This year's Youth Sailing Champions League final took place in Vilamoura, Portugal, renowned for its big waves, strong winds, and sunny weather—a true sailing paradise. We had fond memories from the 2022 qualifier, where we dominated in the strong winds, and we were eager to build on that success.

On the first day, we sailed cautiously in the expected strong winds and waves, ending the day in 6th place. It wasn't ideal, but the points were close, so we remained optimistic.

Day two saw us adopting a more aggressive approach, but we struggled with upwind speed as one of the lightest crews. Frustration peaked with a fifth-place finish in the last race, reallz affecting our morale. To reset, we jumped into the cold sea, washing away the day's disappointments and preparing for the final day.

With the goal of reaching the final four, we knew every position mattered. We scored 2, 2, and 1 in the final races, climbing to 2nd place. Our confidence grew as we found our rhythm, with excellent speed and smooth maneuvers. Morale was high, and we were in top form. Qualifying for the final in 2nd place, we felt ready for anything in the decisive races.

The final four was so intense that the details blur in my memory. I've never competed so closely against other sailors before. One moment we were leading, and the next we were in last place. At each mark, all teams were neck and neck.

In the end, it felt like we just missed a little extra speed and needed slightly smoother manoeuvres. We finished in 3rd place, with the same points as the second-place team. Not gold, but bronze again. Considering our poor start to the regatta, it was a pretty good result; considering our expectations, it felt pretty bad. As we crossed the finish line, it felt more bad than good.
Now back home, I realize that despite the ups and downs, we can be incredibly proud of what we have achieved. Sailing against the best youth clubs in the world, we managed to secure a bronze medal. Our journey has been filled with valuable lessons and unforgettable moments, and we are grateful to have represented our hometown club.

I'd like to thank all our supporters for contributing to our crowdfunding campaign, making it possible for us to win a medal for our beloved club and create unforgettable memories. And of course, thank  my amazing team: Robert, aka Mr. Gennaker Drop, the fastest gennaker setter in the wild west; Carlos, aka Mr. Hardest Oakleys, the best jib trimmer in the wild west; and Niklas, aka Mr. Kaiser 1., the best trimmer and brother in the wild west.

P.S. A recap video is in the works right now. So stay tuned!

This was a tough one. We couldn't find our rhythm in this regatta. Poor tactical decisions, penalties and an OCS equals a 14th place overall.

A disappointing but deserved result. Now its time to analyse our mistakes and come back stronger.

Next stop: Vilamoura Youth Final

During the recent weekend, I had the chance to try out the WASZP in Imperia. I joined the Drylaps team for some training, led by my former coach Simone and regional coach Theresa. It was very fun and the weather conditions were surprisingly decent for late November. I also had the chance to catch up with some old Optimist friends that I have not seen for a long time.

The learning curve was quite steep, and I'm hoping to progress to my first foiling maneuvers in the upcoming camps. I need to get as many training hours as possible so that I can start racing soon.


PS: My 49er career is on hold for now as Philipp has decided to stop sailing. As I can't find a crew, I will try foiling as it is probably the future of sailing and I intend to sail at a high level for a long time.

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.

EDIT: Actually, we did finish on a high note. We won the annual SLL Swiss Cup in La Neuville:))

In 2019, during an interview with our local news station, we were all asked the same question: What was our ultimate goal? The answer was unanimous among us – winning the Sailing Champions League.

It might have drawn a chuckle, perhaps even from the interviewer, considering our modest fifth position nationally and less-than-stellar sailing performance at the time. But that's who we were, and that's who we still are: unapologetically ambitious, refusing to let our sailing performance define our aspirations.

Fast forward to 2023, and we found ourselves preparing to compete against the very best at the Youth Sailing Champions League Final. But even before the event began, we encountered a major hurdle – we were completely broke. Following our costly trip to Vilamoura, our wallets were empty.

Determined to make our dreams a reality, we launched a crowdfunding campaign. It was undeniably a lot of hard work, but in the end, it paid off. We couldn't have done it without the generous support of our backers, and we're immensely grateful to them.

With the necessary funding secured, we set sail for Kiel. We approached the event cautiously, remembering the advice of one of my old coaches: "You cannot win the regatta on the first day, but you can certainly lose it." Taking this wisdom to heart, we completed the qualifying series in third place, earning a spot in the final four – a solid result, but we knew we had more to give.

Our focus shifted to the 'Final Four', an additional race between the top four boats. The first team to win two races would claim victory. Additionally, the team that won the Qualifier, in our case Bodensee Yacht Club Überlingen, entered the Final with one win already.

The first race was a fierce battle, but we finished second, just behind RCO. While commendable, it was crucial for us to secure a win to edge closer to the championship.

The second race posed its own challenges. We struggled with our speed from the start, finding it difficult to gain ground, allowing the team from Wolfgangsee in Austria to seize victory. At this point, every team in the final had a race win under their belt, except us. The next race would decide it all.

At the start, all teams were neck and neck, rounding the top mark closely together. We made a strategic decision to tack left on the second upwind leg, capitalizing on a significant left shift. This move propelled us into the lead at the second top mark, with all teams trailing closely behind. However, after hoisting the gennaker, my brother Niklas, the gennaker trimmer, spotted a sizable hole in it – not an ideal situation when you need to win against top-notch competition. Nevertheless, we remained composed and secured a hard-fought victory. In the finish line video, you'll see both my brother and me raising our hands after the finish, signaling for the boatman responsible for addressing any boat damages. Although this win was crucial, we were already focusing on the next race.

With a win secured, every team in the field had claimed a win of their own. This meant that the next race was winner take all.
 
Unfortunately, the last race didn't unfold as we had hoped. Our speed wasn't optimal, and we made some unnecessary mistakes. In the end, we crossed the finish line in third place. This outcome reflected our performance throughout the competition, with Bodenseeyachtclub Überlingen narrowly ahead of us. The ultimate triumph belonged to Regatta Club Oberhofen, who undoubtedly earned their championship victory.

The team was a bit flustered, knowing that anything could have happened in that last race. On the other hand, we had secured a medal for our Hometown Club. Our feelings were mixed, but we can all be proud of what we achieved and grateful for the experience. Even now, I get goosebumps when I think about that one race win in the final. However, there's also a hint of regret for not winning that last race. This championship, especially the final four, is something I'll never forget.
 
I'd like to thank our supporters once again for contributing to our crowdfunding campaign, making it possible for us to win a medal for our beloved club and create unforgettable memories. And of course not to forget my amazing team: Thank you Nico aka Mr Gennacker drop, aka the fastest gennacker setter in the wild west. Thank you Carlos aka Mr Hardest oakleys, aka the best jib trimmer in the wild west. Thank you Niklas aka Mr Kaiser 1., aka the best trimmer and brother in the wild west.

Interview (day before the Final Four)

During the past few days, I had the opportunity to participate in the Alinghi Redbull Racing Qualifier held in Brunnen. Alongside 20 other talented competitors, my aim was to secure a spot in the Youth Americas Cup 2024 in Barcelona.
 
Our sailing adventure revolved around the magnificent 69F boats, which are full carbon foiling monohulls. These Boats are like F1 cars on water, capable of reaching speeds of up to approximately 35 knots or 64 km/h. Needless to say, sailing these boats provided an absolute thrill and left me with unforgettable memories.
 
In addition to the sailing competitions, we had a busy schedule that included photo shoots, interviews, and a fitness test. As part of the event, we were fortunate enough to experience the AC40 on a simulator, further enhancing our understanding of high-performance sailing.
 
One of the highlights of the event was reconnecting with old sailor friends and engaging in friendly competition. Given that our team was named Alinghi REDBULL Racing, we were fortunate enough to enjoy complimentary Red Bulls throughout the event. While I couldn't resist taking advantage of the offer, I'll be mindful of my Red Bull consumption moving forward.
 
Thank you Alinghi Red Bull Racing for a fantastic event and thank you Loris von Siebenthal for the great photos!

This weekend, I was at the Youth European Championship in Versoix, sailing on Lake Geneva. As Swiss champions, our expectations were high, especially since the event was exclusively comprised of Swiss teams. The conditions were pretty good, and I remeber expressing my hopes for strong winds to my crew. We felt confident in such conditions, drawing from our experience in Vilamoura. Luckily, Lac Léman delivered, providing us with winds ranging between 4-22 knots.
However, despite our initial optimism, this weekend didn't unfold as we had anticipated. We made some poor tactical decisions and encountered significant trouble with the jury (see photos😊). Consequently, we had to make penalty turns, resulting in additional points against us. Despite these challenges, we managed to secure the second position, finishing just behind Regatta Club Oberhofen. Throughout the competition we had many intense battles with them, but unfortunately we didn't come out on top.
Overall, the experience was a mix of ups and downs, but it served as a valuable lesson for us. Next week we will come back stronger in Brunnen for the second Act of the Swiss Sailing Super League.
 

Dear friends and supporters

I'm thrilled to announce our crowdfunding project! Join us in our quest to compete with the very best at the Sailing Championsleague Final. Every contribution counts.

Please visit the following link for more information and to contribute:

https://ibiy.net/scstaefazumfinale

Thank you for your support!

I had the chance to sail the J70 in Rimini, and we were really looking forward to it after having a blast there last year under the sunny skies. But this time, things didn't quite go as planned. We got hit with a lot of rain and thunder, which put a damper on our expectations. Luckily, we still had some decent wind to work with.
Our sailing adventure had its ups and downs. The ups were when we managed to break into the top five at the top mark. It felt awesome being up there with the best. However, our excitement didn't last long because we made some stupid mistakes that cost us dearly. It's crazy how competitive the J70 class is compared to other classes. One small slip-up and you can kiss goodbye to ten precious positions.
There's this one race that sticks out in my mind. We had an amazing start, leading the pack on the committee side. We made a smart move, caught a favorable shift, and held onto our lead all the way to the top mark. But then at the gate we accidentally grazed the mark while sitting in second place. We had to do a frustrating 360-degree penalty turn, and our upwind sailing afterward was far from stellar. We ended up finishing a disappointing 18th in that race. It was super frustrating, to say the least.
Despite the setbacks, though, I had a blast sailing in Rimini. It's always a learning experience, and I definitely learned a lot from this trip.

Last week, I had the privilege of representing my hometown club, Segelclub Stäfa, in the Youth Sailing Champions League. The regatta was held in Vilamoura, Portugal, and it saw some of the best teams from across Europe battle it out for the top spot. Teams from Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands participated in the event, making it a truly international affair. The weather conditions were excellent throughout the regatta -as you can see from the photos:)

Our team, consisting of my brother Niklas, Carlos, and Nico, had a fantastic start to the competition. We sailed very solid races with little to no mistakes, which helped us secure a comfortable six-point lead over the other teams(wich is a lot in this format). As a result, we led for the final day.
However, the last day of the competition proved to be challenging due to the very light wind conditions, which ranged between 2-4 knots. In the first race of the day, three out of the four boats, including ours, had an early start, leading to a penalty. We managed to score 3 and 3, which unfortunately resulted in us finishing in second place overall. It was a disappointing outcome for us, and it took some time to process and come to terms with our performance. However, we decided to put it behind us and enjoy some much-needed downtime on the sunny beach of Vilamoura, while sharing a beer.

We extend our congratulations to Bodensee-Yacht-Club Überlingen, who won the competition and proved to be worthy opponents. Despite our disappointment, we take comfort in knowing that we gave it our all and had an unforgettable experience competing against some of the best teams in Europe. We will use this setback as motivation to come back stronger in September for the final event in Kiel.

​Last week I was training on the 49er with my crewmate, Philip, in sunny Imperia, basking in the warm sunshine. Despite the idyllic surroundings, we were met with challenging conditions that put our skills to the test, as we struggled with powerful waves caused by the Mistral.

The boat felt like a crazy horse, and we had to summon all our expertise to keep it under control. Although the wind was not too strong, the waves made it feel more like a roller coaster than a smooth sailing experience. Despite the challenge, it was very enjoyable, and we learned so much from it.
Our efforts paid off, and by the end of the weekend, we felt a significant improvement in our boat handling skills. Our coach, Agostino, aptly put it, "One day in these conditions is like a week of training on calm waters of Lake Garda." And indeed, we felt that way.

As Sunday approached, we packed up our boat onto our trailer in anticipation of our journey back home to Zurich. Since I don't have a driver's license, my crewmate Philip bravely took on the task of driving for the entire eleven-hour journey. We set off at 6 PM and arrived at half-past five in the morning, leaving us with very little time to sleep before having to attend school. Needless to say, the lack of sleep made it quite challenging to focus during classes that day.

All in all, it was a remarkable experience, and we are excited to build on our progress in the coming weeks, with our sights set on the stunning Lake Como.

Also big props to Philip for being such a beast and driving for eleven hours. Sometimes I wonder how he does it.

Marco, Dionysios, my father and I sailed the first regatta of the J/70 Monaco winter series last weekend.
Monaco bay is know for big swell but very little wind, two observations we can testify for ourselves.
NOT THIS TIME. Day one 25 knots average wind and HUGE waves. We have had tramontana wind, which, so we heard from the locals is a one a year event in Monaco. It builds in the  Pyrénées and is quite forceful indeed.
There was one race on day one, four on Saturday and three on Sunday. We have had major speed issues for which the excellent starts could not compensate. We finished 15th of 25 which is not what we expected.
Anyway, the hospitality was great as always and surfing the waves was absolutely worth the trip.
Photo credits: Mesi, Yacht Club de Monaco.

My brother Niklas, SC Stäfa youth team Nicholas Kubat and Aline Bourquin, came in third at the final national J/70 regatta in Zurich. Nice winds in Zurich, to our own surprise.
There are no photos but at least a ranking - as last weekend one position behind Massimo (and my youth idol Stephan Zurfluh):

My very first sail coach Marco and I sailed a Yngling regatta in Thun. Yes, Yngling. Perhaps not the most exciting boat but the people in the class are super nice and they invited non-Yngling sailors to come to Thun.
Thun delivered - again. Very nice winds on day 1, too much wind the regatta committee believed, possibly worried about us non-Yngling sailors to break the Yngling class provided boats.
We went out later in the afternoon with Yves on board, an old friend from optimist who could unfortunately not make it on Sunday.
Our boat SUI464 got rid of its vang in the first race which but main sail trimming, well, challenging.
Anyway, we ended up 3rd and delivered the CHF 200 check we got from the class to our club, SC Stäfa.
Thuner Yachtclub again aced hospitality, thank you very much!

Our win in Davos and our second place in Thun along with the two eight places in Zurich and Brunnen mean that we'll be starting to Swiss Sailing League Super League (first league) in 2023.
Congrats to us: Sabine Ultsch, Marco Bergamin, Simon Comtesse, Ulrich Kaiser, Niklas Kaiser and big thanks to our club for the support!

We came in second at the last regatta of Swiss Sailing League's Challenge League (2nd league) two weeks ago in Thun.
Our sailing club, Segelclub Stäfa, was represented by me on the helm, my brother Niklas, my father and another Simon.
We were on par with another club after day one and led the fleet. Day 2 and day 3 did not go so well so ended up second overall.
For once, Lake Thun delivered and we've had really nice sailing conditions and could even plane a few times.
Jürg von Allmen luckily passed bye on his home lake to shoot some great pics of us in race mode.

My brother Niklas, Carlos Biber and Nico Kubat have sailed the Swiss Sailing League Youth Cup 2022 early September. We ended up 3rd after the very impressive Obenhofeners and Villeneuve.
Winds were zurichseeshifty and occassionally totally random but overall it was much better than expected.
Too bad that the local Zürichseecup was held the exact same weekend.
Big thanks to our sailing club for the financial support!

I have sailed the Swiss J70 championships in Kreuzlingen with my first sail coach Marco Bergamin and my father on their J70. Yes, J70ies are usually sailed by four but our fourth man got Covid again so we ended up being the only three men team in the fleet of 35.
We ended up 13th in a pretty competitive fleet with teams from Germany, Austria and of course Switzerland. The wind was mostly super light and shifty except for one race where the traveller was all the way down and the backstay fully tight with twelve knots and a crew weight of 190.
Our best race was a third but we also had really bad races and a lot of seaweed under the keel and under the rudder. We should have flown away downwind but we barely ever did. We ended up 13th overall. Not too bad but I think top 10 would and should have been possible.
My personal highlight was a protest meeting where Olympic champion, Olympic silver medalist and five times 470 world champion was a witness for me (and we won the protest). Big thanks to him and Sophie Mosegaard!
The hospitality at the host club Yacht Club Kreuzlingen was amazing as usual. The club really did a lot to compensate for the mediocre wind conditions.

Coming up next is the J70 Youth Cup to be sailed on yet another lake well known to be very light wind.
 

My brother Niklas and I along with two others from our sailing club  who do not sail J/70 won the third act of Swiss Challenge Leauge Challenge League (2nd league) in Davos over the weekend.
The last time I was in Davos was for the national optimist camp back in 2016 - which I also won ;-).

After Nik and I had trained quite a bit on Lago di Como we felt ready for our first regatta, a regional regatta in Bellano, just across Gravedona where we have our base camp. I guess because the Youth Worlds were to be held in the same waters the regatta was well attended (and even better photograph, see below).
We also had a coach the week before the regatta and during the regatta, Matteo Raveglia, from whom we learned a lot.
Well, the regatta went well and we came in 4th. We also got lots of great photos from Matteo Garrone, grazie mille*

I have sailed the J/70 Italian Cup in Rimini last weekend with my brother Niklas as well as my former optimist sailcoach Marco (who now co-owns the boat joint with my father and another guy) and his friend Dionysios (who now also is my friend).
Wind was good. Swell was big. Fleet was *very* strong. Our starts were OK but not great. Combining that with pointing a tiny bit lower and being a tiny bit slower got us on a 22nd place overall out of 30 and an 8th among the 14 Corinthians (amateurs). In contrast to Monaco where we did very well, our sail trim has not been optimal, especially on the first day where we forgot that we had shortened the shroud screws to be able to fully unpower the boat in strong wind and hence had way too much rig tension for the light wind conditions. A stupid and costly mistake. Another costly and equally stupid mistake was that we confused to which crane to head to get the boat out of the water which in cooperation with other issues led to us arriving at 4am Monday morning.
On the upside we sealed a 9th in one of the races which made us very happy and might indicate some potential.
We also got a very nice photo of ours from Andrea Lelli.
Coming up next is a national regatta in Neuchatel on the J/70 at the end of the month.

Results:

Nik and I went to Gravedona over Pentecost, this time joined by my brother Niklas and our former #SSTR5 team mate Ben. It was Niklas' first day on the 49er and Bens seventh. They spend about eight hours fixing the boat and it seemed they had a pretty good time:

Nik and I have been out sailing our new 49er in Gravedona over Easter and Pentecost. We were joined by Ben and my brother Niklas over Pentecost and we also met other 49er sailors from Italy on the water and in the club in Gravedona, AVAL Gravedona, where we our boat will be stored until the 49er Youth Worlds at the same spot.

Big shoutout to @avalcdv for the amazing hospitality!!!

We are presently without coach so the video we made are based on my father filming us with his laser and my brother filming us through binoculars. There is room for photo footage improvement *and*boat handling.

Since Nik is very busy with his high school finals (I am quite busy, too, actually) I have been out sailing with Niklas for yet another weekend and we will keep doing that until Nik is back for good.

We've sail the 38th Primo Cup in Monaco which is part of Monaco Winter Series. This time with Dionysios who had been on board of our J/70 before, a junior Fabrice from my club SC Stäfa and my father.

We did very well, ending up 13th in a fleet that allegedly counted 13 Olympic medals, second Swiss and 4th among the Corinthians (the amateurs).

We were expecting the usual Monaco super light winds and super light breeze but no, these conditions we only had one day. We've had very nice wind overall.

Nik and I are now back from the Youth Worlds. It’s been a great experience and yes, I can see why some people call it the “Youth Olympic Games”.
The opening and the closing ceremonies were really a bit like the real Olympics, even the sultan of Oman visited the closing ceremony. We’ve heard the national anthems, saw the flags of the 59 participating countries… I was very impressed.
Our own sailing performance was much less impressive. We never really figured out the wind patterns in the Gulf of Oman. We’ve had the expected light wind but it was super shifty and with occasional “lifts” that would push one team forward but not the team five meters away. Of course, the wind was the same for all sailors and some figured out how to read the wind patterns better than others. Our German friends really aced that. We had beaten then at the 420 Europeans by six places but this time they have been ahead of all and became World Champions, big congrats!
Big congrats also to our Swiss team members Anja who won silver in the ILCA6 women’s fleet as well as Axel and Noemie who won bronze in the Nacra 15!
Oman 2021 has been a great experience and I was super happy that it all worked out despite Covid, the bumpy selection process and the problems getting free from school. I just wished we had sailed better in these difficult conditions.
As a small remedy we got some nice pics shot by Mark Lloyd (@lloydImages) and Sander van der Borch @sandervanderborch.photography; ; https://omansailgallery.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/2021-Youth-Sailing-World-Championships-presented-by-Hempel/C0000K1HJcK8yQEE).