The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron turned on the afterburners in a thrilling four-boat showdown to win the SAILING Champions League 2019 on the lake of St. Moritz (15 to 18 August 2019). The crew from Sydney were the only non-European team among 24 clubs representing ten nations, and now the trophy flies out of Europe for the first time, winging its way to Australia. Finishing in second place were Norddeutscher Regatta Verein from Germany. The other two clubs that contested the four-boat final represented Denmark: Kaløvig Bådelaug finishing third, and Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub in fourth place.

David Chapman, skipper of the winning team, commented: “We are absolutely stoked. We struggled to get a crew together for this regatta so we nearly didn’t come here at all. But what a great team to have sailing with me: Finn and Charlotte Alexander and Zac Quinlan.” Compared with the 51 races of eight-boat heats over the previous days of competition, the four-boat final required a more aggressive approach. No one could match the starting prowess of Chapman and his crew who won the first race of the finals and then followed up with an even more dominant display in race two. That was game, set and match to Australia.

“I know a lot of people back home in Australia were watching online,” smiled Chapman, “and I hope we’ll inspire more teams from Down Under to compete in the SAILING Champions League. It’s such great racing – turn up with your mates, race in equally- matched, provided boats and go sailing. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’m going to stick around an extra day to celebrate tonight.”

Oliver Schwall, founder of the concept of league sailing, commented: “Thanks to beautiful sunny days and the mighty Maloja Winds bringing up to 19 knots of breeze across the outstanding sailing stadium on Lake St. Moritz, the sailors have enjoyed champagne sailing conditions. The organisers ran the event like clockwork, delivering 17 flights of qualifying, along with an incredibly exciting four-boat final.”

The SAILING Champions League is supported by a number of key partners: Juvia, KRAFTWERK, DEDON, Badrutt’s Palace, Breitling, St. Moritz Tourism, Graubünden, DKSH, SAP and Marinepool.