It's on to Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables for Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink. At least the young "Signforcom" co-skippers are trying by all means. After breaking their rudder in the late afternoon of 29 June, the Class 40 sailors arrived in the port of Porto on Friday morning with their Pogo 40 S4. On the way there, they had to endure another 45 knots of wind overnight. "We were somehow doubly penalised," reported Melwin Fink.
Lightning journey: Burke picks up the spare parts in less than 20 hours via Porto, Brest, Paris and back
Even before the harbour office opened, the "Signforcom" entered the harbour without any problems. Here, the sailors are now working at full speed, well protected, on their re-entry into Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables. They benefit from the fact that there are two of them: Lennart Burke fetches the necessary spare parts, especially new rudder fittings, from France. On the afternoon of 30 June, he flies to Brest, where the Pogo shipyard brings the spare parts package for the German sailors. After the return flight with an overnight stay in Paris, Burke will be back at the boat in Porto early on Saturday morning.
At the same time, Melwin Fink is working with a local boat builder in Porto to repair the broken rudder. "We only found a suitable boat builder here and actually wanted to borrow his tools. He said that he needed them to do the work himself. Then I described our problem. He offered his help, dropped everything and got straight to work on our rudder," says Melwin Fink gratefully during the involuntary interruption of the Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables.
We definitely want to sail the second leg" (Melwin Fink)
Both the shipyard and the dedicated boat builder see the repair as feasible. "This has given us new motivation. As soon as Lennart is back, we can install the boat and get going again." The plan is to get the "Signforcom" to Horta as quickly as possible in transfer mode, where the leaders of the current first stage of Les Sables-Horta-Les-Sables are expected to arrive as early as Saturday evening.
Melwin Fink's outlook: "We could make it in three to four days, we have a pretty good weather window. It's also possible that we'll have to motor in the doldrums at the end. Of course, the leg is over. But we definitely want to sail the second leg. It is simply very important for us to continue developing the boat and get to know it even better."
Our boat is super fast, the design is simply top" (Melwin Fink)
Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink have largely shaken off the great sadness after the shock of the broken oar the day before. "It still hurts a bit, because we were in such a good position. If it had gone on like this without the broken oar, it would probably be worth a fourth or fifth place now. Our boat is super fast, the design is simply top," says Melwin Fink. Despite only being 21 years old, he also knows: "If you're sailing at 35 knots with a spinnaker, which you have to do because the others are doing it too, then you can't be too sad if something happens."
The two Germans have also learnt something in the French-dominated Class 40 scene: Their keel from last year doesn't seem to be very inferior to the new keel designs from this year. Pogo had also offered Burke and Fink an exchange, but this is too expensive for the "Signforcom" partners as they move up in the Class 40. "You can be wise and wait and see how everything develops. That's what the owner of our boat advised us to do. And we're not slow with last year's keel ...", says Melwin Fink
After the Fastnet Race it's off to Fehmarn
They are planning a refit on Fehmarn following the Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables and after their participation in the Rolex Fastnet Race. "The 'Signforcom' will be taken out of the water once, keel off, rudder off and made pretty again," says Melwin Fink, who was able to smile again after the break. The christening of the Pogo with the new project partner is also on the programme there in late summer.
