Dudes in Dubai

RC44 fleet flex muscles ahead of Dubai Gold Cup

The Dubai Gold Cup – the last event of the RC 44 Championship Tour - starts tomorrow. The regatta will reassemble eight teams representing eight nations. All of them went out today for a couple of practice races.

The conditions were quite difficult, with a fairly big leftover seaway, consequence of the strong “Shamal” that blew during the previous days. However, the conditions didn’t stop the favourite teams to dominate the training session, with Team Aqua, Team Omega, Cro-A-Sail and Team Ceeref leading the fleet.

The Dubai Gold Cup is the first overseas regatta for the RC 44 fleet. An exceptional group of some of the best sailors in the world is reassembled here, with amongst others Dean Barker, James Spithill, Russell Coutts, Sébastien Col, Cameron Appleton, Morten Henrikson and many more.

Dean Barker, Team ES Bankers Dubai said: “The conditions were tough today, with big waves and fairly light wind. All you need is a bad wave to stop your boat. Patrick De Barros did a good job at the helm although I think we have some space for improvement.”

Many teams are new, even though some of them have already competed in Trieste or Portofino. Amongst them, Maciej Nawrocki’s Team Organika, Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref, Patrick De Barros’ ES Bankers Dubai and Armando Giulietti’s Team Hiroshi – Citta di Milano.

The first RC 44 Champion will be crowned at the end of the Gold Cup, on Sunday, December 16.