Race report ·
National title off Kaštela: dominance and nerve aboard the Salona 46
Two wire-to-wire wins, an early start turned into a recovery to fourth — and at the end, the national one-design title.
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A dream start and a double lead
Gold for the UYCAs: at the 2024 Österreichische Hochsee-Staatsmeisterschaft off Kaštela near Split, our crew of nine took the title in the one-design class. Compared with the year before we were on a boat some nine feet shorter — the Salona 46. Thanks to thorough preparation and shared training days on site, we were dialled in from the first signal.
Tuesday’s opening went exactly to plan: with good boat speed and clean manoeuvres we won the first race. In the second we went one better, extending the lead steadily and crossing the line again well clear of the eight other teams. Two races, two wins — the championship could not have started better.
A recovery instead of a setback
How well this crew holds together showed on day two. After an early start we had to turn back and cross the line again from the very back, while the fleet was already away up the first beat.
Instead of panic came work: manoeuvre by manoeuvre, tack by tack, we fought our way back through the fleet. With faultless boat handling we made up place after place and still finished the race fourth. That strength of mind was the real turning point of the series.
A clear win on the final day
On the last day the wind allowed no further races to be sailed. A calm on the final day is bitter for many teams; for us the race committee’s decision was the final confirmation: the 2024 national title went deservedly to our crew — Tobias Böckl, Andreas Hagara, Raphael Hussl, Daniel Hoschek, Anna Saletu, Luis Wenger-Öhn, Florian Gföllner, Ben Stärker and Michael Oberweger.
A championship week all round that showed this crew can both dominate and hit back under pressure.
An earlier version of this report was published by the UYCAs.
