The German Class 40 "SignForCom" has passed its premiere in the double-handed classic Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables with flying colours. After a broken rudder on the outward leg from Les Sables-d'Olonne to Horta in the Azores, a lightning repair in Porto, the end of the leg and Lennart Burke's back injury, the team's efforts were rewarded with fourth place on the return leg. Skipper Melwin Fink, who is only 21 years old, and substitute sailor Estelle Greck from Lorient fought for this place in competition with France's best Class 40 and Figaro sailors.
Just missed the podium by 25 minutes
Melwin Fink and Estelle Greck drove their Pogo 40 S4 to fourth place in the furious final spurt of the challenging leg - right into the middle of the Class 40 establishment. "This is an incredible success," Melwin Fink exclaimed after 1,270 tough nautical miles. The "SignForCom" crossed the finish line off Les Sables-d'Olonne at 3.25 a.m. in the very early morning of 13 July. Melwin Fink and Estelle Greck's ride had lasted four days, 12 hours, 53 minutes and 13 seconds.
The furious "SignForCom" duo almost made it onto the podium: the powerful mixed crew crossed the finish line just 25 minutes after the winners of stage one: "Ibsa" with Alberto Bona and Pablo Santurde took third place on stage two. Xavier Macaire and Morgan Lagravière on "Groupe SNEF" - also a Pogo - secured victory in the final sprint on the way back. Achille Nebout and Gildas Mahé on "Amarris", who had their long lead snatched from them in the finale, came second.
We have a boat that can also win regattas. It's just up to us" (Melwin Fink)
For Melwin Fink and also for Lennart Burke, who had expected the duo in Les Sables-d'Olonne, fourth place is a more than motivating assessment of where they stand. Fink says that he has spent the past few days at sea thinking a lot about what this regatta says about the "SignForCom". His conclusion: "The fact that the regatta turned out so well after the rowing damage and Lennart's injury tells us that the boat and material are top! We have a boat that can also win regattas. So it's all down to us."
Fink also says that his team was "not always on their last legs" during the days with 25 knots of wind. "We wanted to keep the boat intact. You could see what some of the other teams had wrecked." Nevertheless, the "SignForCom" was travelling fast. "The conditions were really tough. You weren't dry for five minutes after the watch change, despite being fully kitted out. The boat was brutally fast, which was brutally wet for us," said Fink on Thursday morning, after he had tidied up the boat.
It makes a huge difference to steer the boat by hand" (Melwin Fink)
Melwin Fink and Estelle Greck steered the "SignForCom" by hand for most of the successful leg. They only let their autopilot do the work for one 18-hour reach. "It makes a huge difference to steer the boat by hand. You have to do it in these conditions, even if our autopilot is very good," says Melwin Fink.
After days of average speeds of 17 or 18 knots and 24-hour rides of 400 or more nautical miles, Fink was still surprisingly alert at the finish. He was able to learn a lot from his replacement Estelle Greck, even though the two crew members were not able to exchange a great deal of information during the fairly strict watch rotation of two hours "on" and two hours "off". "Estelle ran through a lot of scenarios on the computer, for example. That was interesting. She is currently building a Mach 5 herself and we will be opponents in the Transat Jacques Vabre in the autumn," says Fink with a smile.
The 50th Rolex Fastnet Race and the Transat Jacques Vabre follow
Melwin Fink and Estelle Greck were also able to shine strategically in the final sprint of the recently completed second leg. Their decision to pass the Île d'Yeu on the inside gained them around three nautical miles on their pursuers Erwan Le Draoulec and Tanguy Leglatin. And almost a podium finish. With their course thus confirmed, Class 40 newcomers Melwin Fink and Lennart Burke will make their way home to Germany on 13 July, as the next challenge is already approaching.
In the third week of July, they will bring the "SignForCom", which Fink's father and crew had previously brought to Cherbourg, to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race will start there on 22 July at 1 pm UK time with the two young professionals from Hamburg and Bad Salzuflen as well as many other German crews in a wide variety of classes.
