While Russell Coutts is perhaps best known these days for his multi-national foiling multihull SailGP league format, back in the day – 2007 – he was responsible for conceiving, together with naval architect Andrej Justin, another game-changing sailing format, the high performance owner-driver one design RC44.
This provided a race circuit package that allowed amateur helmsmen with a professional crew to sail a light-displacement, high-performance one-design, in a series of international regattas at top class locations, under strictly controlled Class Rules.
A major factor in the concepts success is that due to their unique design the 44ft long yachts travel as if a 40ft container, making RC44s straightforward and relatively inexpensive to transport.
And 19 years later the RC44 concept is still going strong, with subtle updates maintaining the technical equipment and strict rules on sail replacement and other upgrades keeping the costs within reason.
The five venues visited each season, including one World Sailing-sanctioned World Championship, are an important factor in the continuing popularity of the class, and in 2024 it will visit three venues for the first time . . . Baiona in Spain’s autonomous region of Galicia, Brunnen on Lake Lucernin central Switzerland, and the Nanny Cay marina on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
However, the first event at the end of February, will be on very familiar territory, the RC44 owners and crews able to enjoy some winter sun in Puerto Calero in Lanzarote with their regular north-northeasterly trade winds which average around 12 knots in early March.
The 44Cup has a long association with the Calero family, who own marinas throughout the Canary Islands. For several years, the family even campaigned their own RC44.
For its second event, the 44Cup remains in Spain but heads for the mainland and, for the first time ever, to Baiona in the country’s most northwesterly autonomous region of Galicia. Located on the south side of the entrance to the Ria de Vigo, the town is open to the Atlantic.
The prevailing wind is northerly, but the geography of the bay permits protection in the event of conditions getting too strong. With the town overlooked by the 16th century Monterreal Castle, the 44Cup’s hosts for the Baiona event will be the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona.
From Spain, the 44Cup makes its annual pilgrimage north to Marstrand for its rendez-vous with the Swedish paradise island and its rugged terrain courtesy of Artemis Racing’s Torbjörn Törnqvist. The 44Cup will be hosted here by the Marstrands Segelsällskap club with the support of the Marstrands Havshotell.
This will be the 11th time the 44Cup has visited Marstrand, Sweden’s premier regatta venue. This year racing will coincide with Midsommar, the summer solitice, one of Sweden’s most celebrated holidays. As usual the 44Cup will lay on a show and on at least one day a finish line will be set in Marstrand fjord providing great views of the action for spectators.
For 2024’s World Championship, the 44Cup will move inland central Switzerland where they will be racing on Lake Lucerne out of the small touristic town of Brunnen.
Brunnen is located on the outside corner of a 90deg bend in the picturesque lake which means the racing area can be adapted to the conditions – the wind is largely thermal, building typically to 12-18 knots but as much as 25 at times.
The Brunnen event has come about at the recommendation of Christian Zuerrer who has raced and trained there with his Black Star Sailing Team often in the past, and will be setting up the event with support of the Brunnen town council.
For its final event of 2024, the 44Cup will return to the British Virgin Islands at the end of November.
The circuit last visited the Caribbean at the end of 2015, held out the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s clubhouse in North Sound Harbour, but this sadly was destroyed during the Category 5 Hurricane Irma in 2017.
As a result for the 2024 44Cup’s conclusion the fleet will be based out of Nanny Cay marina on the main island of Tortola, famous for hosting the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival every April, where they will be hosted by the Royal BVI Yacht Club.
Season opener, Puerto Calero, Lanzarote in the Canary Islands – 28 Feb to 3 March 2024
