The first race of the 80th North Sea Week started at 8.30 am on Friday. With winds of 4 to 5 from the south and sunshine, race director Jürgen Raddatz fired the first starting shot for the traditional Hamburg-Cuxhaven race across the Elbe off Wedel. 43 yachts rushed across the starting line at high speed in two groups. Over the course of the morning, the wind freshened and quickly drove the fleet to Brunsbüttel. Some participants struggled with the gusts, some of which reached over 20 knots. Spectacular sun shots were the result. In the leading group, a container freighter split the fleet at Stade. Some fast yachts had the pleasure of surfing the bow wave of the container freighter, which was over 300 metres long, for over a quarter of an hour. Due to the course of the fairway and a shift in the wind, the yachts had to cross from Brunsbüttel.
Nevertheless, the Ker 51 "Varuna" sailed by and with Jens Kellinghusen crossed the finish line in Cuxhaven at 12:33:35, after just 3 hours and 27 minutes. The matt black high-tech yacht thus won its group. In the overall ORCi classification, the Swan 47 "Elan" with Harald Baum at the helm took 9th place, well ahead of the IMX 40 "Pax" with helmsman Klaus-Uwe Stryi. Berend Beilken won the ORC Club group with his "Ballerina".
The Elbe is one of the busiest waterways in the world. In addition to challenges such as wind shifts, currents and shallows, there are also encounters with commercial shipping. This year, the water police on the boat "Bürgermeister Weichmann" were very satisfied with the behaviour of the participants and the cooperation with the race organisers. "There was a lot of large shipping during the start procedure," said Jürgen Raddatz, who particularly praised the good communication with the race control centre and the water police. They helped to ensure that the launch went off without a hitch despite the heavy traffic. The race director was also pleased with the work of the safety boats. "Our safety boats always organised that the fairway remained clear."
The 80th North Sea Week was officially opened in Cuxhaven at 7 pm on Friday. Just an hour later, some particularly ambitious participants set off on the sundowner race to Helgoland. Due to the weather forecast, the finish was brought forward to buoy 2 in the Outer Elbe so that the engine could be used in the doldrums all the way to Helgoland. The IMX40 "PAX" with Klaus-Uwe Stryi at the tiller won the ORCi 2 group. The first yachts arrived on the island at around 1.00 a.m. and celebrated their arrival at the Düsseldorfer Abend with Frankenheim Alt. The Alexseal Lounge in the boot Düsseldorf Race Village at Helgoland's south harbour did not close until 4.00 am.
After this brilliant start, the North Sea Week set further sailing highlights on Saturday. Whitsun Saturday greeted the participants on Heligoland with bright sunshine and excellent sailing conditions.
The Hummer 1 race started on time at 12.00 noon. The wind held out until the evening, so that the third race of the Early Bird Series also took place in perfect conditions.
For the sailors coming from Cuxhaven, the Minox Cup also offered dream conditions almost all the time. The weather forecast did not promise anything good at first. It was calm at the start and there were brief wind holes. Although the overall wind strength was sufficient to beat the tide, it took experience to assess the effects of the current. As a result, some yachts missed the start line and had to sail back with difficulty against the onset of the tide. Those who used the engine to help gave up or were disqualified.
After about an hour and a half, the wind picked up from the sea and the Minox Cup yachts sailed towards Helgoland with roaring bow waves. After just three hours and 25 minutes, the canting keel yacht "Opal" skippered by Edward Reinholdt was the first ship to arrive in Helgoland.
Coming from Bremerhaven, the Dufour 44 Performance, skippered by Torsten Rückholdt, was the first ship on Heligoland. The "Oromocto" skippered by Kai Greten won the largest group ORC 3/4. The old wooden monohull from 1971 is now in its third generation of family ownership - proof that consistency and experience are also a success factor at regattas.
Due to the north-easterly wind, the yachts from Wilhelmshaven had the longest journey. The winner here was Tanno Kruse's "circus maximus", a small but fast X 79.
The regatta field from Hallig Hooge was mainly made up of participants from the Family Cruiser Cup. Jörg Hansen and his Hanseat 66 ks won the exciting race with many lead changes ahead of Leif Boyen's Albin Vega.
Head of organisation Marcus Boehlich was visibly satisfied: "The weather has surprised us positively so far - the conditions were great. No wonder the atmosphere here on Heligoland is even better than usual."
Lull on Sunday
122 yachts had registered for the most traditional race of the North Sea Week, the Capitell Cup. However, only 96 yachts turned up for the start of the Cup. According to insider reports, the effects of the boot Düsseldorf party are said to have caused considerable gaps in the crews. Sponsor boot Düsseldorf had invited the band "United Four" to celebrate the 80th anniversary, the atmosphere in the Nordseehalle was excellent, as was the alcohol consumption apparently.
Shortly before the start, the wind broke. The result: the start was postponed. A shift in the wind and a lull thwarted the punctual start. After a good 20 minutes, the wind seemed to pick up. After intensive consultation with weather expert Meeno Schader, race director Stefan Lehnert decided to start. However, the wind dropped again during the start. Some boats anchored. Others pushed past the field on the right thanks to a current edge. After around an hour of nerve-racking racing, a steady wind from the north-east set in, which quickly drove the fleet past Heligoland's west coast.
In the early afternoon, a convergence line brought some rain and - far more unpleasant for the sailors - its cloud systems disrupted the gradient wind. In practice, this meant that the competitors in the north-east of the island had to contend with several lulls, rain and wind shifts across the entire compass rose. These tactically highly demanding conditions caused some shifts in the rankings. In consultation with Meeno Schrader, Stefan Lehnert decided to shorten the course for almost all yachts - except for the fast regatta boats in the ORCi 1 group, as the fastest had already sailed the shortenable part of the round and were on their way towards the southern island of Düne. The slower boats in the ORCi 1 group were hit hard by the convergence line, meaning that they were almost the last to cross the finish line.
"The conditions today were very challenging and difficult, but our sailors coped well with them!" said a delighted Stefan Lehnert, Race Director of the North Sea Week. "I am grateful for the advice from Meeno Schrader, which has been possible for several years thanks to our sponsor boot Düsseldorf."
