On 7./8. of October 2017, the last official Esseboats event of this season took place in Thalwil as a joint regatta of the Esse 850 and Esse 750 International Class. It was a decisive weekend in terms of the outcome concerning the Esse 850 IC Cup total ranking as well as the future of the Esse 850 International Class that was discussed lively at the General Assembly.

Despite light winds throughout both days on the water a sizeable total of 5 races could be sailed by all classes. Starting with a bullet on Saturday and finishing with another on Sunday, the legends of team «Aspra» with Urs Oldani showed a very strong consistency in rather tricky conditions and hence deservedly took the victory of the Esse 850 Thalwil Cup 2017. Only one teeny-tiny point behind, the at least equally legendary team «Ottocinque Due» with Alain Marchand finished the regatta in second place, followed by team «Zebrabox» (definitely also some legend potential there) with Julien Monnier in third. Please find the detailed results here.

On Saturday evening, the General Assembly of the Esse 850 International Class was held at Segler-Vereinigung Thalwil by the class president Stephan Züger. For the purpose of securing the class’ future many important aspects were debated by the committee as well as the audience. The two biggest discussions were held about the possible permission of the new 3Di sails (will now be tested by the technical management of the class and then be up for voting) and a proposition of a new event mode for the Esse 850 IC Cup 2018 containing 3 different grades (approved by the General Assembly, details are about to follow soon). The partially exhilarated vibe of the General Assembly was tranquilized by delicious paella and one or the other glass of wine at the ensuing social event. Time to thank the organizing committee for hosting and pampering our class on such short notice!

As mentioned right at the beginning, last but not least, there was another major decision made on the water in front of Thalwil. Due to their second place at the Thalwil Cup, team «Ottocinque Due» of the SUI 172 managed to recapture the trophy of the Esse 850 IC Cup total ranking in an utterly impressive manner for the 7th time. To give you a taste of this remarkable achievement: the team of Alain Marchand only need to win the Esse 850 IC Cup one more time in order to draw with Roger Federer’s amount of Wimbledon titles. Hats off!