The Pantaenius Rund Skagen regatta, which started as part of the North Sea Week, was dramatic at times. Many yachts turned back in the storm or sailed into Danish harbours. The "Hexe" celebrates victory in Kiel.
At 3.32 pm, Norbert Plambeck's "Hexe" from Cuxhaven was the first yacht to reach the finish line at Kiel lighthouse. The weather there was almost calm and sunny after the previous rough weather. The crew needed 45 hours, 32 minutes and 35 seconds to cover the distance of 510 nautical miles from Helgoland around Skagen to the coast near Laboe.
The average speed was therefore 11.2 knots. This was not enough to set a new record. This is still held by the "Uca", which sailed the route in 43 hours in 2000 at an average speed of 11.8 knots.
"It's a shame that the wind didn't materialise for the last 15 nautical miles, we sailed the part of the Baltic further north much faster than expected," said Norbert Plambeck from the "Hexe". "Last night we had 30 knots of wind from behind the whole time, which gave us hope of breaking the record."
The "Illbruck", which has already won the Volvo Ocean Race, was in second place after the time sailed, followed by "Ambersail" and the yachts "Red" and "Bank von Bremen", which were still at Ebeltoft at 3 pm.
The "Hexe" was already about three hours ahead of the "Illbruck" in the morning and had already passed Kerteminde in Denmark by seven o'clock. It was only around three hours later that the "Illbruck", one of the two Volvo Open 60 yachts, was able to sail past Kerteminde. Another hour later, the second Volvo Open 60, the "Ambersail" from Lithuania, passed the town.
However, not all boats were able to complete the regatta so successfully. The Class 40 "Pogo 2" had sailed into Esbjerg the previous morning. In the evening at around 7 p.m., the crew of Tom Hayhoe's "Orca" from Great Britain, which was considered the favourite together with "Red", reported that they had abandoned the race with minor damage in Hanstholm. Over the course of yesterday, other boats had abandoned the race due to minor damage, exhaustion or for safety reasons.
The following damage has been officially confirmed so far: The centre shrouds of the "Nautilus" were already broken on the first night, the crew broke off for safety reasons and returned to Helgoland. "Natascha" also turned back and returned to Tönning, as the electrical system had suffered due to water ingress. "Pogo 2" had a torn jib halyard and a defect in the headsail furling system. "Highland Fling" had to contend with serious damage. The connection between the deck and hull is said to have come loose in the foreship area.
Reinhold Riel's "Sinfonie Sylt" was particularly unlucky. The crew was well on course when the Grand Soleil 70 collided at high speed with a previously unknown object. The sailors went into the life raft due to heavy water ingress and were rescued. Meanwhile, the yacht was drifting without a pilot 10 nautical miles west of Ringkøbing Fjord.
The crew did not suffer any damage and was flown to Esbjerg by rescue helicopter; the "Sinfonie Sylt" was towed away. The salvaged yacht and crew are currently in Hvide Sande. The boat can be kept afloat with three pumps and is now to be craned. The water has caused a lot of damage, and the extent to which the keel has been damaged is now being inspected.
Marc Bielefeld
Freier Autor
