The RC44 Cup showdown at Al Mouj Muscat, Oman
The RC44 Cup returns to Oman for the first time since 2014 for the Grand Final where ten teams representing Great Britain, Monaco, France, Slovenia and Sweden will battle it out in the deciding weekend of racing on the international RC44 tour.
Since its launch in 2007, the RC44 Championship Tour has established itself as a key series to compete on in the international yacht racing scene. Fast forward to 2022 and now known as the 44Cup, the class goes from strength to strength, with new venues introduced the calendar and new teams joining the fleet.
The defining spirit of the 44Cup brings together the worlds of sailing and business, allowing amateur owner drivers to race high performance one-design yachts against some of the world’s best sailors, competing in some of the most beautiful and diverse sailing venues around the world.
Laser Radial, 29er, 420, Nacra 15, Techno293 Plus and Kite Boarding
About the Racing
With its strict one-design format the 44Cup is as level a playing field as you could wish to find in international yacht racing.
Venues across the globe are chosen for their excellent sailing conditions and racecourses that is often demanding of the helm. With three to four races per day over a four-day regatta, the 44Cup offers the fleet more racing each season than any other owner driven racing circuit.
The RC44 is a light displacement, high performance one-design racing yacht competing in the 44Cup, a five-stop international racing tour.
Co-designed by five-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts with naval architect Andrej Justin, the RC44 boats are strictly identical in terms of construction, shape of hull, appendages and weight/weight distribution, as well as a 50-50 split between amateurs and professionals in each eight-person crew.
With everything, from the keel to the tip of the mast, made entirely from carbon, and with a powerful sail plan, the RC44 is rapid downwind, commanding upwind and performs exceptionally in both light winds and heavier breezes.
The RC44’s innovative and technical design present an exciting new hybrid sailing challenge, with the crews expected to hike like a sports boat and grind as you would on a keelboat.
Scoring
Fleet racing is very short, intense and action-packed, with a target race time of 40 minutes and boats frequently separated by just seconds at the finish line.
Points are allocated on the standard World Sailing ‘low point system’, so the boat that comes first in a race gets one point, second gets two points etc. The team with the fewest points at the end of each event is the winner.
The 44Cup also has the option to introduce a long-distance race during a fleet racing series. These races are often two-to-three hours long, with teams sometimes given the challenge to circumnavigate nearby islands and landmarks.
The overall 44Cup champion each year is determined by adding together every team’s four best fleet racing scores from the five events, with the lowest score winning.
Oman At A Glance
The Sultanate of Oman has made tremendous progress developing the sport of sailing over the last 14 years. The next step in the country’s vision to reignite the nation’s maritime history is to host the 44 Cup OMAN, which will bring more of the world’s finest sailors to the beautiful shores of the Sultanate.
Perched on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, the Sultanate of Oman’s stark beauty and vastly contrasting landscapes have enchanted growing numbers of tourists each year. With its magnificent desert, secret oases and breath-taking mountain ranges, Oman is an alluring destination. A tropical underwater paradise lies beneath the turquoise sea, caressing the white sandy beaches that adorn the country’s stunning 3,165 km coastline.
Alongside this natural wealth is Oman’s rich culture, which blends with modern infrastructure and historical features that span over 7,000 years. Grand forts, exquisite palaces and mystical souqs are sights to behold in the capital, Muscat. A visit to Oman makes you feel right at home from the time you arrive, until the moment you leave. The Sultanate is full of opportunities for adventure, including fascinating tours with an Arabian flavour.
Oman’s Vision towards 2040 – Care for Our Environment is Paramount
As the Sultanate of Oman works towards achieving the 12 national priorities set out in its Vision 2040, Oman Sail is fully committed to materially contributing to the prosperity of the nation.
One of the nation’s 12 national priorities is to ensure that Oman’s beautiful natural landscape is protected long in to the future.
The environmental health of Oman is embedded in every aspect of Oman Sail’s activities. The staging of the Youth World Championships would provide a platform for us to drive greater awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability and the added benefits for Omanis for generations to come.
10 - 17
Knots
Average Wind
22 ℃
Average Minimum
Temperature
10mm
Average Precipitation /
Rainfall
26 ℃
Average Maximum
Temperature
3
Wet Days
(>0.1 Min)
24 ℃
Average
Temperature
11hrs
Average Sunlight
Hours / Day
Oman’s rugged landscape dramatically falls away into the sea and influences the wind direction, which is predominantly a land-sea breeze. With a progressive build-up of wind during the early morning, the sailors do most of their racing in moderate and stable 10 to 14 knot breezes.
Mussanah enjoys a stable tropical/sub-tropical weather system which can occasionally interrupt the land sea breeze pattern. However, these pressure ridges have become extremely rare in recent years.
Strong winds known as a shamal can blow in from time to time, usually blowing in at an angle of 325 degrees (north-westerly direction) along the coast. The shamal season is November to February, although they can occur at other times. A shamal can be short lived or can set in for some days. During the winter, the wind is cold and blows from crystal clear skies with speeds reaching up to 30+ knots.
EVENT PARTNERS
Environmental Strategic Partners
