44Cup World Championship - Calero Sailing Team - Upwind specialists
by Calero Sailing Team 22 Aug 16:02 PDT
21-25 August 2024
Calero Sailing Team won the opening upwind leg in two races on day one - 2024 44Cup World Championship © Nico Martinez / 44Cup
Still fairly green to 44Cup racing compared to the other eight teams that compete, some of whom have been on the circuit for the high performance, owner-driver one design for 15 years, Calero Sailing Team surprised everyone by winning the opening upwind leg in today's second race. Then to prove it was not just down to luck, they repeating this in the subsequent race.
The 44Cup World Championship Brunnen set sail on the dramatic setting of Lake Uri (Lake Lucerne) in Switzerland today, with a fabulous thermal breeze of 15-17 knots kicking in shortly after midday.
"We were very nervous in the first race because we had a lot of new people on board, but in reality we sailed pretty comfortably," recounted skipper Daniel Calero. "We need to fix many small things to be even more competitive. Any small mistakes and you drop back five places. But we are very happy honestly.
"In the first race we went to the wrong side and we paid. In the second race we led at the top mark but then we lost three positions which was not good, but we were there. Then in the last race, we did pretty well and maintained our position until we got a penalty with Artemis Racing. But we are confident of the speed of the boat and the crew. We are getting better and better. Our aim is to reduce the amount of problems."
Around half of the Calero Sailing Team is new for this World Championship in Brunnen, but the new crew include several Spanish heavyweights, among them offside trimmer Nicolás Rodríguez, the Spanish Tokyo Olympic 470 bronze medallist.
Rodríguez observed of their performance today: "We feel like the team is growing every moment. We had two really good top mark roundings, so we are getting there. We are still struggling with boat handling and some speed on the downwinds, but we are getting better and better. For sure, when it comes to knowledge of the boat, we don't have the same level of experience as the other teams, but we are getting closer to them."
Of their two sensational upwind legs today, Rodríguez added: "We had two good starts - on one of them we led up the left side and on the other we were quite good on the geometry - we had a good strong left shift and while the others went over the lay line, we tacked at the right time which gave us a big gain.
"For this event we have made some changes, as the project is trying to develop and we want to see if we have a future. But our team is quite good - we will have some good races for sure."
Calero Sailing Team competes on the 44Cup thanks to the support of: Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote (the Art, Culture and Tourism Centres (CACT) of the Cabildo of Lanzarote). Designed by renowned local artist, sculptor and nature activist César Manrique, these seven centres are attached to key Lanzarote tourist attractions which Manrique, in his unique style, integrated into Lanzarote's own unique landscape. The first, set up in 1964, was the Cueva de los Verdes (a lava tube in Lanzarote's Haria municipality), while the seventh and last, in 1991, was the Jardín de Cactus in Guatiza. These seven spaces reflect the cultural and natural values of Lanzarote, merging art and nature.
Calero Sailing Team is also supported by Calero Marinas, which operates marinas throughout the Canary Islands: Puerto Calero, Marina Lanzarote and Marina La Palma, plus their latest in Fuerteventura - Marina Jandía.
It also is backed by Calmar Residential Developments, which designs and builds bespoke luxury villas in Lanzarote, and Turismo Lanzarote, which, via their slogan 'Lanzarote, A Unique Island', promotes Lanzarote as a luxury destination for long haul tourists.
Team Website: calerosailingteam.com
Event Website: www.44cup.org