Class40: "Sign for Com" christened - Burke and Fink soon on course for Transat
Tatjana Pokorny
· 22.08.2023
Partners, sponsors, fans and sailing friends celebrated the christening of the Class40 "Sign for Com" at the Schaich boatyard on Fehmarn at the weekend. "It was a beautiful and authentic celebration without any fancy dress. We were finally able to get together in person with our sponsors and outfitters and everyone who supports us. It was so much fun," says Lennart Burke.
Christening and refit of the Class40 at the Schaich boatyard on Fehmarn
It was no coincidence that Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink completed the boat christening and refit at the Schaich boatyard. Even when Lennart Burke was a youngster learning to sail at the Dänholm sailing school in Stralsund, Philipp Schaich was one of his neighbours. A good four years ago, Philipp Schaich took over the former Beelitz shipyard on Fehmarnsund, which he now runs successfully with a small, effective team of a dozen employees.
Lennart Burke remembered Philipp Schaich when he and his team partner Melwin Fink were looking for an easily accessible and centrally located place in the north of Germany where the Class40 could be refitted and christened. The "Sign for Com" has already been on Fehmarn for weeks, being made fit for upcoming regattas by her own team at the Schaich boatyard.
The Class40 "Sign for Com" will be back in the water this week
The hopeful baptised Philipp Schaich's nine-year-old daughter Carolina at the weekend. "The party was a lot of fun," says Lennart Burke, beaming. He continues: "The shipyard suits us as well as Fehmarn." His team was able to complete the refit project there "at a fair price", feel at home and also show the boat to interested members of the public. This time at home is slowly coming to an end.
The "Sign For Com" is due to go back into the water this week, probably on 24 or 25 August. Lennart Burke outlines the time after that: "Then we want to set everything up. Friday is for fine-tuning and final work. After that, we want to spend as many days as possible testing. The electronics need to be calibrated again. We had problems with that at the last regattas. We will have experts on board with the Baltic 500 co-organisers Cord Hall and Rasmus Töpsch. And we'll also be sailing with our partners."
The finishing touches for the Transat Jacques Vabre are made in Lorient
They will return to the base camp in France's sailing cradle La Base in Lorient "at the next best weather window". The Next Generation Sailing Team wants to arrive there by mid-September in order to have enough time to train with the Class40 for the Transat Jacques Vabre. Master boat builder Markus Mehlen from Neumünster, who is an important and experienced technician for Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink in optimising the handling of the Pogo 40 S4, will also be joining them there. The "Sign For Com" will be launched in Lorient at the beginning of October before being transferred to the starting harbour of Le Havre around two weeks before the start of the Transat.
While Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink's ambitious regatta project has solid basic funding until summer 2024, the team is still looking for a co-partner for the project. "We are on a secure footing, but we can't actually pay for any expensive refits. We're doing them anyway, because we've already reached a level that we didn't necessarily expect. But we want to maintain this level. Otherwise we wouldn't forgive ourselves."
Before, people hardly saw us, hardly said hello. It's been different since the last regattas." Lennart Burke
At the anniversary edition of the Fastnet Race, Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink were the fastest German boat to cross the finish line and put in a strong performance on what was initially a very stormy long course. They also stood out internationally at previous regattas with their fighting spirit and good placings. As a result, the next-generation duo is increasingly being recognised not only in Germany, but also by the "inner circle" of the French offshore scene.
"Before, people hardly saw us, hardly said hello. It's been different since the last regattas. We sit together once in a while, like with 'Redman' skipper Antoine Carpentier in the Azores. He even lent us his mainsail for the Rolex Fastnet Race because ours had just been rebranded. He probably wouldn't have given that to just anyone," muses Lennart Burke.
We are always kind and honest with each other. We don't want to trip ourselves up." Lennart Burke
24-year-old Lennart Burke and 21-year-old Melwin Fink have been getting better and better since joining forces last year under the umbrella of the company they founded, Next Generation Boating. The recipe for success of the two young professionals' successful joint venture so far?
Lennart Burke says: "We simply complement each other very, very well! Our path to the Mini-Transat was different, but we have the same goal that unites us: we want to make progress in sailing! We are both very ambitious. We're always kind and honest with each other and don't want to trip ourselves up. It never happens that we work against each other."
Two Class 40 sailors, one strong team
Nevertheless, in addition to comparable sailing skills, Burke and Fink have different strengths and preferences in other areas, which in turn complement each other well. Lennart Burke says: "Melwin takes care of the technical things whenever possible. If something needs to be repaired on the boat, Melwin is quicker. I'm more the organised one, who takes care of the finances, for example. We can both do everything, but it's worked out that Melwin is quicker with technical things and I'm quicker in other areas."
According to Burke, there is total balance in regatta sailing: "We don't take much from each other when sailing. We sail completely the same, and we take turns on a regular basis because we always rotate. We always discuss everything, talk about everything and change helm every two hours. When one of us is steering, the other does the rest. And vice versa."
