New start for the German mini-transat star: Melwin Fink fights his way back with a new boat

Yesterday the time had finally come: Melwin Fink was able to launch his new Vektor Mini for the first time. In the race against time for a starting place in the Transat 2023, this is a big step for the young skipper. After tests and a few adjustments, the new build is due to make its first start in just two weeks.

In his first Mini-Transat last year, the offshore sailor from Bad Salzuflen exceeded all expectations and sailed to third place overall after winning the first leg. The youngest and most successful German participant in the series ranking then wanted to go one better and had a new boat built.

However, it had to be abandoned on the very first crossing from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca due to a mast breakage and subsequently suffered a total loss ( YACHT reported >> ).

In order to keep the chances of qualifying for the most famous race for offshore racers, which is only 6.50 metres long, as high as possible, everything had to happen very quickly after the accident in April. "The boat was just a hull and came out of the shipyard without any holes. We then completed everything within three weeks," he reports on the stressful time in the workshop.

As the Mini came from Yachtservice Stettin again and it is basically the same boat, the experience gained from the first new build at the beginning of the year and the equipment still available contributed to this record-breakingly fast completion time.

The 20-year-old is therefore also trying to take some positives from the situation: "It's a huge advantage that I've already sailed with the old boat for a week. I noticed things that I wanted to change and now I could do that straight away, of course."

He is certainly not just referring to the transposed digits in his new bug number, which will probably be the only obvious difference. However, he had no influence on the change from "1058" to "1085", so it was pure coincidence.

All Minis have the same masts, and an adjustment in this area would be in a grey area, says Fink, explaining why there was no improvement here. However, he assumes an individual failure anyway: "There are now over 200 ships of the latest generation where it works, and I think I just got a stupid mast last time."

By 26 August at the latest, the boat must really be ready to race. That's when the youngster will take part in the 500 nautical mile two-handed race "Mare Nostrum" from Garraf for the first time. His sailing friend Hendrik Lenz from Bremen will be competing alongside him in this first endurance test.

Until then, they want to test and improve as much as possible, says Fink: "This is now a continuous process. In the next four to five days, we want to do the first 24-hour training session to try everything out overnight."

The first test drive with the new Mini took place yesterday. The day before, he and a fellow student had arrived in Garraf near Barcelona after a 20-hour car journey. Yesterday morning, the new "Karin Monika" was craned in and test sailed.

"Seeing the boat afloat was great, and then going out in the evening was really a dream," said the law student, who was very satisfied and happy with his progress despite the light wind conditions and a top speed of three knots.

"I definitely have full confidence in the boat. I've got over the shock of the old boat and am highly motivated again," says the young sailor, looking ahead to the tough road to the next Mini-Transat.

Whether he actually manages to qualify will only become clear in March or April next year. "I'll do my best, I'll give it my all! Maybe it will work out then."