The 23rd Engineering Challenge Cup (ECC) was held from/to Gocek, 7 – 14 May 2016, covering the bay of Fethiye and the Ekincik area. It was our 6th time to organize this event which made us extremely proud.
There were 56 boats competing and a support fleet of two boats (gulet and a 50ft mono-hull) and two RIBs). We teamed up with the charter
companies to secure the boats and to provide a superb service. We worked with Incila for the organisation of moorings, events and the racing
support.
October 2015 – We spent a week in Gocek on the recce trip for ECC 2016. We visited the area, firmed up on the mooring arrangements and the
evening events.
The following six months were spent in shaping up the event – The support team was chosen, together with our Race Officer Vassilis Kaskouras.
Final arrangements were made about the itinerary. Gocek Yacht Club helped with suggesting a number of daily courses to make the event even
more interesting for the participants.
Planned route was as follows: Gocek – Boynuz Buku – Fethiye (free evening to explore this amazing city) – Sarsala Bay – Ekincik, May Marina
(AVEVA night) – Kapi Creek – Gocek.
By April 2016, Gocek and the bay of Fethiye were ready to welcome 360 participants!
Most of us arrived few day earlier for the final arrangements. We were welcomed with torrential rain that lasted for three days and finally stopped a day before the event. The week was fantastic! Full of sunshine and some great winds.
07/05/16 – 14/05/16 – ECC 2016 – This was indeed one of the most memorable ECC weeks! For us, one that will be remembered for many great reasons:
Stunning area for sailing.
Warm welcome from our local partners and community in general.
Great variety of overnight destinations – from glamorous RIXOS Hotel that hosted the best opening and closing parties, to interesting town of Fethiye,
to most beautiful local bays famous for their charm and simplicity.
Top fleet, fantastic support team.
Great Turkish cuisine.
Congratulations to FRANCOIS ABIVEN and his team, the new winners of the ECC event!! Fantastic performance from this crew with a great spirit.
It was a real pleasure watching you race through the finish. There is a busy year ahead of you, but an exciting one too. I wish you the best of luck with the forthcoming organisation of the ECC 2017 event.
Congratulations to the awesome PETER BISSCHOP and crew for winning another Commodore’s Cup!
I would like to say a big THANK YOU to a number of people who have, for me, made this event possible and special:
– To Oliver and his team for appointing us to organize ECC 2016. My team and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. We are now even more convinced that the Gocek area remains one of the most beautiful on the Med. Authentic bays and towns are charming and offer great opportunities to socialize and mingle.
At the same time, the area offers good quality boats.
– To our referee Vassilis Kaskouras who supported this years’ event with great enthusiasm from the beginning to the end. Vassilis cooperated with
Alen Kustic during the months leading up to the event and ran the ECC week with a great attitude and professionalism. It was a real pleasure having you on board and I sincerely hope to be able to work with you again in the near future.
– To Mustafa, who helped bringing this event to Gocek the very first time, back in 2007. It was great to have you on board again with your local
knowledge and expertise.
– To our support team: Dave, Marco, Ayhan, Ata and Umit! It was a real pleasure working with you guys and I really hope we get a chance to work
together soon again.
– Bulent, our crucial on-the-ground link for an endless amount of logistics.
– To Gocek Yacht Club for their local support in registering the event and providing useful material for the regatta.
– To people of Gocek, Fethiye and the bays that we visited, for welcoming us with enthusiasm and generosity.
– To Hotel Rixos for hosting the most memorable Welcome and Prize-giving evenings! We look forward to working with them in the future.
– To Eva, my colleague in the office, who worked hard throughout the year making sure all the details were covered and taken care of before the
start of the event.
– But above all, I would like to express my gratitude and thanks to Inci, for being a fantastic partner to work with. The hard work and enthusiasm
that she has put into this organisation from the beginning to the end, combined with her local knowledge, camaraderie and professionalism have
been a crucial part to the great success of the ECC 2016.
It was great to see so many familiar faces and friends again this year and to meet the new ones. Please keep in touch. I wish you all a great year ahead and I hope to see you soon again.
Sasha King
Please check the link below for more information on the Engineering Challenge Cup (ECC) events and High Point YachtFest events too:
HIGH POINT YACHTING – ENGINEERING CHALLENGE CUP
Here is what our participants thought about the event:
Jan Kruiniger, Commodore, Boat 18:
‘Dear All!
The ECC 2016 has truly became a wonderful week of sailing and fun! I would like to thank in particular Oliver and his team for the fantastic organisation. And of course Sasha again, everything was perfect!
Congratulations to Francois Abiven and his team for their fantastic performance and good luck with the organisation of the ECC 2017!
I have gained so much good friends in the 21 years and shall look back on fantastic memories. Thanks to you all for the lovely words and gifts which I shall cherish.
In particular, my own crew, the commodores and the Intra Automation girls team, we have had great fun over the years. I trust we shall keep in touch and do hope that the ECC shall continue for ever! As our Admiral John has promised, he shall keep boot number 18 for my daughter Patricia whenever she is ready and can get a third Girls crew together! This is truly fantastic! Thanks again and by for now!
Met vriendelijke groet / Best regards,
Jan Kruiniger (Commodore retired)’
John Hall Hall, ECC Admiral, Boat 5:
‘Dear everyone,
All of us on Boat number 5 would like to thank everyone who made ECC 2016 a particularly special and memorable one. Oliver and Sasha, you and your teams did a fantastic job to make it a great week for all of us and it all ran so smoothly. It was great to see all the skippers being so sporting and there were no collisions, either physical or verbal! Gocek was a great choice of venue and Vassilis made good use of the winds which always seemed to be in the right direction for the race leg for each day.
Sadly it is “Papa down” for another year, but congratulations to Francois – fantastic performance on the water all week, a deserved win. We look forward to your choice of venue and are here to support you as you wish. All the best,
John Hall Hall and all on board Boat 5.’
Lutz Weise, Boat 5:
‘Hi John,
Thank you for your kind feed-back message to Sasha and Oliver, I agree with you, they really deserve it. Fantastic racing this time ; crazy to see what we could do out of a « bad luck- bad start » situation and then…. finished second in the commodores fleet!!!! I decided to take especially this race as an example to tell, why not to give up if you’re behind in a whatever competition and to constantly review your strategy, even while you ‘re picking up already….. Back in my office I’m travelling fast again, unfortunately not on a boat , but via my daily agenda of meetings, interviews, reports etc… Best regards Lutz’
Jan Bonset, Commodore, Boat 3:
‘Hi Sasha, thank you for a very well organised ECC in Gocek. Lots of fun, good competition and well organised venues.’
David Boocock, Commodore, Boat 47:
‘Hi Sasha
What a great Engineering Challenge Cup we had in Turkey , definitely a very well organised and successful event. As requested, here is some feedback:
1 I really love sailing in Turkey, it is a great location with friendly welcoming local people.
2 HPY organisation was very good, everything went smoothly throughout the event. Transfers system worked well etc. Eva was really quick to respond to my questions. Good advance warning of Visa requirements etc.
3 EGG were very good. Very friendly and helpful people. My boat was quite old at 2007 but was in superb condition (it could have passed for a 1 year old boat). The only problem I had was a poor TCF that did not reflect the SO45 being slower than the Dufours especially on a beat. (True !!).
4 All the evenings were very good. I think the buffet style approach works especially well for large groups like ECC. Welcome Party, final Party and Aveva night were particularly good. Nice touches like welcoming staff with a drink and help to find your table all add up. The entertainment was also very good with live music.
Best Regards
David’
Bjorn Zechow, Skipper: Berthold Schulz, Boat 74:
‘Ahoi to all of the participants of the ECC 2016 in Göcek/Turkey,
First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to Francois Abiven and his Crew to win the organization of the next ECC 2017 and the first place of course. ;)
We are looking forward to be part of it next year with Boat #74 and have also such a perfect location and sailings-spots like in Göcek. Oliver and his crew, Thank you for making this week so incredible. You guys made a very good organization and you choose a great location. Our commendation goes also to the complete Service team, Support team and all the people in background who made this week unforgettable. We, Boat number 74, as one of the new Members and bronze-sponsor are proud to be part of such great Skippers and their Teams. And also get to know so many friendly people, we really want to keep the contact with all of you.
Best greetings from team with green Sunglasses..’
To read about all Engineering Challenge Cup regattas organised by High Point Yachting, view PAST EVENTS PAGE
