Usually racing on the 44Cup between the high-performance owner-driver one designs is tight with ties or just single points separating the leaders. At the 44Cup Oman, the opening event of the 2023 season and hosted out of Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina by Oman Sail, perhaps due to the strong conditions of the first three days, the leaderboard was clearly defined going into the final day with Nico Poons’ Charisma seven points clear of Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860, in turn eight ahead of John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing.

As Afloat reported previously, Cian Guilfoyle from Dublin Bay is joined by Northern Ireland Finn sailor Oisin McClelland on the Fench entry Aleph that moved up from fourth on the final day to take third on the podium.

Unlike the previous three days when conditions built to 20 knots with a vicious short sea, today racing took place in light 5-8 knots, more typical of the Omani venue. Fortunately, the wind held, enabling PRO Maria Torrijo to complete the full racing schedule.

In today’s opening race Peninsula Racing was the runaway winner. This compressed the leaderboard points but only slightly with Ceeref coming home second and Charisma fourth

Sadly for Nico Poons’ team, the second race was a disaster. As Charisma’s tactician Hamish Pepper explained: “We weren’t going particularly well and after a bad start, went the wrong way up the first beat and got a little bit stuck in the middle and didn’t recover. And we got a penalty on the downwind - we thought we were racing Team Aqua for the title and they thought they were racing us…”

As result Charisma finished eighth, while another second for Ceeref caused Igor Lah’s team to take the lead by one point going into the final race. Ceeref was also ahead on countback so Charisma would have be two places ahead of her rival to win overall in this last race.

By this time the wind was down to 5-6 knots, but still more than sailable for the nimble RC44s.

At the start fate was smiling on Ceeref as Charisma tied herself in knots, OCS and with a penalty against. Fortunately for Poons’ team there was a general recall and they made a better job of it when the second attempt got away successfully. However, a nose ahead, Ceeref maintained a loose cover at the top mark was where she needed to be – immediately ahead of Charisma. This position she held to the leeward gate where she rounded the port mark, allowing Charisma to split right. At this critical moment Ceeref received a penalty for failing to keep clear of Peninsula Racing: “That penalty was a little harsh, but we dealt with it and we got back into it,” said Stead, but his opposite number Pepper observed: “They got a penalty and it seemed not to affect them at all - they were right back with us at the next cross.”

Coming into the top mark, Charisma was indeed ahead of Ceeref, but with Peninsula Racing on her inside, was not ahead enough… Ultimately it was all settled on the run: Ceeref gybed early and recovered the extra metres bringing her home sixth to Charisma’s seventh.

“I feel really good!” said Igor Lah of his victory. “Today was like a new day. We knew that we could do it and we did it. We have to come back to Oman!”

While it could be argued that Charisma lost this regatta as much as Ceeref won it, Stead observed: “You have to bear in mind in this fleet it is so easy to come first or ninth – everyone is so good. No one gives you an inch. If you mess up the start and miss the first two shifts you are at the back and then there are gold medallists and AC sailors and everyone to get past.”

According to Stead this is the fourth year Ceeref has won the opening event of the season.

Winner of today’s second race, Team Nika had a slight zero to hero and back regatta. New British tactician Nic Asher assessed: “The guys sailed well - we were going fast. I just made a couple of mistakes today. I was kicking myself in the first race: We wanted to start at the boat, but it got crowded so I thought we’d start under the fleet, which was a mistake. Then I missed the layline into the gate which was pretty costly. After that we sailed well.”

As a relative newcomer to the RC44, Asher is still coming to terms with its light wind speed: “Often you don’t realise how light the wind is, because you are still powered up and heeled over. It can be only 4-5 knots.”

While there were distractions deeper in the fleet, Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing won the final race. Of his week the London-based Frenchman observed: “We were doing very well when it came to our speed and our tactical choices. We had a few hiccups with two MOBs, one OCS, three penalties and two penalty points and considering this, the result was actually very good. But a lot of action took place which was not very positive!”

Elsewhere in the fleet Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team had a better day with their new crew, finishing with a fourth, while the Oman Sail team found it easier today in the lighter conditions.

The next 44Cup event will be Marstrand, Sweden from 28 June-2 July 

44CUP OMAN OVERALL RANKING

(After 12 races)
1. Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 - 1 6 1 1 4 6 5 2 5 2 2 6 - 41
2.Charisma 2 3 5 3 1 2 4 1 3 4 8 7 - 43
3. Aleph Racing - 4 4 2 7 7 1 3 4 7 3 3 1 (2) 48
4. Peninsula Racing - 5 2 3 5 2 5 1 8 8 1 4 5 - 49
5. Team Nika - 6 7 10 2 3 3 8 6 1 6 1 3 (2) - 58
6. Artemis Racing - 3 5 7 4 6 7 2 3 4 5 5 8 - 59
7. Team Aqua - 8 1 4 9 5 4 6 7 2 7 7 2 (2) - 64
8. Black Star Sailing Team - 7 8 6 8 8 8 7 5 6 8 6 4 - 81
9. Oman Sail - 9 9 8 6 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 - 104

Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Cian Guilfoyle will race in the fifth and final event of the 2021 44Cup Championship Tour that concludes next week in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote. The nine boats entered are lining up for an ultra-competitive conclusion.

As regular Afloat readers will know, Guilfoyle is a crew member on France's Aleph racing team that is currently placed fourth overall. The Dubliner was last in action on Aleph when the crew competed at the World Championships in October.

In true 44Cup style, the scoreboard remains impressively close going into the final regatta of the season. At present, Chris Bake's Team Aqua is ahead on five points. Bake holds a slim lead over the chasing pack on the scoreboard but has the psychological advantage on the water, coming to Lanzarote fresh from victory in the World Championship event in Scarlino, Italy, last month with the 44Cup series leader's 'golden wheels' proudly fitted onboard.

Two points behind in second place is 2019 defending tour champion Igor Lah's team CEEREF powered by Hrastnik 1860 and in third 2018 tour champion Nico Poons' Charisma. Both teams won their titles in the previous years with impressive come-from-behind victories in the closing moments and will be looking to do the same next week.

Hosted over the 17 - 21 November in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote's most established yacht harbour has been a favoured winter destination for the RC44 fleet over the years thanks to its winter sun and strong northeasterly trade winds. Organisers Calero Marinas have seen many 44Cup showdowns having hosted six regattas and three World Championships since 2008.

"Two values embodied by the 44Cup we have sorely missed during the pandemic," explains Jose Juan Calero Managing Director of Calero Marinas, "the deep-rooted sailing camaraderie and a pure passion for insanely close, one-design racing. We've been fortunate to have hosted nine regattas in Lanzarote, and have made some life-long friends over the years. This November the event returns to its origins, for us, in Puerto Calero. We can't wait".

Of the remaining fleet, just eight points separate the top five teams. Hugues Lepic's fourth-placed Aleph Racing and Torbjorn Tornqvist's fifth-placed Artemis Racing are within reach of claiming the 2021 title. Aleph's best result this season has been a win at the Cowes event in the UK, whereas Artemis' has hit the podium in third twice this year, first at their home event in Marstrand, Sweden and then again at the World Championship in Italy.

Behind them is a tie between Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika and Pavel Kuznetsov's Atom Tavatuy; if either team is on form next week while the main contenders are not, then the Russian-based crews could reach the overall season's podium.

New to the fleet in Lanzarote will be British Olympian Giles Scott replacing America's Cup legend Ed Baird as tactician onboard Peninsula Racing and Valeriya Kovalenko with her team ARTTube who will return with a new boat. Kovalenko formally joins the fleet after a successful debut in Scarlino last month as part of the 44Cup's black boat project, which allows a guest team to trial race an RC44 at a regatta to get a feel for how good the competitive one-design fleet is.

To find out more about the 44Cup Calero Marinas, visit www.44cup.org.

44CUP OVERALL RANKING 2021

(after four events)

1. United Kingdom TEAM AQUA - 3 1 3 1 - 5
2. Slovenia CEEREF powered by HRASTNIK 1860 -1 4 2 4 - 7
3. Monaco CHARISMA - 7 2 4 2 - 8
4. France ALEPH RACING - 5 5 1 5 - 11
5. Sweden ARTEMIS RACING - 8 3 7 3 - 13
6. Russia TEAM NIKA - 2 7 8 6 - 15
7. Russia ATOM TAVATUY - 4 6 5 7 - 15
8. United Kingdom PENINSULA RACING - 6 8 6 8 - 20

Conditions could not have been better for day three of the 44Cup Scarlino World Championship. Coming out two hours ahead of schedule to make the best of the breeze, the wind was already knocking on the door of 20 knots. By the time the first race started at 1000 the wind was firmly 20 knots and then spent most of the day in the low 20s, frequently gusting more.

Blowing off mountainous Tuscany, the offshore breeze was shifty and puffy. It caused numerous lead changed and seemed to favour no one. Thus, to make up the schedule after a lost opening day four races were held and each featured a different winner.

The overall 2021 44Cup leader, Igor Lah's Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860, got off to a strong start winning today's opening race, but then a collision with Aleph Racing (with Dubliner Cian Guilfoyle onboard) in the next saw them come home last with a two-point penalty imposed on them for 'hard contact'.

Meanwhile, Nico Poons' Charisma team was sailing a blinder. Winning today's second race caused them to move to the top of the leaderboard, tied with Artemis Racing, the Swedish team showing excellent consistency, despite the difficult conditions. But, as is proving typical here, this position was short-lived for both as they scored deeply in the next race. In this Chris Bake's Team Aqua finally scored a bullet, propelling his team up to second overall as Aleph Racing took the lead.

“It was pretty tricky!” admitted Bake later. “But what beautiful conditions – sunny, breezy. It was a full-on day today, but it was good. All the boats are going really well, one mistake and you are toast – you’ll get spat out mercilessly.”

Team Aqua’s tactician Cameron Appleton added: “It has been a battle. This fleet is tight and we’ve had tricky conditions to execute all the time out there. We always know we are capable of it, we just have to connect everything together. We finally got a good start and sailed well in the placement up the course. As soon as you get your nose out, things become a bit easier than when you are in the back of the pack trying to fight your way out of there, because you don’t get much room in this fleet.

“The fleet is so close and everybody just knows how to sail the boats well. Every regatta this year has been windy, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore. It is now about going out there and positioning better and doing the basics well. It is going to be a good battle all the way to the finish.”

In the fourth and final race of the day, a 1-2 for Artemis Racing and Charisma caused them to catch Hugues Lepic's Aleph Racing creating an ultra-close leaderboard going into the last day. In front is Aleph Racing, but the Frenchman's team is just one point ahead of Torbjörn Törnqvist's Artemis Racing and Nico Poons' Charisma.

“We have always known in this fleet that it is important to be always up there,” explains Aleph Racing tactician Michele Ivaldi. “You win regattas with an average of 3.5-4 points. So if you manage to squeeze in 2nds, 3rd and 4ths you end up in good shape.”

But consistency has been the one thing difficult to achieve in the blustery conditions this week and even the leader’s average score has been just under 4 per race. “With the offshore wind there are huge shifts, as much as 30° during a single race,” continued Ivaldi. “I think we managed to start reasonably well and be able to sail the first shift and then you have to sail the wind that you have and try to get out of phase as little as possible….”

As to the tight leaderboard going into the final day, Ivaldi is not surprised: “It is good to be coming into the last day with the possibility to win, but we know perfectly that four or five boats can still win. Everything is still up for grabs. We’ll just go out tomorrow as if it is a normal day.”

In the final race victory slipped through the fingers of Pavel Kuznetsov’s Atom Tavatuy, not once but twice. Firstly a beneficial shift while on starboard propelled them into the lead at the first top mark rounding. “We started very nicely on the downwind and gybed at the right time and we were leading by 100m,” recounted tactician Evgeny Neugodnikov. “But then the wind dropped to 12-13 knots and Charisma got in front but we were still second [Charisma going left as they went right at the gate].”

There was another roll of the dice up the second beat as Artemis Racing did well on the right to lead at the second top mark rounding with Atom Tavatuy a close fourth behind Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika. Gybing early and splitting from the leaders, Kuznetsov’s team rolled Team Nika and was again in contention for the lead but Artemis Racing and Charisma covered to leave Atom Tavatuy third. “It’s nice weather, nice wind and very close racing – like usual! I hope tomorrow we will be better,” concluded Neugodnikov.

Tomorrow, the final day of the 44Cup Scarlino World Championship, racing is scheduled to start at 1100 CEST and with three or four races likely to be held, weather permitting any of the top eight boats remains capable of winning.