Extreme weather conditions were the hallmark of the 2013 North Sea Week: calm, fog, gale-force winds and even some sunshine - the weather presented participants and organisers with major challenges. Five out of 13 races had to be abandoned or cancelled. The North Sea is still very fresh due to the extremely long period of cold weather into April. With water temperatures of six degrees, the risk of fog increases. Wind that is still quite warm on land becomes freezing cold on the water, the relative humidity rises and fog develops.
"The North Sea Week 2013 was - from a sailing perspective - one of the most difficult so far: fog, weak and shifting winds, the current of the North Sea around Helgoland demanded a lot from tactics and navigation in addition to sailing skills and were equally decisive," said Stefan Lehnert, long-time race director and active regatta sailor himself. "Unfortunately, after the Haspa Private Banking Cup race from Wedel to Cuxhaven was cancelled by the authorities, the Inducon Cup Helgoländer Acht and all return races also had to be cancelled due to the weak winds. However, all feeder regattas, the Early Bird series and, of course, the highlight of the Capitell Rund Helgoland Cup were successfully completed, albeit under adverse conditions."
With 151 yachts, the North Sea Week had an increasing number of entries again this year. "Of course we had more entries last year, but that's normal in the years with the very popular Pantaenius-Rund-Skagen regatta," said organisation manager Bernd Jörg, pleased with the popularity, "Many sailors from the Baltic use the last race of the North Sea Week every two years to bring their boat back. The fact that we were able to increase the number of entries by more than ten per cent compared to 2011 - even though many sailors have not even put their boats in the water yet due to the prolonged winter cold - shows that we are on the right track with the North Sea Week."
The North Sea Week offers special challenges with the regattas to and around Heligoland. The alternating races to Edinburgh and to Kiel around Skagen are the final events of the week. In addition to the sea regattas - probably the most demanding in Germany in terms of sailing - the week's attractive land programme offers a further incentive to visit the "Red Rock in the North Sea" over Whitsun.
"If sailing is cancelled here and there due to the weather conditions, then that's not so tragic - Heligoland and the evening parties are always an experience," said Torsten Conradi, Partner at the renowned design office Judel & Vrolijk. "I didn't sail in one of the ambitious regatta teams this year, but took part in the Family Cruiser Cup with my boat and family. It's also a great way to experience North Sea Week without spinnakers and measuring."
On the Friday before Whitsun, the week traditionally begins with the Haspa Private Banking Cup from Wedel to Cuxhaven. After the start location had to be moved down the Elbe due to a calm, the haze soon thickened into fog with visibility of less than 1000 metres after the start. At the Medemgrund, visibility became even worse and was less than 300 metres in places. After consultation with the Cuxhaven control centre and the water police, the race was abandoned by the shipping police.
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However, the sundowner race of the Early Bird series from Cuxhaven to Helgoland was able to start again on time at 7.00 pm in good visibility conditions. Thanks to good winds of between 12 and 16 knots, the RP 57 "Scho-Ka-Kola" reached the finish line off Helgoland after just 4 hours and 7 minutes.
The Saturday of the North Sea Week is always the biggest challenge for the race committee and organisation team. Six races with five starting locations and two finishes take place on a single day: Four feeder races and two races in the early bird series.
The feeder race from Cuxhaven to Helgoland, the Minox Cup, was characterised by light, shifting winds. Wisps of fog again made navigation difficult in this race. The first ship to cross the finish line was the "Haspa Hamburg", the JV 52 of the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt e. V., which won the Red-Green-White Ribbon. The fastest from Hallig Hooge was Kai Kröger's "Bajazzo", a J 102. Wolfram Heibeck's "Black Maggy", an Open 32 built by Spezialbootsbau, was the first to cross the finish line from Wilhelmshaven, and Carsten Burfeind's IMX 40 "Morran" from Bremerhaven snapped up one of the four coveted ribbons.
At the same time, the sailors who had arrived on Helgoland with the Sundowner race the previous night started the first race off the island at 12.00 noon: Hummer 1 of the Early Bird series. This regatta was also repeatedly interspersed with wafts of fog. The wind died during the Hummer 2 race. Some participants got stuck in a wind hole and were driven back by the capsizing current until the wind from the island also reached them. Nevertheless, all yachts were moored in the harbour at around 5 pm. Klaus Uwe Stryi's IMX 40 "PAX" won the overall series ranking and thus the Helgoland Hummer Cup.
On Sunday, the participants in the highlight of the North Sea Week, the Capitell Cup Rund Helgoland, had to demonstrate exceptional seamanship. 81 yachts arrived at the starting line of the Capitell Cup at 9.30 a.m. and presented a magnificent picture despite the hazy weather. Unfortunately, Heligoland was hidden in the haze during the entire race. "It was really spooky how the boats emerged from the fog," said Jobst Wellensiek, for whom it was the second North Sea Week. "In the final hours of the race, we had to rely 100 per cent on our navigator."
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Thanks to the efforts of the dinghy drivers and the Danish Home Defence launch and support vessel, all finishes were recorded despite limited visibility. "I was particularly pleased with the excellent and constructive cooperation with the authorities on Heligoland this year," said Lehnert. He was relieved that the race could be completed in its entirety. "The conditions were anything but ideal, but the participants demonstrated a high level of seamanship."
The first boat to cross the finish line and winner of the Capitell Cup was Dr Gerhardt Clausen's 82-foot maxi "Calypso" after just 4 hours and 23 minutes. Dr Bernhard Buchwald's "Xenia", skippered by Ralf Lässig, an XP-44, won the Nordseewoche "Rund Helgoland" prize in the ORC 1 group. The ORCi 2 group was again dominated by Klaus-Uwe Stryi's "Pax". In the ORC Club group, Manfred Böttcher was victorious with his "Kühnezug Goldkatze" and received the Christian Noltenius Memorial Prize. The ORCi 3 group and thus the Cheerio challenge prize was won by perennial winner "Patent 3" skippered by Jürgen Klinghardt and Jens Tschentscher. The ORC 3 Club was won by "Coyote", a J 27 owned by Jan Schwital. Among the family cruisers, local favourite Torsten Conradi won with his "Esta". A special prize was awarded to Werner Landwehr and his "Dessert d'Alcyone", a Beneteau F II, BYC. Marinepool awarded three life jackets for its 50th participation in the North Sea Week, the 40th in a row in its own boat.
After the prize-giving ceremony, many sailors found no end to the Capitell Regatta Party in the Nordseehalle. One suspects that many were quite happy when the highlight of Whit Monday, the Inducon Cup Helgoländer Acht, could not be started the following morning due to a calm. This meant that the valuable silver prize could not be awarded again. As there was also a complete calm for the rest of the day, the return races were also cancelled. A queue of yachts formed at the Helgoland petrol station to stock up on fuel for the return journey.
The winners of the overall and special classifications have now been decided: The "Kamlade", owned and sailed by Gordon Nickel, is the winner of the North Sea Cup. The Platu 25 is almost the smallest boat of the North Sea Week and yet it sailed to the best result in the overall ranking of the Capitell Cup Round Helgoland and the Minox Cup from Cuxhaven to Helgoland.
The Family Cruiser Cup was won by Imke Schürenstedt and crew on the "Die Zwei", a Westerly Oceanlord 41 from WYC Bremen.
