There is continued Irish involvement in the 44Cup fleet this year. Racing in Oman this week is 44 regular Cian Guilfoyle from Dublin Bay on Aleph, who is joined by Northern Ireland Finn sailor Oisin McClelland.
Simon Johnson is racing on Black Star.
In another step towards re-energising the 44Cup, the rules for the International RC44 One Design class have been revised for 2023 so that going into the 44Cup Oman, which starts out of Muscat's Al Mouj marina today, all nine teams will race with at least one female crew.
While not a completely new development, like so many professional sailing circuits it is possible to count on one hand the number of female crew that have competed during the 44Cup's 16-year existence. This will change for 2023.
To date 44Cup crews have only been permitted to race with four World Sailing Category 3 'pro' sailors on board. Now, this has been amended so that the remaining positions on board can now not only be filled with WS Cat 1 'amateur' sailors but also each team's boat captain, plus women and under 30-year-olds - even if they are pro sailors under World Sailing's classification.
Racing with a female crew is not mandatory, but the maximum weight limit rules have been altered, making it beneficial.
