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Updated: 02 Sep 2021 7:56 AM
The Bermuda team in action: Emily Nagel, Phil Worboys, Thomas Penruddocke, Tre Maxwell, Dale Brangman, Joshua Greenslade, Kelsey Durham (Photograph by Gayral Lavrent)
Bermuda Team: Back Row: Peter Dill, Kelsey Durham, Dale Brangman, Adriana Penruddocke, Joshua Greenslade. Front row: Tre Maxwell, Phil Worboys, Peter Dill, Emily Nagel, Thomas Penruddocke (photo by Gayral Lavrent)
Team Bermuda (drone photography by Shannon Falcone)
Bermuda Team (Photograph of Uros Kekus Kleva)
Bermuda Team (Photograph of Uros Kekus Kleva)
Bermuda’s inaugural Star Sailors League team reached a milestone with a highly successful training camp in Grandson, Switzerland.
Emily Nagel, Kelsey Durham, Joshua Greenslade, Dale Brangman, Tre Maxwell, Adriana Penruddocke, Peter Dill, Michael Wollmann, Philip Worboys and Thomas Penruddocke took their first victory in the SSL 47 one-design monohull.
Bermuda’s sailors eclipsed rivals Antigua and Barbuda, Slovenia and Poland, whose teams included America’s Cup sailors and Olympic medalists.
“It was just amazing to be on the start line with these teams and to race with some of the greatest sailors in the world,†said Nagel, the team’s vice-captain, delighted. “The excitement was really high.
“We were one of the youngest and least experienced teams in keelboat, but we froze learning all the positions very quickly. It was a great atmosphere. “
Rockal Evans, the team captain, added: “This is what the Star Sailors League is all about. Without SSL Bermuda wouldn’t have this opportunity to sail against the best in the world on a level playing field. How would that be possible in the usual sailing circles? “
Evans, a multiple national champion, was unable to attend the camp held August 21-29 due to a Covid lockdown in Sydney, Australia, where he is based.
What makes the team’s victory all the more enjoyable is that none of the sailors had competed on either an SSL 47 keelboat or a regular keelboat before.
“A lot of the training team come from a dinghy background, like the Lasers who don’t have a sail before, so it was all new to them,†said Nagel.
“It was a huge learning curve, and everyone went out of their way to learn the playbook and tackle all the challenges head-on. We took some people into the deep end with some of their roles on board, and the team rose to the occasion. “
Maxwell was delighted to have also been invited to be part of the team as a grinder for SSL Team Slovenia.
“It was a great opportunity to learn from an Olympic medalist and see the professionalism on board,†he said. “I am so grateful for the experience.”
The experience inspired Bermuda sailors to train harder and win more races in the SSL 47s under their belt.
The Star Sailors League is a global coastal sailing circuit launched by Olympic athletes in 2012 – by sailors for sailors
The biennial event is scheduled for Switzerland in 2022, between May and June.
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