ONBOARD Magazine winter 2019

“I think the class provides a winning
formula. On a relative basis it’s
affordable for the level of sailing
you are doing, the racing format
is highly enjoyable, the members
of the class make it a lot of fun.
It’s a good class with great people
and it’s very competitive so it’s
very challenging for anyone coming
into the fleet.”
The team behind the event’s
success was also keen to ensure
it was spectator and media friendly,
so as well as prime sailing conditions
to allow three to four races per
day over a four-day regatta, the
location of the events on the tour
are chosen to allow courses to be
set close to the shore, and with
good spectator vantage points
in mind to ensure shore-side
supporters and media TV crews
don’t miss out on the action.
The 2018 Tour, which concluded
in mid November, went right down
to the wire with just one point
separating the top two boats – Team
Nika (RUS) Team Ceeref (SLO) – going into
the final event in Cascais. The overall winner
was Team Nika. It was also an historic year
for the RC44 world championship with Team
Nika (Vladimir Prosikhin at the helm and
Dean Barker on tactics), the first team
ever to claim a hat trick of RC44 World
Championship titles.
THE BOAT
The RC44 – co-designed by Russell Coutts,
five-time America’s Cup winner, and
Andrej Justin, naval architect – is a light
displacement, high performance one-design
racing yacht, which means they are identical
in terms of construction, shape of hull,
appendages and weight/weight distribution.
As well as ensuring the boats are evenly
matched for fair racing, the class is
passionate about the pro-am status it
was originally designed around, with it rules
that state there must be a 50-50 split
between amateurs and professionals in
each team of eight, and the owner of the
boat must be on the helm.
Built entirely of carbonfibre, and with a
powerful sail plan, the RC44 is fast all
round in all conditions. Not surprisingly
she flies downwind, while upwind she is
responsive to allow crews to enjoy closequarter,
hiking out, dinghy-style tacking
duels for added excitement.
Russell Coutts talking about the ideas
behind the design said: “We wanted to
include a degree of complexity so an owner
can experience what a top-end race boat
is like to sail. I wanted to create a boat
that would be exciting to sail downwind
and powerful in light winds.
“I also wanted a boat that could be sailed
short-handed with a deck layout incorporating
many non-standard adjustments. The trim
tab on the keel is an example of that, to
reduce keel area yet still achieve good upwind
performance and manoeuverability. It adds
to the boat’s complexity but the racing
enthusiast will enjoy trialing the different
tab angles and the resulting performance
benefits.”
THE EVENTS
The venues for the Tour are chosen for their
ideal sailing conditions and this year, for the
first time ever, the event will kick off the
2019 season with the RC44 Montenegro
Cup, hosted on the beautiful Bay of Kotor
by Porto Montenegro Yacht Club.
The Racing Tour will then continue on to
four of the best picturesque and challenging
sailing destinations in Europe for one-design
racing, including the picturesque town of
Roving in Croatia for event two in May, and
the Swedish sailing Mecca of Marstrand
Island for event three in July.
RUNNERS AND RIDERS
With some fantastic race venues lined up
for the 2019 season and a host of former
world champions and RC44 Tour winners
already signed up, the 12th edition of
the RC44 Championship Tour looks set
to beat all expectations.
The organisers of the event say they are
expecting all eight current long-term teams
to compete as well.
TEAMS CONFIRMED FOR 2019
Artemis Racing
Torbjorn Tornqvist
Aleph Racing
Hugues Lepic
Charisma
Nico Poons
Bronenosec Sailing Team
Vladimir Liubomirov / Kirill Frolov
Peninsula Petroleum
John Bassadone
Team CEEREF
Igor Lah (reigning RC44 Championship
Tour champions)
Team Aqua
Chris Bake
Team Nika
Vladimir Prosikhin
All images ©Martinezstudio.es/RC44 Championship Tour
60 | WINTER 2019 | ONBOARD