ORC World Championship: 101 boats on course for Kiel - German co-favourites gear up

The organisers of the ORC World Championship in Kiel are looking forward to glorious times: With the entry of Tilmar Hansen's TP52 "Outsider" (Kieler Yacht-Club), all nine medallists from the 2021 World Championships in Tallinn are now also competing in Kiel. They will be joined by two reigning World Championship champions, "Essentia 44" (Catalin Trandafir/Romania) in Category B and "Sugar 3" (Ott Kikkas/Estonia) in Category C. With World Championship bronze from 2022 in her luggage, "Katarina II" (Aivar Tuulberg/Estonia) sets course for Kiel.

"It is not our goal to be labelled perpetual runner-up"

"We are delighted that so many top yachts are competing and that so many ORC yachts have entered so quickly," explains Head of Organisation Eckhardt von der Mosel, who already directed the events at the record-breaking 2014 edition of the ORC in Kiel. Back then, 150 yachts from 19 nations took part in the largest ORC World Championship to date.

After two second places in the 2018 World Championship off The Hague (Netherlands) and 2021 off Tallinn (Estonia), Tilmar Hansen's crew on "Outsider" (Kieler Yacht-Club) have their sights set on more than a silver-coloured triple in the owner's home waters. "Our goal is definitely not to be labelled as perpetual runners-up," emphasised 39-year-old project manager Bo Teichmann, who has been sailing with and for Tilmar Hansen for 23 years. After finishing second in the World Championship behind Karl Kwok's "Beau Geste" (Hong Kong) five years ago and finishing runner-up in 2021 behind Michael Berghorn's "Halbtrocken 4.5", the "Outsider" team is hungry for titles on the fjord.

Professional tactician Markus Wieser inspires "Outsider"

A professional quintet led by Markus Wieser (Bayerischer Yacht-Club/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) will be on board for the ORC World Championship. Wieser is one of the most successful keelboat tacticians nationally and internationally. World Championship titles in the Tempest (most recently in 2022 off Kiel), Olympic campaigns in the FD, three European Championship titles with the Asso 99, World Championship gold in the 5.5, the 6mR, the Dragon and with the ClubSwan 50 "Hatari" as well as two World Championship silver medals in the TP52 contribute to the Bayern-Express's very long list of successes.

The 59-year-old father of four daughters will be joined by four other professionals for the ORC World Championship from 5 to 12 August. One of them is Michi Müller from Kiel, who contested the tenth and eleventh editions of the Volvo Ocean Race on "Puma". Müller is one of the few German professionals who are also in demand internationally and is active in the 52 Super Series on Harm Müller-Spreer's "Platoon" and also in the ClubSwan 50 Circuit. In addition to Müller, Gert Habermüller, Victor Marino and Peter van Niekerk are also part of the Wieser core crew.

Big goals, stronger crews

The "Mission World Championship Gold" is also being spurred on by "outsider" boatman Holger Lehning, who specialises in the optimisation of regatta yachts with his Hamburg-based company Ready4Race and is currently working for the Swiss Sail GP team in New Zealand, and North Sails Germany boss Stefan Matschuck.

Michael Berghorn's co-favoured Mills 45 "Halbtocken 4.5" is also getting reinforcements: alongside Jes Gram Hansen from Denmark, Dutchman Frans Hinfelaaar will be joining the crew. The match race specialist brings a lot of ocean race and J-Class experience to the team. "We already have big goals, but we also know that with the quality at the start, one wrong manoeuvre can make the difference," says Michael Berghorn, aware of the high quality of the competition. The 2021 world champion and reigning European champion steers his boat himself.

43 German boats registered so far

There will also be a reunion with Kirsten Harmstorf-Schönwitz and her women's crew on "Tutima" in the large World Championship Class A, which is now well-staffed with a dozen yachts. Other German A-boats are Johannes Wackerhagen's Knierim 49 "Desna", Jan Opländer's Swan 45 "Katima", Ralf Lässig's XP-44 "Xenia", Lars Hückstädt's GP 42 "X-Day" and Holger Streckenbach's "Imagine". Eight of the 26 boats entered in World Championship Class B and 27 of the 62 Class C boats are German.

Click here for the entries for the ORC World Championship 2023 in Kiel.