Champions League: Down Under on top: Australians beat Europe's top clubs

David Chapman's team from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron was competing in a Sailing Champions League final for the first time. The Australians' journey to and from the event took about as long as the sailing itself. But it was worth it: on Lake St. Moritz, the Australians were the only overseas team to meet 23 European opponents - the best teams in their respective national leagues. No problem for the Australians led by skipper David Chapman, who finished among the top four teams after a total of 17 flights and progressed to the final. There they met the main round winners from the Danish club Kaløvig Bådelaug, who entered the final showdown with a bonus point and, unlike their three opponents, would only have needed one win to triumph. As the second-placed team in the preliminary round, the quartet from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) also qualified for the four-man final, as did the Kongelik Dansk Yachtklub as the second Danish club.

The showdown then demonstrated the class of the Australians: the experienced skipper, match race ace Finn Alexander, his sister Charlotte Alexander and Zac Quinlan made short work of their opponents, winning two races in a row and taking the Champions League trophy from the centre of Europe to Down Under. "We got off to two good starts," says helmsman Chapman, "that was the basis for this success." When asked about the fact that the Alexanders both sailed to triumph barefoot, Charlotte said: "It's going really well! You simply have more feeling for the boat. So we will continue to do it this way." The Australian team beat 13 other clubs to win the wild card for the Champions League final at a league premiere regatta in their home country in front of the Sydney Opera House. This proves just how far you can get with a wild card.

The team from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein led by skipper Tobi Schadewaldt was also delighted with second place in the highly competitive final. The Hamburg team sailed confidently through the main round, taking six victories in 17 fleet races and finishing second behind the Australians in both final races. The Danish team from the Kaløvig Bådelaug club secured third place in fresh winds on the picture-book waters of Lake St. Moritz, ahead of their compatriots from the Kongelik Dansk Yachtklub. With the teams from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee (VSaW) club led by skipper Tim Elsner and the Württembergischer Yacht-Club (WYC) with helmsman Dennis Mehlig, two more German clubs finished in the top ten in ninth and tenth place. Wassersport-Verein Hemelingen sailed to eleventh place, Bayerischer Yacht-Club to 16th place and Bodensee-Yacht-Club Überlingen to 21st place.

Here to see the results.