A lot is different this year. In the association sector, the pandemic is currently making itself felt with the cancellation of traditional events such as the annual general meetings, including award ceremonies for exceptional cruises of the past year. At the end of November, members of Trans Ocean e.V. (TO) from all over Germany had planned to meet for the annual general meeting followed by a festive evening in Cuxhaven - which was of course cancelled.
"But the prizes are also awarded after such a year, because there are still sailing achievements to be honoured, even if a trip had to be ended earlier than planned, if destinations could not be reached and many crews were thwarted by a virus on their trips," says Egon Lutomsky, Deputy Chairman of the association, who has steered the association through the pandemic times and the search for a new head of the association since Peter Wiedekamm resigned in September.
Honours in Corona mode
Two prizes were even presented in person - in a very small circle without guests due to the coronavirus.Susanne Huber-Curphey received on board her aluminium yacht "Nehaj", with which she moored for the winter in Bremerhaven, theTrans-Ocean Prize.
This is the third time that the passionate single-handed sailor has received the award for the most challenging voyage of the past twelve months. The decisive factor in this case was her return to Europe in spring 2020 after her outstanding circumnavigation, for which she was honoured with the Seamanship Award from the renowned British Ocean Cruising Club earlier this year.
Alone and non-stop around the world - and more
As part of the "Longe Route", a non-stop circumnavigation in memory of Bernard Moitessier's voyage 50 years earlier, Susanne Huber-Curphey set off from the US East Coast in 2018. After reaching the southern Atlantic, she followed Moitessier's route and, like him, did not sail back to Europe after passing Cape Horn in 1969, but continued eastwards.
Only after 33,043 nautical miles, 251 days at sea and one-and-a-half single-handed non-stop circumnavigations did she dock again in Tasmania.
On the return journey towards the east coast of the US, the fatal accident occurred - with a happy outcome: "Nehaj" ran aground off Réunion due to an anchor that failed to hold. The badly damaged ship was born. After an initial repair on site, the journey continued via Cape Town and Martinique to Sneek in the Netherlands, where the voyage ended after another 12,600 miles in April 2020 with a stop at the shipyard before the skipper headed for her current winter quarters.
The laudatory speech at today's award ceremony was given by Astrid Ewe, who, together with her sister Ulrike, has already organised numerous challenging trips to high latitudes on the steel yacht "Luna" (YACHT 2/2020).
Cruise assistants at home
The challenge prizeOcean Awardthe Association of Ocean Sailors awards to the volunteers of the so-calledTrans Ocean Rolling Home Team.
In early summer 2020, the group consisting of members of the TO, the amateur radio club Intermar e.V. and the Cruising Club Switzerland (CCS) organised numerous crews' return trips from the Caribbean to their home countries free of charge. supported with weather, route and location information (YACHT 16/2020).
Due to the pandemic, they were unexpectedly confronted with unexpected problems, and the return journey home had become a cruise with completely new challenges due to the unclear situation regarding harbour closures and entry restrictions. The "Rolling Home Team" contacted important transit harbours to provide the yachts with at least basic supplies and breaks and provided them with up-to-date weather data.
Around the world and across the Atlantic
Two single-handed sailors receive the 2020TO World Circumnavigator Award:
Sebastian Groth crossed the Atlantic with a friend in 2017, explored the Caribbean islands sometimes alone, sometimes as a couple, but travelled large parts of his tour around the world single-handed on the Bénéteau First 35 "Frida". 33,421 nautical miles took him westwards around the world, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific, including to Bali, across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope, to Namibia and, after three years, back to Germany in summer 2019.
AlsoAndreas Dohmeier sailed his Hanseat Commodore 42 "Kama" around the world solo on the barefoot route from June 2012. After eight years and 42,667 nautical miles, he returned home in 2020.
TheTO medal receives for his ambitious long-distance trip with good travel preparationMartin Daldrup. In 2019, he set off on his first Atlantic tour with his Bavaria 34 "Jambo" and was caught out in the Caribbean by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming hurricane season.
In May 2020, Daldrup set off on his return voyage to Europe, which ultimately took him back to Germany via a far northerly route past the British Isles. The remarkable solo voyage took 42 days and 5130 nautical miles (interview in YACHT 16/2020; YouTube channel "M Jambo").
Shooting star in the Mini 6.50
TheTO cup for outstanding sporting achievement at seaLennart Burke. After the TO campaign for the 2021 Mini-Transat collapsed, he successfully set up his own and impressed the French Mini scene and observers here in Germany several times last season.
In the first major solo race of the season - "Les Sables - Les Açores en baie de Morlaix" - Burke and his Pogo 3 "Vorpommern" finished third in the overall series boat rankings, just behind the two leading minis. In the subsequent Concarneau duo, he and mini rookie Oliver Tesloff took fifth place after a nerve-wracking light wind thriller and remained within striking distance of the leaders here too.
