Star Sailors League: Saving the best 'til last on Golden Thursday

There was an early shock for Morocco, who were given a one point penalty for not filling in their crew list in time. Would this prove vital come the end of the day? If so, they would be rueing this administrative error.

Race 5

The racing was electric from the get go, with Tahiti Black Pearls going on the attack, pushing their main rivals Seychelles Vann Swet over the line early. The Mozambique Gala-Gala team pulled the trigger too fast at the committee boat end, also being judged OCS, while the Morocco Atlas Lion Sailors started cleanly at the pin end.

The Seychelles team immediately turned back to restart, but Mozambique continued, seemingly unaware that they were over the line, resulting in their second disqualification of the series and putting paid to any chance of qualification for the SSL Gold Cup Finals Brasil 2026.

Meanwhile at the front Tahiti locked into the groove, keeping a loose cover on Morocco to round the windward mark over 30 seconds ahead, which extended still further when the Atlas Lions thought they were given a penalty at the windward mark, when it was actually the umpire waving the black flag at Mozambique.

From this point the race was processional, with Tahiti cruising to victory with their trademark ‘Proa Paddle’ celebration, Morocco achieving their best race of the event so far, and the Seychelles finishing third.

Points going into the final race saw Tahiti sitting pretty on 22 points, Seychelles on 18 points, and Morocco on 12 points. So Black Pearls’ win saw them seal their place at the SSL Gold Cup Finals 2026 but, with 8 points up for grabs, it was still possible for the Atlas Lions to overhaul Vann Swet and cause an upset.

Race 6

The final race saw the teams line up beautifully on the start, with Morocco aggressively aiming for the pin end, but the adrenaline was clearly too high, crossing early and having to loop around and restart while the others sailed away.

The fleet spread out with Seychelles banking on the left, Morocco on the right, with Tahiti and Mozambique battling in the middle. With a left shift, Tahiti came out comfortably leading with the Mozambique Gala-Gala team finally fulfilling their potential to round the windward mark second, while Morocco came back from their poor start to round ahead of the Seychelles; would it be too late for them to grab the second final spot?

The Tahiti Black Pearls looked serene downwind, with tactician Teiki Hacheche continually scanning the race course for bands of wind and keeping their air clear, while Mozambique continued to sail well on their tail. Morocco rounded the leeward gate third with the Seychelles fourth.

Positions held steady on the final lap, with Tahiti unable to pull away from Mozambique, who were sailing their best race of the event by far, while Morocco rounded the final windward mark a minute further back, well ahead of the Seychelles.

The celebrations on the Tahiti Black Pearls yacht were exuberant, and the smiles returned to the Mozambique Gala-Gala team with their best race result, while Morocco wondered what ‘might have been’ coming across the line in third.

Tahiti and Seychelles on the Road to Rio

Tahiti finished the event in style, and Seychelles did just enough to hang on to their qualifying spot for the SSL Gold Cup Finals Brasil 2026.Morocco left their charge a bit late, and Mozambique finally showed us what they were capable of in the last race of the event.

The SSL47 is a complex boat, and with practice there is no doubt that both Morocco and Mozambique will become nations to be reckoned with.

The SSL Gold Cup African and Oceanian Qualifiers Prize Giving was held beside the marina with the close bond between the teams evident to see. The SSL Gold Cup family has grown again, and world sailing is all the better for it.

Text and images courtesy of WorldOfSailors.com.