The North Sea Week is 100 years old. Against the backdrop of the corona cancellations of the past two years, this is a particularly good reason to finally have a full harbour at the foot of the red rock again at Whitsun. The organising Regattagemeinschaft Nordseewoche has put together a correspondingly extensive regatta package. The organisers are expecting a great response. Even sailors who have not been to the Nordseewoche for a while might be drawn to Heligoland with nostalgic feelings. Demanding highlights such as the IDM sea sailing competition for double-handed crews or the classic Pantaenius Rund Skagen Race are expected to have an additional magnetic effect. If you want to take part but don't have a boat or crew, you can submit your offer via Crew exchange (please click) publicise. The exchange also works the other way round for teams looking for reinforcements. The diversity of the North Sea Week over Whitsun (3 to 6 June) ranges from the high-class championship to challenging North Sea races and relaxed family events, as well as classic competitions, virtual regattas and the long-distance finale.
The IDM Seesegeln in the Doublehand class will be sailed for the first time as part of the North Sea Week. Races in the Capitell Cup Rund Helgoland and the long-distance Pantaenius Rund Skagen will form the demanding championship challenge for the duos. In order to guarantee them undisturbed starts, a separate starting group is planned for the championship sailors, who will be sent into the races before all other participants in the North Sea Week. The IDM is organised by the Altona-Oevelgönne Sailing Association in cooperation with the North Sea Week. An ambitious field is expected.
The Family Cruiser Cup is for all those who prefer to get a relaxed taste of regatta sailing without a master's certificate, spinnaker or gennaker. The motto: uncomplicated offshore sailing and having fun at the same time. A separate Family Cruiser Cup classification is offered for the feeder races, the Capitell Cup and the Helgoland Eight. Each boat will be assigned a race value by the race organisers. Anyone whose boat is safe and does not exceed a length of 13.50 metres can take part.
A classic rating for the heroes of yesteryear
Over the past 100 years, many legendary yachts have taken part in the North Sea Week. The successes of the KR and IOR yachts at the North Sea Week have often guaranteed that German yachtsmen have been able to shine at major events such as the Admiral's Cup. In honour of its history, the North Sea Week has therefore announced two classic classifications for 2022: one for yachts built between 1922 and 1970 according to KLR, the classic rating of the Freundeskreis Klassischer Yachten, and one for the group of IOR legends built between 1971 and 1988. The old IOR measurement certificates will be converted into an ORC Club measurement certificate and issued free of charge by the Deutscher Segler-Verband e.V. (German Sailing Association). Entries can be made for both classifications in the Noblex Cup Cuxhaven-Helgoland, Capitell Cup Rund Helgoland and Helgoländer Acht races. This could bring back memories of the North Sea Week summits of the 1980s and 1990s. A brief look back at the 52nd North Sea Week in 1986 reveals this: "Helgoland harbour is so full that a red traffic light is being considered to block access with 350 yachts in the harbour."
The North Sea Week - also a tradition - does not waste a single nautical mile: the journey to the island is the sporting prelude. Via feeder races from Cuxhaven (Noblex Cup), Hooksiel (Jade), Bremerhaven and Hallig Hooge, the sailors will arrive on Heligoland on Whitsun Saturday. The oldest Hamburg-Cuxhaven race (première: 1908) takes place on Friday and leads the sailors to the opening ceremony in Cuxhaven. The Early Bird series, which is aimed at particularly ambitious crews, starts on Friday evening with the Sundowner Regatta from Cuxhaven to Helgoland. On Saturday, up to three up-and-down races, the Hummer races, will be sailed on the North Sea. The races take their name from the travelling prize associated with them: the tin lobster.
The Capitell Cup Rund Helgoland is one of the highlights of the island's sailing fun. The participants start on the open sea on a total of three courses of different lengths (ORC 1-2, ORC 3-4, Family Cruiser). This is where many of the legendary impressions of the official North Sea Week photographer Hinrich Franck were taken: long chains of colourful sails on the horizon, duels in front of the Lange Anna or yachts surfing down the North Sea wave.
Always in even years: Pantaenius Round Skagen Race
Always in years with an even number, the North Sea Week long-distance regatta runs from Helgoland via Skagen in Denmark to Kiel in the Baltic Sea. Before the participants set off on the 510-mile regatta course on Whit Monday, all yachts are asked to pass through a gate on the eastern pier. When passing through the gate, each crew must present a properly rigged storm sail and the crew must show their life jackets with lifebelts. From the pier, the race committee will check whether the equipment complies with the rules. Attempts to discuss this with the race committee via radio are not uncommon. Only after passing the checks are the yachts finally allowed to set off on the course, the finish line of which is in the Kiel Fjord off Schilksee. For all those who do not want to sail to Kiel, the North Sea Week offers the return races. There are races from Helgoland to Cuxhaven, to Wilhelmshaven and to Bremerhaven. The start is shortly after the finish at the Helgoländer Acht. Click here for the registration portal: nordseewoche.org (please click!).
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
