Offshore professional Jörg Riechers is the latest prominent newcomer to the 2019 Nord Stream Race. The Hamburg native will be competing for the Danish team from Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub, which will be joining four other teams in the 1000 nautical mile Baltic Sea rally on Sunday. "It's a cool race that takes us to cities that I don't know all of yet. And I'm really looking forward to competing with our young and very committed team." At the helm for the Danes is Peter Warrer, the father of 49er Olympic champion Jonas Warrer. The race will take the participants in stages from Kiel via Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki to St. Petersburg. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder will fire the starting gun on the Kiel inner fjord at 4 pm on Sunday.
In the clip, the participants in the Nord Stream Race 2019 talk about what they are looking forward to and what they have planned
Beforehand, the teams will take part in the Kiel Week Welcome Race on their ClubSwan 50 yachts - a welcome warm-up for the long distance. Skipper Sven-Erik Horsch and his experienced team from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein will be sailing under the German flag. Almost all of the crew members already competed in the race together a year ago, giving them a plus on their side. In 2018, the crew achieved third place on the podium. This year, the ten sailors ideally want to move up a notch or two.
The first sprint leg leads overnight from Kiel to Copenhagen, where the Swans are expected to arrive on Monday. "This first leg is important. It will give us an idea of where the boat and crew stand," says North Sails Managing Director Stefan Matschuk, who is once again competing for Team Germany. The Nord Stream Race was held for the first time in 2012 and is now in its eighth edition. German skippers and their crews have won the race twice so far, in 2015 and 2016.
What is at stake for the team from the North German Regatta Club in this edition and how the team wants to improve on its third place from last year
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
