One Ocean SAILING Champions League at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda - Day 1
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 24 May 2019 05:11 BST
23-26 May 2019
One Ocean SAILING Champions League 2019 © SCL
The One Ocean SAILING Champions League got off to a perfect start with optimal weather conditions that allowed 12 races to be held, completing 4 of the 15 flights scheduled. The event is organised by the YCCS with the partnership of the One Ocean Foundation and the support of Audi as Main Partner.
At 1.30 p.m. today the competitions started on time on the regatta course off Porto Cervo with a mistral wind blowing from 15 to 18 knots. Eight teams took to the starting line for each race, taking turns aboard the boats of the YCCS J/70 fleet.
At the end of the first day the boats are tightly packed in the classification, with Swiss teams in the top two positions. Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen, who claimed three victories out of the four flights, are currently at the head of the leaderboard, four points clear of their nearest rivals. The second, third and fourth-placed teams at the end of the first day are sitting on equal points and are, respectively, Regattaclub Bodensee, the German crew of the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee and the reigning champion, the only Italian team participating in this semi-final, Circolo della Vela Bari.
Tom Rüegge, skipper of the leading Swiss team said: "I can define today's weather conditions as 'champagne sailing'. Wind shifts and gusts made the day exciting and as far as we are concerned everything went well. We kept up a fast pace and now we are confident as regards the next few days."
To raise awareness and to get the sailors more involved in sustainability issues, every day on the way back from the race course some of the participants are interviewed, with questions aimed to test their level of awareness on marine pollution.
When asked how much plastic waste he thought was in the ocean, Kristoforas Akromas, skipper of Nauticus Sailing Club replied: "I am aware of the plastic islands and I believe that there is currently a lot of this type of waste in the sea. From Hawaii to the Baltic Sea you find plastic everywhere and it is sad, it is time to act to enable a positive change."
Data confirmed in 2018 shows that plastic makes up more than 80% of all waste in the oceans for a quantity of more than 8 million tonnes.
At the conclusion of the competitions at sea, the teams met at the YCCS for the Opening Ceremony. Tomorrow morning, 24 May, the Skippers' Briefing will be held at 9 a.m. and at 10 a.m. the first starting signal will sound, with variable and light winds forecast.
Quantum Sails and Garmin Marine are technical partners of the event.
For more information, visit the YCCS website.
For social media updates follow the hashtags #yccs, #oneocean, #sailingchampionsleague #battleforyourburgee.