MidsummerSail 2022: Between summer cruise and regatta: 900 nautical miles from Wismar to Töre: "Red" on record course

The seventh edition of the increasingly popular MidsummerSail is underway. On Tuesday (21 June), 60 yachts set off on the 900 nautical mile Baltic Sea sailing rally from Wismar to Töre in Sweden. 57 teams are still in the race three days later. The Agora direct MidsummerSail 2022 traditionally runs from the northernmost to the southernmost point of the Baltic Sea. Here, family crews, sailing enthusiasts and ambitious regatta sailors can realise their dream of sailing the full length of the Baltic Sea. Some participants also have more in mind. This year, the aim is to break the record set in 2019. Uwe and Maike Prieß set the record with their 40-foot yacht/Vrolijk single "Pur" with a "fantastic run", as organiser Robert Nowatzki reports. The "Pur" completed the route three years ago in 5 days, 17 hours, 38 minutes and 45 seconds.

"The fleet is racing like crazy"

As things stand, the record will fall this year. "The fleet is racing like crazy," reports Nowatzki, "at least at the front and centre." The rear boats got caught in the light wind a little. "The front four boats, 'Red' and the multis, can break the absolute record," believes Nowatzki, who is also amazed at "how well yachts like the 'Anne Bonny' or the 'Zukunft IV' from the Kieler Yacht-Club can keep up with the multihulls". With more than 600 miles already sailed and only 300 to go to the finish line, "Red" is dominating the record course and could be more than a day faster at the finish than the current record holders. Red" is being sailed by skipper Mathias Müller von Blumencron, Felix Oehme and Wolf Scheder. "We want the record," announced the Hamburg-based owner and helmsman with determination.

The trimaran "Gecko" with a broken bowsprit and the "Mjölnir" with damage to the daggerboard have already been eliminated. Another team cancelled their participation, stating that they had underestimated the challenge. While the rearmost boats were travelling in slow motion on Friday and still had to sail far more than twice as many nautical miles to the finish as the fast "Red", Robert Nowatzki was also impressed by how far apart the fleet had spread. A wide variety of strategies contributed to this. Nowatzki explains: "Some pass to the west, others to the east of Öland. The same applies to Gotland. The "Red" crew's shortcut through the archipelago was also interesting." Click here for the MidsummerSail GPS tracker (please click!). Robert Nowatzki has also realised that a new IRC offer to participants has not been accepted. He says: "They would rather sail against each other without pay and find their own opponents." Nowatzki expects the "Red" to be the first boat to cross the finish line on 26 June. Other teams will take much longer, but will also be able to enjoy the Baltic Sea sailing adventure for much longer.