Dutchman Nico Poons was unable to stay dry once ashore from the final day of racing at the 44Cup Calero Marinas. As is tradition, RC44 Class President Chris Bake encouraged him to take a plunge in celebration of his Charisma winning the 2023 44Cup for a second consecutive year. Shortly after the Charisma crew was dowsed again, this time in champagne at the regatta prizegiving, where José Calero, founder of the marina group playing host to the Lanzarote regatta this week, provided the introduction.
Charisma had an exceptional season. Second in Oman, they followed this with wins in Marstrand and the RC44 Worlds in Cowes. Had Charisma posted another strong result of Marina Alcaidesa last month, their victory may have been secured, but it wasn’t. This week their main competition was Igor Lah’s Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860, winner of the last event, but which struggled in the difficult conditions here, finishing sixth. With Charisma’s third this week, and a discard applied, she won the 2023 44Cup by 7 points to Aleph Racing’s 10 and Ceeref’s 13. This win was not as resounding as last year’s when she won by seven points from Ceeref and Team Nika.
“This week we started reasonably well, but then we had a dip because of the weather. But today we had a good day. The season was perfect: Winning for a second time and the World Championship… What more can you wish for in such a high performance class like the RC44?”