Under normal circumstances, what you would expect from the “Black Boat” is that it is in the last places of the classification. However, Daniel Calero and his Calero Sailing Team seemed not to have received this information on the second day of the 44Cup World Championship in Brunnen, Switzerland, when they achieved an impressive 5-7 in the fleet of nine boats in today's two races on Lake Lucerne (a third was started, but abandoned).
On Thursday they had an incredible start to the competition when they reached the leeward buoy in first place in the two races held, although unfortunately, they then lost the position. In the first race this Friday, the Calero Sailing Team won the leeward end at the start, headed to the left and, despite being effectively blocked, tacked back to port and, despite dodging sterns, led their group towards the top mark (in fact, the minority that had taken the right side won in this leg).
“We were on the layline and tacked before the fleet, which was a good decision,” explained Calero Sailing Team tactician and former Snipe world champion Alfredo González. “We won the left of the fleet and the three boats [that had initially gone to the right] crossed just ahead of us.”
This Friday, the Calero Sailing Team showed stronger in the stern sections and, in the first race, reached the leeward gate in fifth place, following overall leader Team Nika around the starboard mark towards the second windward leg. They then defended well on the next lap to obtain their best position in the race to date.
“It was another fantastic day, a good result for us,” González continued. “If we can improve the details, we can fight among the top three or four. We arrived all the time among the top four at the windward mark, but we lose in the small details such as hoists and takedowns. We are new to the fleet, but the crew is improving a lot.”
Regarding their improvement in the stern sections, he added: “Normally, when we sail alone, we sail well, with good VMG. But the problem is that when the wind changes, you need to react very quickly.”
The Calero Sailing Team is especially reinforced in this week's World Championship, and among the crew is one of the most experienced hands: the Portuguese spinnaker trimmer Nuno Barreto. Barreto won the bronze medal in the 470 class at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 before representing Portugal in the Tornado class at the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games. In 2007 he was part of the America's Cup team Desafío Español and later competed in the RC44 with the Austrian team AEZ. Since then he has competed in the class sporadically, most recently with the Polish team MAG Racing.
“It's great to be back and see some familiar faces and even some of the same boats,” says Barreto. “They have continued to improve and are going much faster than before, always paying attention to the details. That is difficult for us with so little practice on the boat, but we are working hard to improve all the small details. In general, we are happy with our speed, but the handling of the boat around the buoys: you can lose lengths simply by making some small silly mistakes.”
“As a team, we are trying to improve every day. Each race is a learning curve. I think Alfredo [González, tactician] is doing a good job reading the wind to put us in a good position. Sailing on a lake is always difficult with the gusts and pressure everywhere. I haven't done it much, I'm more of an open water specialist...!
