5.5 World Championship: Exciting title fight, outstanding pictures and amazing family crew
Max Gasser
· 17.10.2023
The Polish "Aspire" crew led by helmsman Mateusz Kusznierewicz won the 2023 5.5 World Championship a few weeks ago in a close duel against Kristian Nergaard's "Artemis" from Norway. The decision was made in the last hundred metres of the final race - one of the closest results ever.
Five days of hard-fought races were sailed in 5 to 18 knots of wind and sometimes very high, short waves. The Tyrrhenian Sea off Porto Cervo offered the 34 sailors from ten nations a very challenging regatta week at the highest level in perfect weather and pleasant temperatures. The fleet was accompanied by British photographer Robert Deaves, who captured the regatta in impressive images (see photo gallery above).
Exciting final at the 5.5 World Championship- Cup goes to Poland for the first time
The British defending champions, skippered by Peter Morton, had recently won the traditional Scandinavian Gold Cup again and opened the World Championship in dominant fashion once more. Their ultra-modern design "Jean Genie", which does without backstays and trim rudder, played the initially strong windy conditions full of gusts perfectly into their hands. After that, however, it was to be a tough week for them.
In the following seven races, there were seven different winners in mostly much weaker winds. Only the two teams of the "Artemis" and "Aspire" proved to be consistent, leading to a showdown on the final day. The multiple world champions from Norway sailed to second place in the only race of the day and were therefore on course for the title for a long time. However, after initial difficulties on the final downwind course, the "Aspire" fought its way up to fifth place. That was enough to win by one point and bring the trophy to Poland for the first time.
Swiss family crew: Teenagers sail into the top 10
For the "Jean Genie", which had started with two race wins, it was ultimately only enough for seventh place, 33 points behind. One position behind, the Swiss Flavio Marazzi achieved a real respectable success. He started the race with his two daughters, aged 12 and 15, and the family crew finished as the first Swiss boat. The best German yacht was the "Ali-Baba" with helmsman Wolf-Eberhard Richter, while the "Criollo", also German, won the "Frank Tolhurst Trophy" as the best Evolution boat (built between 1970 and 1993).
In addition to the 23 Modern boats, there were also six Classics 5.5 metre boats with long keels and five Evolution boats in the race. The 5.5 metre design class, which was Olympic from 1952 to 1972, is one of the few metre classes in which there are always design innovations. By carefully adapting the building regulations, the latest boats are always a reflection of the yacht building developments of their time.
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Max Gasser
Editor Test & Technology
