By winning the final in Neuchâtel, Tom Rüegge and his team clinched the 2023 Super League title. Second-placed Oberhofen just missed out.
Text: Walter Rudin
This season, Éole wasn’t around much. On some Acts – especially in the first half of the season – it was absent, reducing the number of races to a minimum. The first Women’s League regatta at Segelclub Enge suffered the same fate: lacking wind, it ended in failure. The great celebration of Swiss women’s sailing didn’t take place, the calm having decided otherwise. “We won’t be discouraged though, we’ll just take the cup out of the attic again next year,” said Markus Bläsi by way of consolation. More fortunately, the men’s teams in all three leagues were spoiled by good wind conditions. As a result, they accumulated numerous races in their respective finals. In the final stage of the Promotion League, which took place in Murten, no fewer than 15 heats were contested. At the end of the final, three teams were promoted. The Cercle de la Voile de Lausanne, the Société Nautique de Rolle and the Yachting Club of Cern will move up to the Challenge League next season.
Better still, the Swiss Sailing Challenge League final in Morges recorded 33 races. Big favourites Club Nautique Morgien and Zürcher Yacht Club did not disappoint, extending their lead from the previous three Acts with flying colours. The third ticket to the Super League was much more closely contested. At the end of the day, Yacht-Club Luzern with Dave Erismann, who had won the Swiss J70 title a week earlier, were edged out by Zürcher Segel Club. Relegation was another hotly contested issue. Despite several attempts, Cercle de la Voile Vevey-La Tour was unable to close the gap on Segelclub Hallwil. They are therefore the only club to be relegated from the Promotion League.
SVK and RCO within touching distance
The Super League final in Neuchâtel lived up to all its promises. The long-awaited battle between Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen (SVK), with Tom Rüegge, Martin Hagen, Michael Herrmann and Stefan Stäheli, and Regattaclub Oberhofen (RCO), with Youth Sailing Champions League winners Nick Zeltner, Cédric Schenk, Till Seger and Florian Geissbühler, proved spectacular. It wasn’t until the final race that the winner was decided. Tied on points and with the same number of heat victories, it was finally SVK who took the title thanks to one more second place than their rival. “This year, it was tighter than ever. We’re even happier to have beaten the RCO to the line,” enthused skipper Tom Rüegge, not without congratulating the RCO on their fine performance. It’s interesting to note just how different the two clubs are: SVK hardly ever changed crew throughout the season, while RCO sent a completely different crew every time.
Regattaclub Bodensee, multiple Super League winners in the past, rounded off the podium. Club Nautique de Pully, Thunersee-Yachtclub and Cercle de la Voile de Neuchâtel were relegated to the Challenge League.
