GeMera Racing take 2026 44Cup as Charisma win Cartagena finale

The last day of the 44Cup Cartagena began with Peninsula Racing leading the event, but with two other boats within two points of her. Eyes were also on the overall 2026 44Cup leaderboard, which was impossibly close. Pietro Loro Piana's Aleph Racing was tied on points with both Markus Törnqvist's GeMera Racing and Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika, while Chris Bake's Team Aqua was just one point behind.

Conditions were very different from the previous three days. The wind was a light southwesterly of eight knots building to 12, with a much reduced sea state.

Peninsula Racing started the day strongly, banging the left on the first beat to lead into the top mark and go on to take her third bullet, with only the Sam Poons-steered Team Charisma chasing. That gave Peninsula Racing a powerful seven-point lead.

Boats arriving en masse usually make the first top-mark rounding the high-stress moment on the 44Cup. In this race it was the second rounding that caused trouble. Team Aqua and Black Star Sailing Team ground to a halt just short of the mark, forcing Aleph Racing and Torbjörn Törnqvist's Artemis Racing, who were arriving from astern, to take avoid action. Aleph Racing and Black Star received penalties.

In the second race the upwind leg was long on port. Charisma tactician Hamish Pepper had positioned them well for a big lift approaching the top mark, and they led onto the run. On the second beat Aleph Racing got ahead. It was close with GeMera and Charisma, but the French team held on to take her first bullet of the regatta. The timing was good for Aleph Racing, who led the 2026 season, tied with GeMera Racing and with Team Aqua one point behind going into the last race.

The drama didn't last long in the final race. Aleph Racing repositioned herself at the committee boat end of the start line but couldn't engage with GeMera Racing, who got one of the best starts and was soon leading, while Aleph Racing was last.

GeMera Racing coming home second handed them the 2026 44Cup, with Aleph Racing two points behind, claiming second on countback from Team Aqua. GeMera Racing never won an event this season, but never finished off the podium.

Markus Törnqvist, whose team has won in just its second season on the 44Cup, said: "It's an amazing feeling. I don't have words to describe it. I'm very proud of the team. We've had a very good season. Going into the last race we knew we had to beat Aleph by one point at least to win the season. But we also knew that if we started to think too much about points, we'd just go crazy. So, we just sailed our own race and waited to see what happens. In fact Aleph turned out to be less of a problem than we thought."

Despite a lengthy history in the class, this was Francesco Bruni's first 44Cup victory. "I really care about this class and about this result," he said. "So I'm super happy, not just for me, but for the team. We have a young team and we achieved many goals. Third last season, winning this season.

"In the first race we were really on the back foot. We didn't get a good start and the boat was not going great, but this team has always pushed in the hard moments. We never give up and we made a great comeback, which gave us the opportunity to still be in the fight…"

GeMera Racing sealed the deal today with a 4-3-2, which left them fourth for the event. Aleph Racing finished seventh.

Charisma overtake Peninsula Racing

Meanwhile a whole other race was on for the Cartagena event title. John Bassadone's Peninsula Racing had led for the whole regatta. After a disappointing seventh in the penultimate race they began the final race still three points ahead of Charisma. In that race, however, they got buried in the middle of the pack and were languishing in seventh going into the final leg, with Charisma once again leading.

A bullet for Charisma, with Peninsula Racing sixth, was enough to usurp the Gibraltar team from the top spot. Charisma finished on 44 points to Peninsula Racing's 46, with Team Aqua third on 50.

For this event Nico Poons, although on shore to offer support, handed the reins of Charisma to his son Sam. Charisma scored a phenomenal 2-2-1 today.

"We went into today thinking, 'let's try and get a podium at least'," explained Sam. "After the first race, we got a second and it was phenomenal. So it was like 'let's keep going…' And then we got another second place. And then when Maria read out the points, we seemed to be in with a shot. Thanks to the team, with their synchronisation and effort we pulled it off. I don't think its fully sunk in yet…"

Tactician Hamish Pepper complimented his young helmsman: "It was Sam's first time in real races and he did a really good job considering how tough the conditions were. Today we had some good starts and managed to go the right way. The boat was going fast and the team did a good job."

Racing at the fifth and final event of the 2026 44Cup took place thanks to the support of the Ayuntamiento de Cartagena, Gobierno Región de Murcia and the Autoridad Portuaria de Cartagena. RC44 Class President Chris Bake said: "It was spectacular, the sailing was truly beautiful, and we had a great time, although the sea and the wind were tough. It's been a real pleasure being here."

That concludes the 2026 44Cup, with plenty of anticipation for the circuit's 20th anniversary season in 2027.

Source: 44Cup