Swiss Sailing Super League – 5th good but not happy

I must admit that before the beginning of the season, we had significant concerns about our upcoming performance. We had barely managed to secure a promotion to the next league, finishing third in our previous season, which left us feeling quite apprehensive. The Swiss Sailing Super League is the strongest Sailing League in the world, featuring ex-Olympians and some of my childhood idols as competitors.

The season began rather uneventfully in Ascona, where only two races were raced. We finished in fifth place overall. While it was a decent result, it didn’t provide a clear picture of our potential as we hadn’t truly tested ourselves.

However, our visit to Brunnen marked a turning point. We finished fifth while sailing very well. After that event we realized that we were competitive and in the running for the coveted spots in the Sailing Champions League.

We proceeded to Kreuzlingen, known for its unpredictable conditions with winds ranging from near calm to 25 knots and erratic wind shifts. We could read those shifts well, resulting in a very strong third-place finish.

Now, we find ourselves in fourth position overall, momentarily securing a spot in the Sailing Champions League.

One final event was ahead in order to secure our spot: SSL Final Neuchatel.
Sadly we started the regatta poorly, making many stupid mistakes and to our misfortune, we couldn’t correct our mistakes in the coming days due to lack of wind.

We finished the event in 8th position, which caused us to slip down to fifth place in the overall ranking. We missed the spot in the Sailing Champions League by a single point, which was particularly painful. Just one point separated us from the team ahead, and it was agonizing to realize that we only needed to do the bare minimum to secure it. But that’s sailing; at this high level, there are certain mistakes that simply can’t be corrected.

Well that was the season. Overall very good, it is just a pity that we couldnt finish on high note. But considering our initial concerns of relegation to our journey to a fifth place finish, i think its safe to label it as a succesfull season.