Mistral tests teams at Sailing Champions League

Porto Cervo, Italy (September 19, 2015) – The second day was an intense one for the 30 teams competing in the Sailing Champions League at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. A lively Mistral wind once again put teams to the test over the course of 21 fleet races, bringing the total number of flights completed to 7.

The provisional rankings at the conclusion of today’s race see Norway’s Kongelig Norsk Seilforening (KNS) heading the fleet of clubs from across Europe with five victories and two wins in the seven races run. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda team, flying the colours of the host club, follows hot on their heels with four wins. The Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (DTYC), one of four German teams present, continues took look strong despite a sixth place in one of today’s races, as does Switzerland’s Société Nautique de Genève (SNG).

“It was a terrific day on the water,” commented Kristoffer Spone, skipper of Kongelig Norsk Seilforening. “My guys did a great job. Maybe from outside it looks perfect but we made a lot of mistakes. Normally, we are better in light winds, so we’re excited for tomorrow. This format of league sailing is what we want to do.”

Julian Stückl, skipper of DTYC was also pleased: “It was a great day for us but tricky, as well. On the top it is very tough sailing. We know the guys from other regattas. In the league sailing it is more about manoeuvres than speed. Tomorrow we want to have fun again and do our best and try not to be too nervous.”

Racing is scheduled to continue on tomorrow’s final day of the event at 9.30 a.m. with the Race Committee determined to fit in as many flights as possible. With the possibility of each team completing a maximum of five more races, the field is still wide open. The first flight tomorrow will be part of the Bart’s Bash regatta in memory of America’s Cup skipper Andrew Simpson.

Event details – Results – Watch live – Crew list

Final entry list (30 clubs from 14 nations):
– Aarhus Sejlklub, Aarhus, Wild Card – 4th Danish Sailing League 2015
– Aländska Segelsällskapet, Mariehamn, 1st Finnish Sailing League 2015
– Burgenländischer Yacht-Club, Rust, 2nd Austrian Sailing League 2015
– Club Canottieri Roggero di Lauria, Palermo, 1st Italian Sailing League 2015
– Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club, Tutzing, 2nd German Sailing League 2014
– Ekolns Segelklubb, Uppsala, 2nd Swedish Sailing League 2015
– Göteborgs Kungliga Segel Sällskap, Gothenburg, Wild Card 5th Swedish Sailing League 2015
– Hellerup Sejlklub, Hellerup/Copenhagen, 2nd Danish Sailing League 2015
– Jacht Klub Wielkopolski Poznań, Poznań, Wild Card – 3rd Polish Sailing League 2015
– Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub, Copenhagen, Wild Card – Champion 2014
– Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, Oslo, Norwegian Sailing League
– Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet, Saltsjöbaden/Stockholm, 1st Swedish Sailing League 2015
– Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, Hamburg, 1st German Sailing League 2014
– PIRogovo Yacht Club, Moscow, 1st Act 1 Russian Sailing League 2015
– Regattaclub Oberhofen, Oberhofen/Thun, 1st Swiss Sailing League 2015
– Royal Malta Yacht Club, Valletta, Wild Card
– Royal Thames Yacht Club, London, UK Sailing League
– Segelclub TWV Achensee, Maurach, Wild Card
– 3rd Austrian Sailing League 2015 – Seglervereinigung Itzehoe, Itzehoe, Wild Card
– 4th German Sailing League 2014 – Skovshoved Sejlklub, Skovshoved, 1st Danish Sailing League 2015
– Société des Régates Rochelaises, La Rochelle, Wild Card
– Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, Trieste, 2nd Italian Sailing League 2015
– Société Nautique de Genève, Geneve, 2nd Swiss Sailing League 2015
– Stavanger Seilforening, Stavanger, Norwegian Sailing League
– Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, Berlin, 3rd German Sailing League 2014
– WaterSportVereniging Almere, Almere/Amsterdam, Dutch Sailing League
– Yacht Club Bregenz, Bregenz, 1st Austrian Sailing League 2015
– Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Wild Card
– Hosting Club – Yacht Club Navigator, Moscow, 1st Act 2 Russian Sailing League