Winds of up to 50 knots, waves of up to eight metres and unusually cold weather for the time of year decimated the regatta field. Some yachts had to give up shortly before the finish, including the Russian participant "Brainwash" early on Friday morning. The sails were torn, there was no power for the instruments and the crew was completely exhausted, so they decided to start the engine. The generator on the twelve-metre-long Winner yacht had already failed on Thursday morning and with it the radio. Once they were close to land, they were able to send a status message via text message. Brainwash" is now moored in Granton Harbour, the port of Edinburgh.
The little "Arrabiata" also had to turn off on the last 50 miles just before the entrance to the Firth of Forth, sailed to Blyth and was in harbour at around 3 am. Everyone on board the Sun Fast 3200 is safe and sound. Various damage to the ship forced the crew to abandon ship.
On Thursday shortly before midnight, the "Magic" crossed the finish line in third place. "That was probably my toughest tour. The water was as cold as the air. Six degrees. We had a wave of about five metres. In one wave, a Nutella jar shot through the saloon and hit Thorsten Eylmann on the head." Jan Hamester from the Frers 52 "Magic" from the Well Sailing sailing school is an experienced skipper, "I taped it straight away and then everything was fine again," he says. "The Frers went through the wave more than over it. Compared to the other boats I've sailed, that was unusual. But the sea behaviour below deck was very pleasant, so it was easy to recover." Hamester has sailed many light boats such as the Figaro and Pacer 36. "I was surprised how long yachts like the Sun Fast 3200 'Arrabiata' or the 'Pogo' have stayed in the race, as they are not actually built for cruising."
Around two and a half hours later, the "Pogo 1", a Pogo 40 from Sailing Island, crossed the finish line. For the yacht, the race was a qualifier for the Fastnet Race. "I'm glad they made it to the finish in one piece." Markus Seebich, Managing Director of the sailing school, is clearly relieved. "The crew will certainly be sleeping soundly now."
At 16:55 CEST on Saturday, the Swan 441 "Charisma" skippered by Constantin Claviez was the last to cross the finish line off Edinburgh. Her northern route was the best nautical alternative to get a ship with this speed potential safely to the finish given the weather conditions.
Final results calculated:
Group ORCi 1
1st "Norddeutsche Vermögen Hamburg", 2:23:27:31 days
2nd "Scho-Ka-Kola", 3:05:39:48
3. "Magic", 3:12:04:55
Group ORCi 2
1st "Charisma", 5:00:56:09
ORCC (ORC Club)
1st "Pogo 1", 3:20:18:11
