44Cup World Championship - Brunnen bonding session for Calero Sailing Team

Calero Sailing Team out training ahead of the 44Cup World Championship © Nico Martinez / 44Cup

Having hosted the season's first event out of Lanzarote's Puerto Calero, Daniel Calero's Calero Sailing Team is taking part in the fourth and penultimate event of the 2024 44Cup this week in Brunnen on Lake Uri (Lake Lucerne) in the middle of Switzerland over the next four days (Thursday 22 - Sunday 26 August).

Now everyone has arrived and the boats are afloat, all agree that Lake Uri, nestled among the towering Swiss Alps, is one of the most picturesque venues the 44Cup has ever visited in its 16 years of existence.

Today the nine competing teams, including Team Aqua and Peninsula Racing, on their brand new boats for the first time, took part in the official training races, which included several practice starts and three short races. Calero Sailing Team's official training day was sadly cut short after a bottlescrew, used to tension one side of the RC44's towering rig, broke and the team was forced to abandon racing for the remainder of the day in order to get it fixed.

Daniel Calero's Calero Sailing Team in Brunnen on Lake Uri (Lake Lucerne) - photo © Nico Martinez / 44Cup

"In the first race, at the upwind mark, we rounded in fourth position after one penalty - so we are very happy with the performance of the boat," confided tactician Alfredo Gonzalez. "But then we broke a bottlescrew inside the boat." The bottlescrew is used to tune the rigging, but, when one breaks, often the result is the mast falling down due to it being unsupported on one side. Fortunately, fast action by Calero Sailing Team's experienced crew prevented this. "The rig is okay because we gybed very fast to save the mast," continues Gonzalez.

Aside from the technical issue, Gonzalez was pleased with how the new look Calero Sailing Team is gelling and working together cohesively - important as almost half of the crew is new for this event, including ex- Desafio Español Team America's Cup crewman Nano Negrín (Main trimmer); London 2012/Rio 2016 Laser Radial sailor Alicia C?ebrian (Floater); Finn European champion Miguel Fernández (Grinder) and Nico Rodríguez (Offside Trimmer), 470 bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Also racing within the confines of a lake, surrounded by giant mountains makes the tactics very challenging; albeit a challenge which the former Snipe World Champion relishes: "Conditions on the lake are funny - we didn't expect the wind to be so strong where we were. But I am very happy. We need to go the right way. I hope we get the same conditions all week," says Gonzalez.

Enjoying her first regatta on the RC44 is Alicia Cebrián, also from the Canary Islands, but Tenerife rather than Lanzarote. "I like it a lot!" says Cebrián of racing in the RC44. "It is a very fun fleet which is very competitive. I am very happy to be here. This place is very, very beautiful and the conditions for sailing are difficult, but very good..." On board she is helping Alfredo Gonzalez with the tactics and navigation - no mean feat in this dramatic lake.

Team Website: calerosailingteam.com
Event Website: www.44cup.org