The third regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 will take place next week in Copenhagen (Denmark). The top of the annual leader board is as hot as ever, with the leading teams only separated by a few points. Just back from the ACC event in Maddalena, many sailors & teams will be on top form. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik will sail with James Spithill onboard “17”, and steer the boat during the fleet regatta
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik will steer 17 during the fleet race, alongside James Spithill and John Kostecki. Image copyright GEPA / Ralph Martin Fisher / RC44 Class.
by Bernard Schopfer
Copenhagen will host the third regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 on June 8 – 13. Organised by the Royal Danish Yacht Club, the event will bring together ten RC 44 one-designs for a week of fleet and match racing.
Winner of last year’s Championship Tour and current leader of the overall ranking, Pieter Heerema and his Team No Way Back will be the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup “home team”. Despite sailing under the Dutch flag, No Way Back is the only RC 44 who already sailed in the Baltic Sea. Indeed Pieter Heerema and his crew test-sailed their boat in Denmark for the first time during the winter 2008-09; a practice session that paid off and allowed the Dutch team to immediately compete for the top spots.
James Spithill will also benefit from local advice thanks to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik, who will steer 17 – that’s the name of the boat – during the fleet race. Crown Prince Frederik is a keen sailor, a competitive Farr 40 skipper as well as an accomplished Dragon sailor.
Team No Way Back leads the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 after two events with 4 points, ahead of Team Sea Dubai, 7 points, BMW ORACLE Racing and Artemis, 9 points. No Way Back also leads the fleet race ranking ahead of three teams on a tie in second: Artemis, Team Sea Dubai and Ceeref. Finally, three teams are joint leaders off the match race ranking with six points each: BMW ORACLE Racing, No Way Back and Team Sea Dubai.
The teams involved in the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup are the same as the ones involved in last month’s Austria Cup, with Jes Gram Hansen making a come back on the circuit as pro helmsman on board of Team Sea Dubai.
It is the first time that an RC 44 regatta takes place in Northern Europe. Martin Bender, the Event Director of Wonderful Copenhagen, the event’s main partner, commented: “We are thrilled that Wonderful Copenhagen and Royal Danish Yacht Club can host such a fantastic sailing event. We are also confident that the sailors and their friends will enjoy the famous racing waters in Oresund, and the many experiences the City of Copenhagen gives visitors. We are all looking forward to welcoming the RC 44 families to Wonderful Copenhagen.”
After Copenhagen, the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 will carry on in Valencia (SPA) in July and the Canary Islands in October for the first ever official RC 44 World Championship. The RC 44 fleet will then be shipped to the US, also for the first time, and will compete for the Oracle RC 44 Cup Miami in December.
The teams involved in the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup:
Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies)
Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist / Terry Hutchinson)
CEEREF (Igor Lah / Rod Davis)
BMW ORACLE Racing (Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts)
Team Aqua (Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton)
Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero / José Maria Ponce)
Katusha (Guennadi Timtchenko / Paul Cayard)
Team Sea Dubai (Jes Gram Hansen)
AEZ RC44 Sailing Team (René Mangold / Christian Binder)
17 (James Spithill)
RC44
