One-handed across the Atlantic: Baptism and dreams: current German Mini-Transat projects

Now it's official: "Mex" is the name of the Mini 6.50 that Lennart Burke, 19, wants to race across the Atlantic in the Mini-Transat in two years' time. Alone and in regatta mode in the ocean race that many use as a stepping stone to professional solo sailing - but at least as many simply see it as a personal challenge, the crowning glory of their sailing career or a huge adventure: crossing the Atlantic alone!

Andreas Deubel is one of four German starters in the Mini Transat 2017 and we sailed with him on the Baltic Sea.

Lennart Burke wants to compete in the series classification on the Vector 650 "Mex", which was christened in Hamburg on Thursday evening. The boat's name takes us back to the roots and the idea behind the project: Claus Hehner's one-tonner, which he himself sailed single-handed across the Atlantic, was also called this. Hehner is the founder of the association for the promotion of ocean sailing, Trans Ocean e.V. (TO), which launched the campaign centred around "Mex" and Lennart Burke. The aim: to awaken enthusiasm for sporty ocean sailing among young sailors.

The patron of the campaign is deep-sea professional Boris Herrmann, who himself crossed the Atlantic as a young sailor in the Mini-Transat in 2001. He said at the naming ceremony that this project would bring together two worlds: that of long-distance sailors, who make up the majority of TO members, and that of regatta sailors.

Application for an adventure

Last year, Lennart Burke won through against numerous other young German sailors in an application process for a place on the TO team. Maurice Oster, 24, is nevertheless on board as co-skipper, training partner and replacement candidate. Both sailors are expected to collect the necessary qualifying miles by the 2021 Transat so that one of them can definitely start in two years' time with the "Mex" - a mini with a scow bow designed by Bertrand.

Lennart Burke is also still travelling the Atlantic in an old IW-31, which he had already planned as a sailing adventure with a friend for the time after graduating from high school before the TO mini-campaign was announced. He regularly reports on the trip on YACHT online.

Two skippers for one boat

So until Burke is back in Germany in early summer, Oster is driving the mini project forward together with the TO board and numerous supporters. Now that the boat has been christened, he also wants to take part in the first mini-class regattas in France. There are also plans to take part in the new Baltic 500 two-handed long-distance race, which starts from Strande at the end of May.

In total, the Oster/Burke team has just under two and a half years to prepare and qualify from now until the Mini-Transat start in autumn 2021. And for the search for sponsors: Trans-Ocean e.V., which is providing the boat and logistics, is urgently looking for supporters: at This link provides further information on the project and funding opportunities.

Anyone who still wants to sail the Mini-Transat in 2019 and 2021

Two German skippers are expected to take part in this year's Mini-Transat La Boulangère, which starts on 22 September in La Rochelle and crosses the Atlantic in two stages:Morten Bogacki with the Proto "Lilienthal", on which Jörg Riechers won second place in 2017, andHendrik Witzmann on a Pogo 3 in the series classification. In the first mini race of the season, the Plastimo Lorient Mini 6.50, he took a promising second place in the series minis. He sailed the double-handed regatta together with Simon Koster from Switzerland, who finished third in the Protos Mini Transat in 2017.

By contrast, there are already far more Germans waiting in the wings for 2021:

Lina Rixgens, 24, was honoured by Trans-Ocean for her participation in 2017. She was the first German woman to finish the solo Atlantic race. In two and a half years' time, she now wants to be back and compete on a new Wevo 6.5 from Italy, also one of the new mini designs with a scow bow. She is planning several regattas for this season, including the Mini Fastnet in June.

Marc Eric Siewert, 22, was also on the shortlist of candidates for the TO campaign. He is now preparing his participation for 2021 on his own with the support of his father. He wants to be there with the former Proto No. 614 of French Mini veteran Fred Guérin (four Mini Transat participations!). In April, the Hamburg native finished the Plastimo Lorient Mini 6.50 with an 11th place in the Proto classification; including an outrigger breakage, return to harbour and a delayed start. This year, he is also planning the Mini Fastnet and optionally the Transgascogne across the Bay of Biscay. The boat is to remain in France for the time being.

Oliver Korte, 37, has also purchased a new Vector for the 2021 Mini-Transat. In 2019, he wants to sail it in the Bay of Kiel and prepare for the big leap across the Atlantic from next year with the 1000 nautical mile qualification and mini regattas.

Oliver Tessloff, 45, from Hamburg was the best of the three German mini-sailors in the series class to cross the Atlantic in 2017 (13th place). His spontaneous reaction after crossing the finish line: "I have to do that again!" And so Tessloff is also on the lookout for a suitable boat - possibly a second-hand Maxi 650 from the upcoming Mini-Transat 2019 - so that, if all goes well, he can repeat the biggest adventure of his life in 2021.