News

After the race started with very light winds the weathergod blessed the fleet with a „nice“ thunderstorm over the Swiss coast which brought some rain, but more importantly a very good south westerly breeze with 4-5 Beaufort.
That wind stayed until the mark Eichhorn. But also the Überlinger See which is usually known for its very light wind surprised the boats with a solid breeze all the way in and out.

Due to the distinctly higher number of Esse 850 IC Cup events emanating from the new cup formula, the committee introduced a new procedure regarding event reports at the general assembly in Rapperswil. According to this procedure, event reports from now on shall be provided by the winning team of every official Esse 850 IC Cup event (grades 1-3).

Dear Esse 850 sailors, thank you for choosing me to be the new president of the Esse 850 International Class at the last General Assembly in Rapperswil. Let me say a few words about myself. I am 54 years old, live in Lausanne since 2001, but also lived in Geneva, Zurich, Bern, Basel, in the US, Stockholm and Malaysia. After many years in the telecommunication industry, I became 10 years ago a freelance consultant working on strategic projects, such as business development and fundraising for small companies and start-ups. I like innovation and new ideas, which I hope will also serve the class. I acquired my Esse 850 IC boat, SUI 135, in 2012 after having sailed on a 505 long time ago and more recently a Ventillo 20 catamaran.

With 19 yachts from three nations, the 8th Esse 850 International Class Swiss Championships took place from 9 to 12 May. On the first day a great first run could be sailed at 4 Bfts from the east.

The first grade 3 event on Lake Zurich could be sailed in lovely north-easterly winds. Even though the Föhn disturbed the conditions a little bit on Saturday, the skilled committee managed to pull through six fair races by Sunday afternoon with the Esseboats Team of SUI 177 with Greg & Flo Schuchter and Chris Glaser as overall winner (see results). Thanks a lot for the nice season kick-off and a very happy 50th birthday to the host Yachtclub Horgen. We hope to be back next year! - by Greg Schuchter, SUI 177