Open BIC World Open Cup at Yacht Club Ascona, Switzerland

World O'pen Cup © Steve Harvey / www.openbic.co.uk

World O'pen Cup © Steve Harvey / www.openbic.co.uk

World O'pen Cup © Steve Harvey / www.openbic.co.uk

Yacht Club Ascona, Switzerland hosted the O’pen BIC worlds from 28-31 July on Lake Maggiore in Switzerland. 131 sailors from 9 nations competed in under-12, under-15 and open categories.

The orientation day started with a practice race which gave everyone a chance to get used to the very light winds and the logistics of spending long days on the water, as the race area took up to an hour to reach from the event base at The Lido Ascona. In still conditions the competitors ended up being towed to the ‘windy’ zone by the many support boats. A possible second practice race was abandoned as a sudden afternoon thunder-storm descended from the mountains. Practice Race results were encouraging for the team of five British boys.

Day one dawned with no wind, but the anticipated thermal breeze filled in around lunchtime in a predictable manner and gave race officer Peter Schmidle the opportunity to run three races. Some of the team recorded top ten finishes in both the under-15 and open categories. Despite high fleet numbers and aggressive jostling on the start line there were no general recalls, and with on-the-water umpiring to sort out any infringements O’pen BIC racing keeps an emphasis for results on the water, with no allowance for post-racing protest hearings.

Day two had the same weather as before and a further three races were completed. The days course featured a compulsory 360 turn on the final reach to the finish which lead to some interesting tactical duels and last leg changes in finishing positions. By this point in the regatta two of the British team were sailing consistently towards the top of the fleet, along with notable strong performances from the nations that had travelled the furthest; notably the boys and girls from Brazil, Japan and USA. After day 2 Miami Yacht Club’s Geronimo Nores lead the under-12 class and the French boys Brice Yrieix and Hugo Stubler narrowly leading both the U-15 and open categories.

Day three dawned with the promise of fresher wind following a cool night. The breeze filled in early and gave a nice 10-12 knots; a welcome relief for the older, heavier sailors. With an O’pen BIC style slalom course set for the final two races all sailors revelled in the best breeze of the event and there was much ‘water’ to be claimed from the 3 downwind gybe marks, leading to some great opportunities for gaining positions if you got it right.

Once racing on the final day was completed the sailors headed home in procession past the Ascona shoreline to show their appreciation to the city for hosting a wonderful event where everyone had a great time and many stories will have been created.

At the completion of the event the winner in the U-12 category was Geronimo Nores from the USA, who successfully defended his 2010 title.

With 81 entries the U-15 category was the biggest fleet and had some of the closest racing with sailors often swapping positions while rounding the course. In the end it was Brice Yrieix from France who won and also managed to defend his 2010 title. Calum Terry from Rutland Sailing Club was the first GBR sailor finishing in a very creditable 14th place.

In the open category the winner was Hugo Stubler from France with Rhys Davies from Clevedon Sailing Club also showing some form, sailing home in 11th place in a smaller but still hotly contested field where any one of the top 15 boats could have come away with a win in the very tricky conditions.

Yacht Club Ascona, Swiss/Italian/German on-water judges, safety boat crews, and numerous other volunteers & behind the scenes helpers made a testing light wind event very enjoyable, easily helped by being in such an amazing location.

Overall the British team did themselves proud on their first showing at a World O’pen Cup. Steve Harvey (Team manager) was appreciative of all the support from the squad members friends and family who attended and helped with training leading up to and throughout the event.

“We can now look forward to the 2012 World O’pen Cup which will be held in the USA next November and hosted by the Miami Yacht Club. With planned racing to be held straight off Miami Beach and courses to be laid close to shore the 2012 World O’pen Cup appears to be an exciting event for both competitors and spectators alike. Maybe you, or someone you know might there with us” said Steve, as he looks ahead to next year's World O’pen Cup.