Sailing a fleet of a dozen matched J/70 one-design class sailboats from the YC Costa Smeralda, the teams were blessed with four straight days of epic, champagne sailing conditions- sunny, partly cloudy, 10 to 25 knots of mistral conditions with winds blowing from the northwest offshore, making for flat water conditions. The planned eighteen flights were completed for the four-day event, for a total of 72 races!
The surprise winner for the event was yet another leading Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga team- the Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen Team that sail on the spectacular Lake Constance (bordered by Germany, Austria, and Italy). Here are the daily reports on how it all went down in this year's exciting, thrill-a-minute finale.
Day One
Two flights were completed on day one for a total 8 races run. Currently tied for points and in the lead was the familiar German crew from Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, themselves German Sailing League champions more than once. The surprise team in the number two spot on the leaderboard was the Åländska Segelsällskape Team from Finland. Third place for the day was the Swiss team Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen.
Måns Lundberg, from Åländska Segelsällskapet commented, “racing in Costa Smeralda is always great for us! Our primary objective is to improve on our results that our Club has obtained in the past editions of this event.”
Stefan Seger, from the Regattaclub Oberhofen said, “in this first day the wind direction was very shifty, so it was hard for all of the teams that are participating. At any rate it’s always a pleasure to meet again here.”
Day Two
The second day of racing was intense for the twenty-seven teams! There were seventeen races run for a total of four flights completed...exhausting for the Race Committee, the Jury boats, and the race teams! The races got underway punctually at 10AM in south westerly winds at 20-22 knots and gusts at up to 30 knots. Racing was in the Golfo del Pevero and ended at 5PM. After seven hours on the water!
At the end of the day’s racing the Spanish team from the Club Náutico Arrecife was just one point ahead of the German team from the Segel- und Motorboot Club Überlingen, who raced up the standings to place second for the series. The Italian team from Aeronautica Militare also had a great day and rose to third place.
Ricardo Terrades, from the Club Náutico Arrecife had these words, “fundamentally, we want to sail fast and have fun. Our objective is to qualify for the final series, so we’ll try to do our best to hang on to the position we’re currently in. We hope that in the upcoming two days we’ll be sailing in similar conditions, our team loves windy weather!”
Day Three
The third day saw the weather Gods bless the sailors with yet another perfect combination of racing conditions with westerly, very shifty, very puffy winds that ranged from 18-22 knots. The action was intense again and a total of 21 races were run to complete five flights.
Aeronautica Militare has continued to work its way up the scoreboard. After a first race where the team finished fourth, they won three races and placed second once. As a result, they are currently in the lead in the provisional results. Swiss teams from the Regattaclub Oberhofen and the Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen are in second and third place respectively after having placed consistently well today.
Niccoló Bertola, from Aeronautica Militare, commented on their strong performance, “we really weren’t expecting to get such good results! Actually, we were a little worried because this year we never had the chance to sail using the National Sailing League format and we know that training is the most important thing in this kind of regatta. So, we’re really happy so far! Tomorrow the conditions should be a bit different with lighter air, but we’ll be ready.”
After the racing there was a presentation in Piazza Azzurra of the survey on the quality of Sardinia’s waters that Oristano’s CNR is conducting with the support of the One Ocean Foundation. Immediately afterwards the scientific expedition that Ocean Scientific (partner of the OOF) is conducting in the Med was also presented.
Day 4 Finale- Wash, Rinse, Repeat
It was yet another perfect day of racing for the finale. Racing started punctually at 10AM with more amazing mistral winds from the west from 12-15 knots. Three more flights were held bringing the event’s total to fourteen completed flights and 56 races. At the end of all of the flights the teams that finished in the top four positions qualified for the final series. Those teams were Aeronautica Militare (Italy), Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen (Germany), Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen (Germany) and Akhmat National Sailing Team (Russia).
After a mixed bag of results in the previous days of racing, the German Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen Team stayed concentrated and had their best day. With two wins out of four races they were crowned champions of the SAILING Champions League 2020 for their first time. The Italian team from Aeronautica Militare finished second and taking the bronze on the podium was the Swiss team from Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen.
Michael Zittlau, skipper of the Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen team, commented, “I still can’t believe that we have won the SAILING Champions League. It’s incredible, we’re from a small Club on Lake Constance in Germany and we came here thinking that we might manage to finish in the top ten at best. We were sailing against some top-level teams. In the final event we could barely keep up, but in the end, we won, and it feels fantastic!”
Michael Illbruck, Commodore of the YCCS, had these comments during the award ceremony held on the terrace at YCCS, “in four days we have seen all kinds of weather conditions, the teams sailed in gusts up to 30 knots. I have to say that it has been a real challenge for the twenty-seven teams that have participated! Events like these embody the fundamental values of sailing like sporting spirit, competitiveness, and a sense of belonging with one’s club. We hope to welcome many teams again next year here in Porto Cervo!” For more SAILING Champions League regatta information
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