Recognised by ISAF, the RC 44 Class announces its first official World Championship

[Source: RC44 Class Association] The RC 44 Class Association announces today that its first World Championship will take place on October 11th - 16th in the Canary Islands (ESP). Hosted by Puerto Calero, the event is officially endorsed by the International Sailing Federation.

"This is an important step for us", comments the RC 44 Class Manager Bertrand Favre. “Over the past two years we have consistently organised races involving ten or more strict one-design RC 44’s representing ten countries. This number is due to increase over the coming months and the recognition by the International Sailing Federation comes as an acknowledgement of the hard work we have put into the development of this Class.”

The first official RC 44 World Championship will bring together twelve RC 44’s in the Canary Islands. “It will be the second time that we welcome the RC 44 fleet in Puerto Calero”, says event organiser Daniel Calero. “We are very proud to welcome the world’s best sailors to our venue. The fact that this event is the official World Championship is a great bonus for us as the event organisers, and a fantastic achievement for the Class.”

The RC 44 Championship Tour consists of six international regattas per year. A professional Race Committee manages the on-the-water operations, whilst direct umpiring is coordinated by world class yacht racing judges.

The fourth season of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 started in Dubai with the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy and on Lake Traunsee with the RC 44 Austria Cup. The Tour’s next stopovers will be the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup (8th – 13th June) and the RC 44 Valencia Cup (July 27th – August 1st).

The RC 44 World Championship in Puerto Calero will be an integral part of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010. Three world championship titles will be awarded during this event; the RC 44 fleet race, match race and overall title. The points attributed towards the overall Championship Tour will have the same value as in the other regattas.

After the RC 44 World Championship, the RC 44 fleet will be shipped across the Atlantic for the season’s last regatta, the RC 44 Miami Cup, on December 7^th – 12^th.

Twenty-two RC 44 one-designs have been built to date. One of them has just been shipped to the US in order to be showcased to the American sailing audience before the first ever RC 44 regatta on American land.

RC 44 Championship Tour 2010:

February 22 – 27	Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy	Dubai	UAE
29 April - 4 May	RC 44 Austria Cup	Lake Traunsee	Austria
June 8 - 13	RC 44 Copenhagen Cup	Copenhagen	Denmark
27 July - 1 August	RC 44 Valencia Cup	Valencia	Spain
October 11-16	RC 44 World Championship	Puerto Calero,Lanzarote, Canary Islands	Spain
December 7 - 12	RC 44 Miami Cup	Miami	USA