Team Aqua wins the Valencia RC44 Cup

A fantastic week of racing just ended in Valencia and Chris Bake's Team Aqua was the undisputed leader, not only taking the RC44 Valencia Cup but also winning both the match and fleet race portions of it. No Way Back, the 2010 championship leader coming to Valencia, finished a discrete fifth overall and ceded the season leadership to BMW Oracle that finished fourth here in Valencia.

This was the first RC44 event that I covered extensively, trying to be onboard as many yachts as I could, and I have to admit I was impressed. The RC44's are true racing machines that come alive downwind, especially with the strong breeze we had on Thursday and Friday. It's a pity though they might be going too fast at times because with 1.2-mile long legs the runs finish in about 8-9 minutes, cutting the fun short. Still, just the fact they have guests in every single race is probably one of the most attractive features, especially for non sailors.

During the RC44 Valencia Cup, AEZ, an Austrian maker of alloy car wheels and main sponsor of the Austrian RC44 yacht, brought dozens of guests every day. With extremely few exceptions, none of the guests had any sailing experience whatsoever, yet all of them defined the onboard ride as one of the most thrilling experiences of heir lives. Despite the strong breeze and choppy seas and with more than 40 onboard guest positions every day, just one fell aboard, a Valencian sailing journalist...

Obviously the RC44 yachts are also attractive to owners. As Bake pointed out, this is the only class where a true amateur owner like himself can race against the world's best sailors and indeed, with a handful exceptions, the world's best of the best were onboard the 11-strong RC44 fleet during this week in Valencia.

RC 44 2010 SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
(After four of six regattas, one discard)
1. BMW ORACLE Racing, 6 points
2. Team Aqua, 7 points
3. Artemis, 7 points
4. No Way Back, 7 points
5. 17, 11 points
6. Team Sea Dubai, 13 points
7. Katusha, 17 points
8. Ceeref, 19 points
9. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, 24 points
10. AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team, 28 points
11. Mascalzone Latino, 34 points

Race 1 In this first race of the day I was onboard Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. The Spanish team's performance in the closing day of the Valencia event was much more than acceptable. Dani Calero, owner and amateur helmsman, under the guidance of Gustavo Martínez Doreste, calling tactics, had a good and clean start and managed to hold on to their fourth position until the finish line.

On a more practical note, some of the video footage is of lesser quality because the Spanish team has a particularity. The crew weight limit in the RC44 class is set to 680kg and in the vast majority of the fleet this means the crew consists of four professionals and four amateurs, a total of eight sailors. However, the Spanish team has a lighter overall crew and as a result, they race in nine by adding Alicia Ajeno, the only Spanish woman top-level grand prix sailor. As a result, the stern of the boat can get really crowded, especially on the runs, and at times it's extremely difficult to find some space.

Prestart procedure of the first race onboard Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First run of the first race onboard Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Second run and finish of the first race onboard Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing
Dani Calero, helming Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, and Gustavo Martínez Doreste calls tactics. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Islas Canarias Puerto Calero in the first beat of the day's first race. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Alicia Ajeno is the only woman that has sailed in all events of the RC44 2010 Championship. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Start of the final day's first race. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

In both weather marks there was an intense fight with Artemis. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

In both weather marks there was an intense fight with Artemis. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Race 2 In the day's second race, and final for the event, I was onboard "No Way Back", the Dutch boat owned by Pieter Heerema with Ray Davies calling tactics. They finished 6th, prompting Heerema to call it "an average result for a good race", right after crossing the finish line. In fact, it is very difficult to single out one reason that makes the difference between a 2nd and a 6th place in such a tight class. As Chris Bakes put it, "a tiny set up change or a good wave can make the difference between winning and losing."

Prestart procedure of the second race onboard No Way Back. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First run of the second race onboard No Way Back. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

No Way Back, helmed by Pieter Heerema, in the first beat. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Fredrik Aurell, getting ready. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Mascalzone Latino was ahead of No Way Back (4th or 5th) in the first weather mark but finished the race 10th . Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Pieter Heerema, helming No Way Back in the first beat. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Mascalzone Latino, BMW Oracle and Katsuha, surfing the waves behind No Way Back in the first run. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Pieter Heerema, helming No Way Back while rounding the second top mark. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Hard, physical action that only monohull yachts can offer. Valencia, 1 August 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

After the end of the race, the entire fleet headed back to port under sail. I took the helm in order to teach Pieter Heerema, Ray Davies and the rest of the crew a thing or two... Valencia, 1 August 2010

Team Aqua leads the fleet event of the Valencia RC44 Cup

This is getting very repeating but you can't avoid it when conditions are amazing for so long. It has been yet another great day of sailing in Valencia and the 11-strong RC44 fleet had a blast under the shiny Valencian sky, the 20-knot breeze and the big waves. I had the opportunity to be onboard Chris Bake's Team Aqua during the first race and witness how the tandem Chris Bake - Cameron Appleton together with the rest of the crew worked wonders, scoring two bullets, a third and a fourth.

No matter how many times one I have the chance to be onboard these rockets they never cease to amaze me. Unfortunately, the funkier the conditions get the tougher it is to hold on and shoot acceptable video and photos. It's not an easy task upwind but it gets a bit easier downwind, especially when planing. I saw a top wind speed of 20.5 knots and top boat speed of 17.5 knots, while in the third and fourth race boat speeds of up to 20 knots were reported.

The start of the first race was quite average for Team Aqua and up to the second weather mark, Chris Bake's boat was 6th or 7th. That's where Appleton made a great call, opting for the right side of the course for the final run while the rest of the fleet kept on the left. Team Aqua found more pressure there, sneaked in front of 3 or 4 boats and crossed the finish line 3rd.

However, the best was still to come with two bullets in a row and a fourth in the last race. Given the awful performance by "17" today, the US boat ceded 15 points, Team Aqua is now leading the fleet race event with 23 points, closely followed by Artemis with 27 points.

Prestart procedure onboard Team Aqua in the 1st fleet race of the day. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Chris Bake helming Team Aqua in the first race of the day. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Onboard Team Aqua in the first race of the day. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Gybing onboard Team Aqua with 20 knots of wind. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Team Aqua in the approach to the finish line in the first race of the day. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Team Aqua gets in front of BMW Oracle in the first top mark. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Team Aqua gets in front of Islas Canarias Puerto Calero in the first top mark. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BMW Oracle sailing downwind in the first race of the day. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The back of the fleet sailing downwind in the first race of the day. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Taking the spinnaker out while still hiking the Spanish way. Valencia, 31 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Team Aqua stands the pressure and conquers the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup match race

[Source: RC44 Class] Nine matches and eight victories: Cameron Appleton and his crewmembers on board Team Aqua have won the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup match race in style. BMW ORACLE Racing finishes second whilst Artemis completes the podium.

The pressure was on Team Aqua for the last day of the match race event. Unbeaten yesterday, Chris Bake’s team - helmed by Cameron Appleton - had three difficult duals ahead, against Team Sea Dubai, Ceeref and Artemis.

The first race of the day was a copy-paste of yesterdays’ for the Aqua boys, who benefited from their opponent’s premature start to sail away and win an easy point. Next came a race that could prove decisive, against Ceeref. The Slovenian team skippered by Rod Davis – second overall yesterday - had the mathematical possibility to win the contest by beating Aqua and then winning their last match against Paul Cayard’s Katusha, on little form in this event.

Highlights from the second day of the RC44 Copenhagen Cup. Copenhagen, 9 June 2010. Video copyright RC 44 Class

Team Aqua and Ceeref started even and exchanged tacks throughout the first beat. The decisive moment of the race took place when Aqua – on port tack – surprised Ceeref by dipping them, gaining the inside at the top mark and winning the race and the title thanks to this move. As for Ceeref, it went on to loose the next match against Katusha, ending up sixth overall…

Out of the five teams who were on a tie in third this morning, BMW ORACLE Racing, Artemis and No Way Back had the best day, winning three matches each and thus remaining on a tie, with BMW ORACLE Racing grabbing the second spot overall ahead of Artemis and No Way Back thanks to their direct confrontations.

Another happy team is the Austrian team AEZ, winner of their match against Paul Cayard’s Katusha and eighth overall – their best result in a match race so far. Team AEZ recently announced the appointment of Gerd Habermüller - a retired top bobsled athlete, 185 centimetres and 105 kilograms of muscles – and their team going from nine to eight crewmembers.

Tomorrow will be a practice day for the fleet regatta, due to start on Friday.

They said:

Cameron Appleton, helmsman, Team Aqua: “We knew that the match against Ceeref would be decisive but we didn’t want to do anything differently. It went our way: we wanted the left and we got the left; then we managed to dip them; we made as if we were going to tack, and then brutally bore away, which gave us the inside at the top mark. This has been a great series for us; I am very happy for the team and for myself. We’ve also had a lot of fun.”

Great sailing by Team Aqua hands them the top spot. Copenhagen, 9 June 2010. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Russell Coutts, tactician, BMW ORACLE Racing: “It was mainly down to reading the shifts correctly today, and also to the trimming of the sails because it was very choppy. It was good for us to have a good day because I felt that we gave some races away yesterday. We are very happy to finish second.”

Jes Gram Hansen, helmsman, Team Sea Dubai: “I am happy to be back sailing at a top level. I used to sail with the RC 44 Class a while ago, and it is nice to see how much the Class has evolved. The level is really high, the teams are superb. I also enjoy sailing on my home waters, and seeing my friends and family.”

Rod Davis, helmsman, Ceeref: “We knew the situation when we started our match against Aqua. They did a very good job at dipping us; they also benefited from a moment when we had a cell of bad wind over us; we were just sailing ten degrees lower than them; it was quite frustrating. It hasn’t been a very good day for us; we were struggling with our speed and it made our life tough.”

Ray Davies, tactician, No Way Back: “This has been a good event for us, with six wins and three losses. The last race was quite unpredictable; however the rest of the event has been fantastic, with great conditions. Our team is usually very good under pressure. We tend to keep the same attitude whatever the situation is and it usually pays off.”

Larry Ellison shows excellent form and grabs second place overall in match racing. Copenhagen, 9 June 2010. Photo copyright Per Heegaard / RC44 Class

Match-race, final results after twelve flights:


1) Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), 8/1 - 8 points
2) BMW ORACLE Racing (Russell Coutts / Larry Ellison), 6/3 - 6 points
3) Artemis (Terry Hutchinson), 6/3 - 6 points
4) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies), 6/3 - 6 points
5) 17 (James Spithill), 5/4 - 5 points
6) CEEREF (Rod Davis), 5/4 - 5 points
7) Team Sea Dubai (Jes Gram Hansen), 4/5 - 3 points
8) AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (Christian Binder), 2/7 - 2 points
9) Katusha (Paul Cayard), 2/7 - 2 points
10) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (José Maria Ponce), 1/8 - 1 point

Ten teams and ten favourites ready to compete for the RC 44 Austria Cup

[Source: RC44 Class Association] The RC 44 Austria Cup will take place on April 29 – May 4. The level of the Tour is such that it is impossible to name a favourite.

The second regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 will begin on Thursday, April 29, on Lake Traunsee, in Austria. James Spithill, Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison make their come back on the circuit; they will sail against Ray Davies, Paul Cayard, Rod Davis, Markus Wieser, Terry Hutchinson, Cameron Appleton, Christian Binder and many more of the world’s best sailors… Tough job for the bookmakers!

Recent winner of the America’s Cup at the helm of BMW ORACLE Racing, James « Jimmy » Spithill is the skipper of a new team called RC 44 Challenge. His crew is made up of a combination of America’s Cup sailors - such as John Kostecki - and genuine amateurs, as required by the Class rules. RC 44 Challenge will with no doubt immediately become one of the favourites of the event. “I am really looking forward to returning to the RC 44 Class”, says Spithill. “It attracts the world’s best sailors from both match racing and fleet racing, plus the boats are incredibly rewarding to sail and certainly one of the reasons I’m back. We have a fantastic team. John Kostecki will be tactician and Joey Newton trimming, both who raced on the BOR 90 trimaran.”

Other new faces involved in the RC 44 Austria Cup include Harm Müller Spreer, who will be Team Sea Dubai’s fleet race helmsman. Owner of the well known TP 52 Platoon, Harm Müller Spreer is a successful Dragon sailor; he became European champion in 2004, finished second at the 2005 worlds and is a triple Gold Cup winner.

Russell Coutts is also back on the circuit for the first time since last year’s Portoroz Cup. Larry Ellison will steer BMW ORACLE Racing during the fleet races whilst Coutts will be at the helm on Thursday and Friday for the match race.

Finally, Team Austria, the local team headed by René Mangold, will be keen to perform in front of its public. The Austrians managed to win two fleet races in Dubai earlier in the season. “We have improved a lot but we need more continuity”, comments Christian Binder, the team’s match race helmsman and tactician.

The teams involved in the RC 44 Austria Cup (fleet race / match race helmsman):

Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies)
Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist / Terry Hutchinson)
CEEREF (Igor Lah / Rod Davis)
BMW ORACLE Racing (Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts)
Team Aqua (Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton)
Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero / José Maria Ponce)
Katusha (Paul Cayard)
Team Sea Dubai (Harm Muller Spreer / Markus Wieser)
Team Austria (René Mangold / Christian Binder)
RC 44 Challenge (Ian Vickers / James Spithill)

Malcesine RC 44 Cup starts tomorrow

[Source: RC44] The fourth regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2009 starts tomorrow on Lake Garda. The RC 44 fleet welcomes Frank Pong and his new Team Jelik, from Hong Kong. DHL, the Class’ logistics partner, announces that around 16 tons of CO2 have been compensated thanks to their innovative GoGreen campaign.

Fifteen knots of wind, great sunshine and flat water: those are the conditions that the ten teams involved in the Malcesine RC 44 Cup hope to get this week. Lake Garda is situated about 65 metres above sea level between the Alps and the Po plain; it is the largest lake in Italy. The northern part of the lake is surrounded by mountainous peaks that create a funnel effect and generate the local winds – the Ora between midday and the early hours of the evening and the Vento between midnight and mid-morning.

Frank Pong’s Team Jelik sailing for the first time in the RC44 championship Tour, with Adam Minoprio calling tactics. Malcesine, 7 July 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Organised by Fraglia Vela di Malcesine, the regatta begins tomorrow with the match racing event. Winner of the last regatta and leader of the Championship Tour, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua with Cameron Appleton at the helm is one of the favourites of the series, alongside Torbjorn Tornqvist / Dean Baker’s Artemis and Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing, who won the match race event in Malcesine last year. Also to be reckoned with, Maciej Nawrocki and Karol Jablonski’s team Organika, second of the match race event in Austria last month and Igor Lah / Sébastien Col’s Ceeref.

The fleet regatta will take place from Friday 10 till Sunday 12. The long distance regatta - the DHL Trophy - will count for double; it will most probably take place on Saturday.

The ten RC 44’s have been training hard over the past days. This morning, Frank Pong’s Team Jelik, who join the Class for the first time, had a first “lake trial” with 20+ knots of wind. “Now I understand why everybody says that Lake Garda is such a fantastic place for sailing”, said Pong. “It was absolutely awesome.”

The teams involved:
(Name of team, owner, pro sailor)

Team Aqua, Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton
Team Ceeref, Igor Lah / Sébastien Col
Sea Dubai, Yousef Lahej, DIMC / Markus Wieser
BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts
Team Organika, Maciej Nawrocki / Karol Jablonski
Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Daniel Calero / Jose Maria Ponce
Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist / Dean Barker
No Way Back, Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies
Team Austria, René Mangold / Christian Binder
Team Jelik, Frank Pong / Adam Minoprio

Team Aqua wins RC44 Austria Cup

[Source: RC44] It went down to the last hurdle between No Way Back, Artemis and Team Aqua, separated by two points only before the ninth and last regatta of the event. No Way Back wins the fleet race ranking – on a tie with Artemis – whilst Team Aqua conquers the overall title thanks to its victory in the match race.

The sun was finally shining today and the wind blowing like it should in a sailboat race, allowing the Race Committee to launch four races and reshuffle the cards in the overall ranking of the RC 44 Austria Cup.

After a last race sailed this morning in this week’s typical gray, cold and unstable weather, the sun and the breeze came back for the final showdown, allowing the Race Committee to launch three fantastic races in Ebensee, at the other end of the lake.

Pieter Heerema and his team No Way Back were looking good at this stage thanks to their victory in the day’s first race. But the racing in Ebensee is all different, with the boats sailing as closely as possible to the cliffs in order to benefit from the land effect.

Closing day of the RC44 Austria Cup. Traunsee,31 May 2009. Photo copyright GEPA pictures / Marie Rambauske / RC 44 Class Association

Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis was the best at adapting to those conditions, starting race 6 at the pin end of the line, going as closely as possible to the land in order to benefit from a good lift and tack ahead of the pack to take the lead. Alternating the worse and the best throughout the week, Team Sea Dubai also had an excellent regatta, finishing second just a couple of seconds behind Artemis after a fantastic dual. Other teams had ups and downs, with BMW ORACLE Racing finishing third despite sailing without their bowsprit, Team Austria ripping a spinnaker and Organika incurring a penalty at the windward mark. Team Aqua finished 4th and No Way Back 7th, closing the gap dramatically at the top of the leaderboard before the last races.

The next regatta turned out to be the most exciting one of the week, with a pre-start collision between Team Sea Dubai and Ceeref and further penalties for the same Ceeref as well as Organika and Team Austria in a hairy leeward mark rounding. Team Aqua benefited from this chaos to grab the lead and win ahead of No way Back and Organika.

The scenario couldn’t have been any better before the start of the last race of the event, with No Way Back sitting just two points ahead of Team Aqua and Artemis. The three teams knew the situation, and said after the regatta that they sailed “their own race”, without looking too much at the others.

No Way Back twisted a sheet in a winch one minute before the gun and was forced to start at the Committee end of the line when the middle and pin end were clearly favoured. Artemis started as usual at the pin end, but a touch too late. As for Aqua, it took an average start in the middle of the line, momentarily taking the lead of the “race in the race” despite sailing in BMW ORACLE Racing and Team Sea Dubai’s wake. The Team from the UAE seemed to have the regatta under control until Artemis – on great form today – made the best of the land effect to grab the temporary third place, just ahead of Aqua and No Way Back. The three teams sailed the last run in each other’s wake, trying to attack ahead without taking too much risk behind. BMW ORACLE Racing’s beautiful win and Team Sea Dubai’s second place were anecdotic compared to this fight for the overall victory. Artemis finally crossed third, Aqua fourth and No way Back – threatened until the last meters by the brave Austrians – in fifth, grabbing the fleet race ranking title on a tie with Artemis. Team Aqua concludes the fleet regatta in third but grabs the overall RC 44 Austria Cup title ahead of Artemis and No way Back, and increases its lead in the Championship Tour.

The next regatta will take place on July 8-12 in Malcesine, Lake Garda.

Closing day of the RC44 Austria Cup. Traunsee,31 May 2009. Photo copyright GEPA pictures / Marie Rambauske / RC 44 Class Association

They said:

Pieter Heerema, owner, No Way Back: “We had a fantastic first race this morning; all worked out perfectly for us. We had such a lead that we had to stop before crossing the line to make sure that there was not too much time between us and the others. The other races this afternoon at Ebensee were fantastic. The last race was very close. We had technical problems that prevented us from starting where we wanted but ended up with our direct competitors and had a very close race.”

Torbjorn Tornqvist, owner, Artemis: “We deliberately chose to start all races at the pin end of the line because we thought it was favoured and it usually proved to be the case. Of course this sent us right to the mountainside with other boats just behind and to windward as we had to tack, but I wasn’t scared to sail so close from the cliffs; I am used to sail in the archipelago and we do this all the time. During the downwind legs we didn’t use the coastal effect enough and lost some ground. We should probably have protected our position better. All in all, it was a great and very interesting regatta.”

Cameron Appleton, tactician, Team Aqua: “I am very proud of our result. We fought until the last race and it was amazing to see the top three boats sailing so close from each other in this last regatta. We had control over the situation half way through, but then I didn’t manage to prevent Artemis’ come back.”

Russell Coutts, BMW ORACLE Racing: ”This was a great event, and a huge success. We had our moments as a team, but I am quite happy with our fourth place. It wasn’t easy for our new helmsman to fit in, but he did a good job. It is great that No Way Back had such a good regatta; they worked very hard and sailed very consistently. It is interesting to note that the winning boat’s average place is approximately fourth and that five different teams have managed to win races. It says a lot about this Class.”

Christian Feichtinger, event organiser: Last year was our premiere and this year is our break through. We have clearly promoted our sailing event in a new dimension, by proving that we can run an entire match race round robin, eight fleet races and the DHL Trophy on our lake. We are very happy that the Class committed to come back next year.”

RC 44 Austria Cup overall ranking
(Ranking, team, owner, match race, fleet race, points)

1) Team Aqua, Chris Bake, 1, 3 - 4 points
2) Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist, 3, 2 – 5 points
3) No Way Back, Pieter Heerema, 6, 1 - 7 points
4) BMW ORACLE Racing, Russell Coutts, 5, 4 - 9 points
5) Team Organika, Maciej Navrocki 2, 7 – 9 points
6) Ceeref, Igor Lah, 4, 6 – 10 points
7) Team Sea Dubai, DIMC Markus Wieser, 7, 5 - 12 points
8) Team Austria, René Mangold, 9, 8 – 17 points
9) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Daniel Calero, 8, 9 – 17 points

Team Aqua grabs the match race title in the RC 44 Austria Cup

[Source: RC44] Despite leading the tournament since the onset, Cameron Appleton and his team remained under threat until the very last race. Karol Jablonski’s Organika finishes a magnificent second ahead of Dean Barker’s Artemis and Paul Cayard’s Ceeref.

May 28, 2009 – When asked what the key to his success was, Team Aqua’s pro skipper Cameron Appleton was humble enough to answer “a huge amount of luck”. But luck doesn’t explain all and it is fair to say that Team Aqua sailed very well and that the team grabbed all the opportunities available – and there were many.

Following a successful ride against Team No Way Back, Aqua won the match that would be the decisive one in Flight 8, against Paul Cayard’s Ceeref. Despite loosing the start and incurring a penalty, Aqua managed to come back during the first downwind leg, taking advantage of a massive right shift to grab the lead. Appleton and his team then perfectly executed their penalty on the arrival line, finishing a couple of seconds ahead of Ceeref.

Highlights from day 2 of the RC 44 Austria Cup. Traunsee, 28 May 2009. Video copyright RC44

Two teams were still in a position to beat Aqua at this stage: BMW ORACLE Racing and Organika. The Americans blew their last opportunity during the pre-start of Flight 9 against Organika, incurring a penalty and crossing the line prematurely.

With one last race to go, Karol Jablonski’s Polish team was the only one still in a position to beat Aqua. In order to achieve this, Jablonski had to win its last race against No Way Back and Team Aqua to be beaten by BMW ORACLE Racing. Cameron Appleton made it very clear in the pre-start sequence that the event was his, taking an early lead over the Americans and extending throughout the race to win the match and the event. No Way Back, with Ray Davies at the helm for the starting sequence and owner Pieter Heerema taking over for the rest of the race managed to beat Organika “for the honour”, as the result had no influence on the final outcome. The two teams had an interesting windward mark rounding, carrying on for at least two hundred meters after the mark, looking at each other like cat and dog and waiting for the opportunity to make the break. A fantastic match racing moment.

Cameron Appleton wins the match race title with 7 victories in 8 races. Traunsee, 28 May 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

There were many other exciting matches today, including a superb dual between Team Sea Dubai and BMW ORACLE Racing in the seventh flight. The team from the UAE had successfully inflicted a penalty to its opponent and dominated most of the match but could not prevent one of those come backs that only Lake Traunsee seems to allow.

Not used to sail on a lake, the Spanish team Puerto Calero had some good moments too, beating Organika, BMW ORACLE Racing and Team Austria but this was not enough to finish any better than eighth overall.

As for Team Austria, still learning the subtleties of match racing, they had some very good and close matches but haven’t managed to win a race. A tough result that certainly doesn’t reflect their talent.

The fleet racing event starts tomorrow. The strict one-design concept of the RC 44 Class and the shifty weather will open up more opportunities to the less experienced teams. It will with no doubt be a very interesting regatta.

Paul Cayard finishes 4th in his first ever RC44 regatta. Traunsee, 28 May 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

They said:

Cameron Appleton, helmsman, Team Aqua: “We’ve had a huge amount of luck. We sailed very well in those races that we won fair & square. But I confess that we were lucky at times. I don’t know any other place that offers such opportunities to come back. The qualities that were necessary to win today are: patience, focus and belief.”

Dean Barker, helmsman, Artemis: “I am not very happy with our day. The conditions don’t make for great matches. You think you are doing things right and five minutes later you’ve been overtaken by your opponent without having done any mistake. This lake is really hard to read.”

René Mangold, owner, Team Austria: “I am not surprised by the result and we are not unhappy. These guys sail match races 200 days / year; it’s just normal that they beat us. But I have the feeling that we are getting closer and closer. Hopefully we will be able to win some races next time, in Malcesine.”

Karol Jablonski, helmsman, Organika: “It was complicated, exciting and intense. We’ve had lots of ups and downs throughout the day, but the crew has done a fantastic job and I am very happy. Rod Dawson, from New Zealand, is our new mainsail trimmer and he is doing a great job; it is very helpful. I didn’t know that we could have won the event when we started the last race. But it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Match-race, final results after nine flights:

(Name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)

1) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 7/1, 7 points
2) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 5/3, 5 points
3) Artemis, Dean Barker, 5/3, 5 points
4) Ceeref, Paul Cayard, 5/3, 5 points
5) BMW ORACLE Racing, Rod Davis, 4/4, 4 points
6) No Way Back, Pieter heerema, 4/4, 4 points
7) Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 3/5, 3 points
8) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Maria Ponce, 3/5, 3 points
9) Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0/8, 0 point