.

44Cup World Cup: Now more than ever!

As far as our expectations for the 44Cup Marstrand are concerned, you could also say: “A bad dress rehearsal makes for a successful premiere.”

The 44Cup World Championship on Lake Uri will be an absolute première for us. It is an incredible honour and a great opportunity to be able to compete in a world championship in such an impressive sport at home, literally on our doorstep.
We are highly motivated to show our fans the best. And we now know exactly how little it takes for over-motivation to create the kind of hectic rush that can derail any dream.

We look forward to your support on site.