Teams from 22 clubs representing 13 nations were battling over four intense days of competition at Semifinal 1 of the SAILING Champions League (SCL) in Porto Cervo for a ticket to the SAILING Champions League Final in St. Moritz coming up at the end of August. The first 14 sailing clubs qualified in Sardinia for the final event in Switzerland. The Italian yacht club Circolo Della Vela Bari won the opening round organized by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of title sponsor AUDI, after a commanding performance in Sardinia. In the beginning of August, 16 other sailing clubs will qualify at Semifinal 2 in St. Petersburg, Russia to complete the list of 32 participants besides host club Segel-Club St. Moritz and SCL Champion Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Day One: Perfect weather conditions welcomed the sailors. The first of two semifinal legs got underway with a mild Mistral wind between 9 and 12 knots—ideal conditions for the YCCS fleet of J/70s. Heading the provisional classification was the all-women’s team from the Royal Danish Yacht Club followed by the Finns of AAS and Germany’s SMCU. Each flight consisted of a full round of short windward-leeward races, with each leg approximately a third of a mile and teams alternating on board the J/70 fleet. Smooth organization allows crew changes to take place in just 3-4 minutes, allowing flights to depart in quick succession.
Day Two: Competitors and the Race Committee had a long and productive day. No less than five flights were concluded, with a total of 15 races run, shaking up the top of the leaderboard. The Austrians of Yacht Club Bregenz sat in the lead with consistently good performances, followed just one point behind by Circolo Della Vela Bari on level points with the Germans of SMCU. Northerly winds of about 10 knots lessened and rotated eastward throughout the day. After two stoppages for lack of breeze, in the late afternoon a southeasterly breeze picked up allowing two more flights to be completed.
Day Three: The third day saw the team representing Circolo Della Vela Bari move to the top, followed by the Austrians of the Yacht Club Bregenz. Just four flights remained to be held in the final day of the event. The wind filled in at around 11 a.m., and the first race got underway soon after, accompanied by an easterly wind of approximately 6 knots which progressively built up to 10 knots and moved to south-easterly. Once again, the race course was not easy to read, with shifty wind and unexpected holes in the breeze. Many penalties were imposed by the umpires on the tightly-bunched fleet. The team from Circolo Della Vela Bari posted four firsts, one second and one fifth to lead the provisional standings, just one point ahead the Austrians of the Yacht Club Bregenz. The French team representing Club de Voile St. Aubin Elbeuf moved up to third place at the expense of the German team of Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen.
Day Four: Excellent starting skills and clear-headed tactical racing delivered victory for the crew representing Circolo Della Vela Bari (CVB). Simone Ferrarese’s team went into the final day just in front of Austrian rivals Yacht Club Bregenz, with Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf also in contention. The CVB crew won all three of their races on the final day to win the 22-team contest with a race to spare.
The qualified clubs for the Final in St. Moritz are:|
1 Italy- Circolo Della Vela Bari- Bari, Italy
2 Austria- Yacht Club Bregenz- Bregenz, Austria
3 France- Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf- Saint-Aubin Elbeuf, France
4 Switzerland- Regattaclub Bodensee- St. Gallen, Switzerland
5 Germany- Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen- Überlingen, Germany
6 Monaco- Yacht Club Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco
7 Switzerland- Regattaclub Oberhofen- Oberhofen, Switzerland
8 Denmark- Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub- Copenhagen, Denmark
9 Italy- Società Canottieri Garda Salò- Salò, Italy
10 Finland- Åländska Segelsällskapet- Åland Islands, Finland
11 Germany- Wassersportverein Hemelingen- Bremen, Germany
12 Sweden- Cape Crow Yacht Club- Gothenburg, Sweden
13 France- APCC Nantes- Nantes, France
14 Netherlands- Jachtclub Scheveningen- The Hague, Netherlands
For more SAILING Champions League information, visit http://sailing-championsleague.com/.