Final at the 10th Silverrudder 2021! Of a second victory, breakage at sea and records in a row

An anniversary edition could hardly have been organised in a more fitting way: The 10th Silverrudder will be remembered as a race of new records. However, the conditions were also associated with hardship, hardship and hardship. This was felt by participants in all classes, from top competitors to adventurous amateur skippers.

The trimaran "Kwatscheule" lost its mast shortly after the start. Trimaran skipper Brian Kjærskov Nielsen's Dragonfly 800 "Trunte" capsized a few hours after the start north of the Great Belt Bridge and was finally rescued by the "Søværnet" crew after dedicated assistance from other starters. However, the soloists in the smallest divisions without autopilots were particularly challenged as they had to contend with winds gusting up to 25 knots and corresponding swell at times.

Among them was the Olympic 49erFX silver medallist Susann Beucke, who passed her baptism of fire with a small Seascape 18 / Beneteau First 18 SE. The 30-year-old, the most decorated sailor in the field of 354 starters, finished 36th in her class. "It was tough, it felt like we always had the current and wind against us, and at times I found it quite scary to let go of the helm and go to the foreship," said the Strander, who never gave up and was proud at the end of the race, even after setbacks such as a twisted gennaker in the black dark night and a nerve-wracking clearing that triggered great feelings of happiness at the end. On the plus side, after crossing the finish line, there was "a great learning effect", the realisation that in future "I'd rather start a solo regatta with autopilot", unforgettable natural spectacles and "a growing great sense of community in the fleet".

The two Dehler 30-od pilots Oliver Schmidt-Rybandt from Speedsailing in Rostock and Max Gurgel from Vmax Yachting in Hamburg provided the most thrilling duel for a class win. The two pre-start favourites in the Medium division fought the expected duel and gave each other nothing until the finish of the Rund-Fünen-Rallye. At some point, they even stopped counting the many lead changes in their duel. At the finish, Oliver Schmidt-Rybandt officially crossed the line two seconds ahead of Gurgel - after 134 nautical miles! The final was so close that the organisers had initially even listed Max Gurgel as the winner for several hours. By then, however, the helmsman from the Hamburg Sailing Club had long since congratulated his rival Schmidt-Rybandt fairly. And he in turn had celebrated his victory and the associated new course record in the small keelboat class with sparklers. Schmidt-Rybandt beat the old record set by Franz Schollmeyer on his legendary Esse 850 "Firlefranz" (20:23:14) by almost two hours at 18 hours, 32 minutes and 58 seconds.

In fact, the best times were set in all seven starter groups. In the Mini Small division, Jørgen Mohh Ernst raced to a new record in a Melges 24 in just 19 hours, 27 minutes and 23 seconds. The Medium keelboat division was won by the confident Dane Jan B. Hansen with his Beneteau Figaro 2 in 18 hours, 31 minutes and 47 seconds. In Svendborg harbour, which quickly filled up again on Saturday, Hansen said in his usual relaxed manner after the race: "I have achieved what I came here for."

Wolfram Heibeck also lived up to his status as favourite among the large keelboats with the "Black Maggy". And - as the other sailors saw it, and as he himself confirmed - he did so at a gentle pace without taking too many risks. The man from Hooksiel propelled his 40-foot monohull, which in its original form and only 32 feet long once held the record in the Medium class, to a new record of 17 hours, 36 minutes and 50 seconds in the Large class.

As expected, the fastest monohull round Funen was achieved by the exceptional Danish sailor Jan Møller with his Germán Frers 49 one off "Dream on" in 16 hours, 57 minutes and 10 seconds. The fastest small multihull was Peter Lang's "Diam 24" in 14 hours, 43 minutes and 17 seconds. The fastest Silverrudder lap overall this year - no surprise - was completed by Jan Andersen's trimaran "Black Marlin" in just 14 hours, 8 minutes and 53 seconds. Click here for the Silverrudder results 2021 (please click!).

"Cool race", "awesome race", "tough race": Almost all Silverrudder starters experienced the tenth edition of the Danish classic for solo sailors and adventurers as challenging, but also fulfilling. Those who finished were proud of it. "I am very happy. It was a really tough race because there was no breathing space. The best part was in the north of Funen, where it was really tough. I'm happy with my third place," said Dutchman Gerben Bos, who had lured a growing group of now six enthusiastic Silverrudder friends from Holland to Svendborg and announced more competitors for the next edition.

Alexander Friedrich, who crossed the finish line in 48th place in the small keelboat group with his Hiddensee "Hedinsoe", said: "It was the best Silverrudder so far, simply beautiful all round." This also included the natural spectacles at night. "The sea lights were like Milky Way in the wake," enthused Friedrich. You can read the big report from the 10th anniversary Silverrudder with comments from starters from all classes and lots of background information in theYACHT 21/2021.