VNR Alert: Deserved first time victory for Alexander Novoselov’s Katusha

Two years of dedication to the RC44 class paid off yesterday for Russian Alexander Novoselov, his American tactician Andy Horton and the crew of Katusha, winning their first ever event on the RC44 Championship. 

Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda has offered the full range of conditions for the nine teams competing at the RC44 Porto Cervo Cup this week from the very light to the very strong. Yesterday was the latter. While Saturday was lost to the 30-40 knot winds of the Mistral, big conditions on Sunday continued but were just sailable, albeit at the very upper limit of what the RC44s and their crews can endure. 

While they went into yesterday’s three races with a two-point lead, Katusha immaculately consolidated her position by posting a 1-2 in yesterday’s first two races. Baring their receipt of a penalty, this left the Russian RC44 winning the Porto Cervo with a race to spare – something that very rarely occurs in this hotly contested owner-driver fleet. 

It was a day of mixed fortunes for Nico Poons’ Charisma, which broke a runner in the first race – an incident that also saw tactician Morgan Reeser go swimming. Having so nearly winning two races earlier this week, finally their luck held in race two in which they claimed the bullet. But once again this so nearly didn’t happen thanks to a last minute, head down dash for the line with Katusha and having a chunk taken out of their transom collision by Peninsula Petroleum in a misjudged duck that left them having to take time out to bail between races.

Yesterday’s final race was won by Igor Lah’s Team CEEREF which once secured the Slovenian team second place after this had nearly slipped through their fingers after they had finished ninth following a poor start in the penultimate race.  

Following this event, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, John Bassadone’s Peninsula Petroleum has taken the lead of the 2017 RC44 championship and with this has recovered the coveted ‘golden wheels’, the class’ equivalent of cycling’s yellow jersey.

From here the RC44 Championship moves on to its World Championship to be held in Marstrand, Sweden over 10-15th August.