2025 season kicks off with a fresh breeze

Our decision to forego the season opener with the RC44 in the Caribbean shifted our focus to a special start to the new year: the launch in Palma de Mallorca with the Cape 31 – and with a crew consisting partly of young, international talent.

Report Cape 31 Princess Sofia Regatta

28 – 30 March 2025, Palma, Mallorca, Spain

One of the countless traditions in sailing is that the Olympic regatta teams from different nations start the season with a joint event: the ‘Trofeo Princesa Sofia Palma de Mallorca’.

Although the Cape 31 boat class is not Olympic, it competed in the same event, albeit for a shorter duration and at an earlier date. This was extremely exciting for us, as it is rare to train in such a high-calibre environment with Olympic veterans and prospects.

This year, the event marked the start of the new four-year Olympic cycle after Paris 2024, which was clearly reflected in the composition of the participants. Across all classes, there were young teams looking to qualify for Los Angeles 2028. The training intensity in the Bay of Palma was correspondingly high. We also took advantage of this starting position – albeit with our Cape 31.

In the week before the actual Olympic class regattas, the non-Olympic yachts started their competitions. With the Cape 31 class, we were able to race in our own field with our own start.

Youth Power in the Black Star Sailing Team

We regularly receive applications from young sailors from all over the world who want to sail with the Black Star Team. Our Cape 31 means we can now take on several talented young sailors, and we took the opportunity to invite five young sailors to Palma. Female sailors were not shortlisted because our crew tended to be too light and the optimal ‘racing weight’ was almost impossible to achieve even with the male selection.

With strong and, above all, cold winds, we encountered quite challenging conditions for testing the boys in various positions. Such a trial training session is not just about sailing ability, but also about how the young people can integrate into the team. And not just in terms of the team. It is all too easy to underestimate what it means for each individual to be part of a professional team. Sailing is not only physically demanding, but also mentally challenging – because you have to be 100% focused and concentrated at all times.

With onboard videos and input from the coach from outside, a debriefing took place every evening. At the end of four intensive days of training, we put together the team that competed in the regatta.

The training days with the young team before the regatta were very intense, but equally educational. We had plenty of opportunity to sail with other yachts and compare speeds – and the owners had agreed in advance to share their data openly with each other so that everyone could benefit. This is enormously helpful for us as newcomers, because on a racing yacht like this, it’s not just concentrated steering and manoeuvring that are decisive, but also, for example, the settings on the sails and the mast.

A brilliant start, a dramatic finish

The weather forecast predicted strong but sailable winds for the first day, too much wind for the second and moderate winds for the last – and that’s exactly how it turned out. We got off to a good start on the first day. The standard was high, with constant changes in the lead challenging all the teams, and we were able to go into the evening satisfied as leaders.

Unfortunately, on the second day, the wind speed did indeed exceed 30 knots and the race committee cancelled all races.

The teams used the time to ‘spy’ on the others to see how they were handling the sheet and what else could be optimised.

On the last day, the wind was noticeably less intense and consistent. Once again, all the teams were close together. As a result, everything was still possible in terms of points. Unfortunately, we missed out on staying in the lead and slipped to third place in the last race.

All in all, the days in Mallorca were very valuable and positive. The young sailors integrated very well into the team, and we will be sailing one or two more regattas on the Cape 31 with a changing crew. We also learned a lot about boat handling and manoeuvring, and improved the sail trim and boat speed. So we can look forward to the rest of the season with optimism.

Next regatta: 44Cup Porto Cervo

After the shore team had taken delivery of the RC44 yacht in Olbia, Sardinia, following its Caribbean adventure and thoroughly checked it, maintenance work was carried out. The mast and boom were also repainted. Preparations for the regatta will begin soon, and we are looking forward to competing against the other teams. At least eleven teams plus the class boat will be at the start in this new season. New teams from Sweden, Spain and Turkey are definitely joining us. The class boat can be chartered by teams interested in joining the class. This will make the field bigger and the challenge greater – but also increase the fun of competing against new opponents.

Unfortunately, we will not be participating in the Cape 31 event in Hyères. The decision to withdraw was made at relatively short notice, as additional preparation was necessary after we declined to participate in the RC44 regatta in Nanny Cay. In combination with the Cape 31 MED Circuit, which is new to us and also quite demanding in terms of logistics, the two events overlap a little too much.

After the Porto Cervo event with the RC44 yacht, we will continue directly with the Cape 31 in Porquerolles. We will try to sail all regattas in the Cape 31 class MED Circuit if possible – but where there are scheduling conflicts with the RC44 Tour, the RC44 will clearly take priority.

We wish you all a wonderful summer!