Challenging conditions for Calero Sailing Team at the 44Cup World Championship
by Calero Sailing Team 25 Aug 08:03 NZST
21-25 August 2024
Three races were held at the 44Cup World Championship Brunnen, but in difficult conditions on the penultimate day of the competition on Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland.
While the first two days have been held in a stiff sea breeze, Saturday started with two races held in a slightly fickle sub-10 knot northerly. As the wind died after these were completed, the nine RC44s were sent ashore only to be called out later in the afternoon as a strong wind filled in, this time from the south for the first time at this event. Initially this was a fresh 20+ knots, but by start time had dropped to 15.
In the light conditions Daniel Calero's Calero Sailing Team once again started strongly and in the first race was second at the top mark, but subsequently slipped back. As the team's offside trimmer, Tokyo Olympic 470 bronze medallist Nicolás Rodríguez, explained: "We had a really good top mark again in the first race. We made a mistake choosing the spinnaker and were slightly slow. Then also we made a bad drop - which was my mistake. We came in hot to the gate and didn't manage to do the drop well. But we were okay, we were fifth, and then on the last downwind we lost the other boats - a wrong decision one moment, or one detail can cost a lot...
"In the end we made some mistakes which pushed us back, but we feel that if we don't make mistakes we can be fighting. It was quite tough results-wise, but we had a good conclusion. It was the first day we felt quite good with the J1 [headsail]. It comes down to knowledge of the boat and how to set up everything - we are getting closer and we felt competitive, which was good for us."
In the second race Calero Sailing Team for once didn't have the best start, having to bail and return on port tack, leaving them late for the line. "We tried to go right but then someone tacked on us and in the end it was quite painful for us," continued Rodríguez. "But we are getting better and better and the results are not how we feel. For sure we are making steps forward."
Once back out on the race track in the late afternoon, Calero Sailing Team made an okay start in the fresh southerly to reach the top mark, located at the foot of some towering mountains, in fourth place. But then as Calero Sailing Team tactician and former Snipe World Champion, Alfredo Gonzalez explained: "On the hoist we had a few problems with the sheet winch during the manoeuvre. We lost three positions there..." Ultimately, they finished eighth ahead of Artemis Racing.
Tomorrow is the last day of the 44Cup World Championship Brunnen and to ensure the maximum amount of racing time, the start has been brought forward to 1100.
Calero Sailing Team competes on the 44Cup thanks to the support of: Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote (the Art, Culture and Tourism Centres (CACT) of the Cabildo of Lanzarote). Designed by renowned local artist, sculptor and nature activist César Manrique, these seven centres are attached to key Lanzarote tourist attractions which Manrique, in his unique style, integrated into Lanzarote's own unique landscape. The first, set up in 1964, was the Cueva de los Verdes (a lava tube in Lanzarote's Haria municipality), while the seventh and last, in 1991, was the Jardín de Cactus in Guatiza. These seven spaces reflect the cultural and natural values of Lanzarote, merging art and nature.
Calero Sailing Team is also supported by Calero Marinas, which operates marinas throughout the Canary Islands: Puerto Calero, Marina Lanzarote and Marina La Palma, plus their latest in Fuerteventura - Marina Jandía.
It also is backed by Calmar Residential Developments, which designs and builds bespoke luxury villas in Lanzarote, and Turismo Lanzarote, which, via their slogan 'Lanzarote, A Unique Island', promotes Lanzarote as a luxury destination for long haul tourists.
Team Website: calerosailingteam.com
Event Website: www.44cup.org