ORC World Championship: 121 yachts from 13 nations on course for World Championship summit off Kiel
Tatjana Pokorny
· 27.07.2023
"We are more than satisfied with the quality and quantity of the World Championship field," says Head of Organisation Eckhard von der Mosel, who already managed the 2014 ORC World Championship in Kiel. All reigning world champions, all 2021 World Championship medallists and European champions from 2022 and 2023 have confirmed their attendance. In total, teams on 121 yachts from 13 nations will be competing for the World Championship titles in the three categories A (15), B (33) and C (73).
Impressive turnout for the ORC World Championship in Kiel
Even if the big hype for offshore regattas in Germany failed to materialise this year and the number of entries from the Maior (30) to the Kiel Cup of the Kieler Woche (35) to the IDM during the Travemünder Woche (21) remained rather low to normal, the ORC World Championship is now attracting an impressive field of German and international sailors to the regatta course.
In addition to 61 GER yachts, fleets from the Baltic States, Estonia, Lithuania and Scandinavia complete the field with eight entries each from Denmark and Sweden. The organisers are expecting a "fast" World Championship. "The idea of ORC sailing is to make the boats faster with new materials and new technologies, in other words To bring innovation to the sport of sailing," says Eckart Reincke, Offshore Head of Kiel Week and one of three race officers at the ORC World Championship alongside Stefan Kunstmann and Fabian Bach.
It is the 'who's who' of ORC sailing in Kiel" (Eckhard von der Mosel)
Eckart Reincke continued: "While in the standardised classes, care is taken to ensure that all the material is the same, in ORC sailing particular attention is paid to the technological advantage, which then benefits all boats over time. Based on this basic understanding, the entire fleet of regatta boats also becomes faster on average from year to year." The best of these "fast ones" come to the north of Germany. "It's the 'who's who' of ORC sailing in Kiel," enthuses von der Mosel.
Eckart Reincke adds: "Taking into account the shifts in sailing, the registration result is really good. We are seeing a trend towards adventure sailing: Doublehanded and singlehanded or smaller crews are covering hundreds or even thousands of nautical miles. Big adventure trips such as the Fastnet Race also fit into this megatrend in offshore racing. We can therefore interpret the more than 120 yachts at the World Championship in Kiel as recognition for the German regatta scene."
Top favourite in the premier class is Karl Kwok's "Beau Geste"
The top favourite for the World Championship in Category A is the "Beau Geste" of Karl Kwok (British Virgin Islands). All of the reigning title holders will be competing with her at the 2023 ORC World Championship in Kiel. In May, the newly crowned European champion and reigning world champion was the last title holder to confirm his participation in the ORC World Championship off Kiel. In addition to the three reigning world champion teams from 2022 in Porto Cervo (Italy), all nine medallists from the 2021 World Championship in Tallinn (Estonia) will also be competing.
"This is probably the first time in the history of the ORC World Championship, which has been held annually since 1999, that the reigning gold medallists have all come together to defend their titles at an event in the current year," reports Dobbs Davis, ORC Communications Director (USA). In Class B it is Catalin Trandafirs (Poland) with his GS 44P "Essentia 44", in Class C Ott Kikkas (Estonia) with his Italia 11.98 "Sugar 3".
Our goal is definitely not to be labelled the eternal runner-up" (Bo Teichmann)
Each of the co-favourites will face other strong challengers from Germany. For example, there are the two-time vice world champions of the TP52 "Outsider" (Kieler Yacht-Club) of Tilmar Hansen from Kiel. The crew around helmsman Bo Teichmann makes no secret of the fact that they would like to go for gold. To this end, they trained with a new World Championship line-up last weekend, among other things. "Our goal is definitely not to be labelled eternal runners-up," says Bo Teichmann.
The 39-year-old project manager has been sailing with "Outsider" owner Tilmar Hansen for 23 years. After two World Championship silver medals in 2018 behind "Beau Geste" and 2021 behind Michael Berghorn's Mills 45 "Halbtrocken 4.5", the team wants to avoid the silver triple on the "Silver Arrow". Five other professionals should and want to help: The internationally renowned tactician Markus Wieser is coming on board with a core team with whom he is otherwise active in other professional series. With navigator Robin Zinkmann, Holger Lehning, Stefan Matschig and other "original outsiders" as well as owner Tilmar Hansen, the 15-strong crew is complete.
Ocean Race players in action at the World Championships
Michael Berghorn's crew on the Mills 45 Custom "Halbtrocken 4.5" is also among the co-favourites for the ORC World Championship. The Hamburg native also already has familiar professional support on board: in addition to tactician and match race ace Jes Gram Hansen (Denmark), Dutch offshore professional Frans Hinfelaar is also part of the crew of the "Halbtrocken 4.5". The fact that two other TP52 yachts, Holger Streckenbach's "Imagine" and Carl-Peter Forster's "Red Bandit", are in the mix alongside "Outsider" and "Beau Geste" increases the fun factor for everyone involved.
In Class B, there will be a reunion with the international "half" of the Ocean Race Team Guyot: Robert Stanjek, Phillip Kasüske and Annie Lush will be chasing world championship points with the modified Landmark 43 "Intermezzo" and owner and helmsman Jens Kuphal. In Class C, the Italia 9.98 "Immac Fram" with Kai Mares' crew is just as hot a title contender from a German perspective as Ott Kikkas' "Sugar 3". The World Championship marks the farewell gala for the Immac project. "After the IDM off Travemünde, the World Championship is our last regatta, after which the yacht will be sold," explains skipper Kai Mares.
The winners' party will take place on 12 August in Kiel
President Bruno Finzi will represent the rights-awarding Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) in Kiel. Additional prizes are planned for amateur and women's teams. It's not just the "Tutima" crew around Kirsten "Kirsche" Harmstorf-Schönwitz who would like to lend a hand in the revival of their women's team. An opening offshore race as well as up & downs and longer coastal races are planned for the ORC World Championship. The winners' party will take place on the evening of 12 August. The heart of the ORC Worlds is the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre, which is also home to the national sailing team.
