Mini-Transat qualification: 1000 nautical miles single-handed non-stop at the age of 17

"It was something different from skiing!" was how the 17-year-old described his solo trip between the Canary Islands and Madeira shortly before reaching his destination.

He had set off on his first big tour on Christmas Eve with a mixture of anticipation and uncertainty as to how he would cope with the conditions and the loneliness. And it would be a great misnomer to say that everything went according to plan.

Several calm zones made his qualification for the Mini-Transat 2021 agonisingly long. In particular, the light winds off La Palma and Tenerife for the final were "nerve-wracking", Melwin Fink told YACHT online. "But no matter, you learn to deal with it," he commented. The experience "can't hurt" for future races.

On the last ten of the more than 1000 nautical miles, there were, ironically, "30 to 35 knots from the front". But the high school student, who will graduate from high school in the spring and then wants to focus entirely on sailing, didn't let this put him off. And so, late this afternoon, he sailed into the harbour of Gran Canaria and did what his classmates must have done on New Year's Eve: a small pyrotechnic firework display. For the photo, he lit a hand torch on the side deck.

Melwin Fink, who approaches his mini-campaign in an extremely targeted and structured manner, was sailing his new boat for the first time, the Pogo 3 of Hendrik Witzmann, who was unable to sail it from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean as planned during this year's mini-transat for health reasons. So the youngest German skipper in the French-dominated class took over the 6.50 metre short racer on the spot - and completed his 1000-mile solo while hoarfrost covered the landscape at home and fairy lights adorned the front gardens.

"In terms of sailing, the Pogo is once again in a different league to my old Mini," said Melwin in an initial summary. "The new boat worked perfectly until Madeira and I was more than satisfied." In addition to the capricious wind, however, there was another serious test for him.

Around 60 nautical miles after rounding Madeira, his "mountain festival", a cable fire paralysed his entire instrument system and caused a lithium battery to burn out. "Fortunately, I was able to fix it, connect the important systems to the second battery and continue sailing on this one." However, his energy budget was severely limited after that; the young skipper was only able to sail a whole night under autopilot after sunny days. "But I also had two nights completely without power - it wasn't so funny." Of course, he never thought about giving up or stopping for repairs.

"Psychologically, the loneliness wasn't a problem at all." Even doldrums and cable fires didn't put him off his stride. "I'm now even more motivated for the upcoming regattas and the Transat," says Melwin Fink. And is already thinking ahead: "The next goal is to sail the Azores Race in July."

No question: the 17-year-old will be a force to be reckoned with. It's quite possible that 2021 will be one of the Germans' strongest years in the Mini-Transat. Lina Rixgens and Lennart Burke also already have their campaigns lined up, and more solo skippers are likely to join them.

Click here for Melwin's YouTube channel

And here to his website