The RC44 Calero Marinas Cup 2018 was a tremendous event. While Northern Europe braced for storms and Arctic conditions, the weather in the Canaries stayed warm but brought challenging westerly winds, creating a testing time for PRO Peter Reggio who still managed to put together 4 days of intense and excellent racing.
Ray Davies & Dean Barker
Lanzarote’s capital Arrecife enjoyed the sight of these unmistakably powerful carbon rigs competing just off the waterfront and the fleet was generous in hosting numerous sailing schools that visited the event base in Marina Lanzarote to learn more about the boats and meet the illustrious crew members, including Olympic medallists and VOR veterans and amassing in total over 60 America’s Cup campaigns with 84 World Championship titles.
Winner of last year’s event, Peninsula Petroleum, featured three local sailors – two of which hailed from the island having developed their skills in Lanzarote waters. During the event press conference, team coach Gustavo Martínez, Gran Canaria born but a resident of Lanzarote, acknowledged “the tremendously high level of competition” represented in the Class and described how fortunate the island was to receive such international recognition for these exceptional sailing conditions.
RCNA sailing students
The coveted “9th Man” role, where a guest is able to join a team for a race, became one of the highlights of the week. During the final two days of the event, local sailing students and invited VIPS revelled in the chance to experience first-hand the thrill of this highly-charged and immensely skilled class.
Most of the 7 teams were racing with a slightly modified crew, adding another new dynamic to the mix. Shifty conditions also gave rise to some lucky manoeuvres creating nail-biting scenarios where each day provided a different set of winners. Finally, Charisma, owned by Nico Poons, with legendary AC tactician Ray Davies produced the most consistently successful results, enabling them to win the event.
On behalf of Calero Marinas, we are grateful to the RC44 Class Association for returning to hold their two events in Lanzarote and to the Canary Islands and local Lanzarote island governments for their support. The Real Club Náutico de Arrecife played an important role in facilitating the necessary assistance for the race committee on the water.
To find out more about the RC44 Class and follow the series, visit www.rc44.com
