Garmin Round Denmark Race Inshore & Offshore: A challenging sailing adventure for long-distance enthusiasts

Last weekend the Garmin Round Denmark Race Inshore & Offshore to and from Aarhus came to an end. Once again, it proved to be one of the most challenging races in Northern Europe. Once again, the sailing adventure tested above all the endurance and all-round qualities of its participants, including repair skills at sea. Organised by Morten Brandt's company Shorthand ECM in cooperation with Sailing Aarhus and the Aarhus International Sailing Center, the Garmin Round Denmark offers an attractive stage for those sailors who enjoy challenging long-distance races. Those who finish here have achieved a lot. Anyone who sets off with ambitions of winning cannot start without a good plan and the appropriate set-up.

On both the inshore and offshore courses, the participants in the summer race in Danish, German and Swedish waters were sent on distances that require completely different preparations and a completely different routine than short distances do. The official distances on the two courses are 640 nautical miles for the inshore variant and 760 nautical miles for the offshore round. In reality, there are many more miles in each case. For comparison and a better idea: the distances correspond to trips from the offshore starting harbour of Esbjerg to Brest (640 nautical miles) or to Lorient (760 nautical miles). Once again, the participants will remember the short, magical June nights that make the race so special.

Highlights and challenges

One of the most memorable moments of this year's edition was when Esben Pilegaard crossed the finish line after almost nine days at sea. He had completed the offshore course single-handed on his X79 "Relax". His conclusion: "It was an incredible experience with many highs and lows, but also with many adversities. I have three autopilots, all of which failed. So I steered manually all the way from Bornholm, but at some point that also became routine. You can overcome adversity. I have learnt that."

The scene in which the double-handed sailors were served a new start between the two bridges over the Little Belt after 600 nautical miles also remains unforgettable. Richard van Leeween from the Dutch Hod 35 "ExtraHod", which was the third double-handed boat to finish, said: "It's so challenging to sail in Denmark. The weather and the wind change all the time. You have to be a good navigator and meteorologist. And then, of course, you have to have stamina."

How Anders Johansen narrowly escaped disaster

JPK 10.30 skipper Anders Johansen made frightening headlines this year when he hit a large steel cutter with the bowsprit of his "Beluga" while he himself was in the toilet. After the race he said: "I was shaken and still am. I consider it lucky that nothing happened to the boat and that I'm still alive." Johansen eventually crossed the finish line a good seven hours after the Swedish XP-44 "Xar", which completed the offshore course in single-handed mode in 4 days, 16 hours and 28 seconds.

Jens Thuesen's first 24 hours on the offshore course also deserve a mention. He completed 284.3 nautical miles with Jens Quorning and Tor Belkov on the Dragonfly 40c trimaran "Flying Dragon" at an average speed of 11.8 knots. His summary was correspondingly enthusiastic: "The Garmin Round Denmark Race is a great race. I think many can see that after this week. For us, it was even more amazing to get the trimaran out on the North Sea and feel what it can do out here."

Andreas Willim: "Because these are conditions that the boat loves"

The fastest two-handed crew on the inshore course this summer were Andreas Willim and Tom Gosch on the JPK 38 "Belle" after last year's poor performance. Immediately after the race, Tom Gosch said in a first flash interview: "We had some trouble on the course, but were able to repair everything." It was probably more than helpful that Gosch is not only well known in the sailing scene as a successful sailor, but also as a master electrician. Andreas Willim continued: "Two nights before the finish, we lost our autopilot. It had suddenly started going round in circles. So we had to check and repair it. The repair took us more than 30 hours, but we finally fixed it." When asked which sections of the race they particularly enjoyed, Willim said: "Especially the long ones. I love the long run to Skagen. As soon as you go out here and start the first night, there's this long, rough section to Skagen. We had strong winds and all the boats were close together. The section to Bornholm, which we were able to tack with a small headsail and a small gennaker, was also nice. We gained a lot there because these are the conditions that the boat loves." Willim's conclusion was positive: "We would have liked a few more boats on the course, but we really enjoyed the race. We like endurance regattas like this." Martin Görges' family team on the J 120 "Hunky Dory" sailed to fourth place in the inshore classification for crews. A total of 23 yachts took part in the Round Denmark Race. This is set to increase significantly next year.

New record times for the still young Garmin Round Denmark Race

There were new records at all distances this year

Inshore/one-handed: Claus Cato, Archambault 35 "Emily", 4 days, 15 hours, 58 minutes, 0 seconds; Inshore 2Star: Andreas Willim & Tom Gosh, JPK 38 "Belle", 5 days, 2 hours, 39 minutes, 40 seconds; Inshore/crew: Henrik Jørgensen, Xp44 "Xbox", 4 days, 4 hours, 56 minutes, 33 seconds; Offshore/Inshore: Rikard Roth, Xp44 Xar, 4 days, 16 hours, 0 minutes, 28 seconds; Offshore/Crew: Jens Thuesen, Dragonfly 40c Flying Dragon, 3 days, 20 hours, 14 minutes, 7 seconds.