ORC World Championship: "Balm for all" - off into the night after sunny short races

The TP52 "Beau Geste" is the queen of the ORC World Championship in Kiel. After six races in her class A and seven races in classes B and C, Karl Kwok's racer was the only unbeaten boat at the world championship in the north of Germany on Thursday before the long-distance start. The intensively ORC-optimised Botín design, which competes for the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, has raised the bar on the fjord to a height previously unattainable for her pursuers.

The strongest overall package wins

Skipper Gavin Brady and his professional crew are both compelling and efficient at the ORC World Championships. Their most dangerous opponent, Tilmar Hansen's TP52 "Outsider" with helmsman Bo Teichmann and tactician Markus Wieser, is usually attacked at the start before "Beau Geste" pulls away irresistibly with a little more speed. "They are extremely ORC-optimised and a well-established professional team," says Markus Wieser. He is also a professional who is used to winning, but has had to bow to the stronger overall package with the "Outsider" team so far this week.

In Class A, "Beau Geste" won both Up & Downs on Thursday. Karl Kwok's (Hong Kong) crew are leaving nothing to chance on their march towards defending their title. While the jetties were still quiet in the early morning, the generator on the white yacht with the red kites was already purring and forcing air underwater - to where the early diver was busy scanning the hull and keel and freeing them from any adhesions.

Close calculated victories against "Katima" and "Desna"

The importance of fine-tuning was demonstrated shortly afterwards on the race course. A calculated gap of just 13 seconds decided the first race of the day on the approximately twelve-kilometre course in favour of the TP52 from Hong Kong over the Swan 45 "Katima" of Jan Opländer (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), whose crew of Tim Kröger and Stefan Voss took second place in the A class for the second time.

Beau Geste" was also able to hold its own in the second race - this time, however, in a close duel with the Knierim 49 "Desna" of Johannes Wackerhagen (Kieler Yacht-Club), which experienced its best World Championship day so far with a repaired bowsprit and third and second place. Aces such as the Dane Jesper Radich, Bertil Balser and Magnus Simon are in action here.

We're not changing anything for tonight's race. We're staying in the same mode, which has been successful so far" (Gavin Brady)

Thanks to their own consistency and the changeable results of the German competition, the undisputed leaders on "Beau Geste" have already built up a very solid points cushion of 13 points ahead of "Outsider" and even 22 points ahead of Carl-Peter Forster's TP52 "Red Bandit" from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club. New Zealand skipper Gavin Brady said: "It was really good racing today, great conditions and perfect sailing. We worked hard to win; the margins were really close. We're not changing anything for tonight's race, we're staying in the same mode, which has been successful so far."

That was balm for everyone" (Stefan Kunstmann)

On the fourth day of the World Championship, the participants in the ORC World Championship enjoyed moderate winds of between 13 and 16 knots as welcome compensation for the stormy first half. "That was balm for everyone," said race officer Stefan Kunstmann from Kiel. Together with Principal Race Officer Eckart Reinke, Kunstmann will observe the participants and their conditions at sea overnight and recommend course shortening if necessary.

The 15 boats in class A are expected to complete 116 nautical miles. 105 nautical miles were on the programme for the 29 boats in the middle class B. Here, Jens Kuphal's modified Landmark 43 "Intermezzo" from the Berlin Yacht Club had previously moved up to fourth place on Thursday morning with fifth and fourth place in two short races. "Intermezzo" tactician Robert Stanjek brings his experience from the Ocean Race with him and said of the upcoming night race: "It can be brutal, because the result of the long-distance race cannot be cancelled. You take every point into your account. Of course, that also applies to our opponents ..."

Fortunately, it doesn't go into the baller wind" (Jens Kuphal)

"We are working our way towards the medal places," said owner and helmsman Jens Kuphal. He continued: "Nothing has been decided yet, because the long distance in the dying wind offers a new picture. The World Championship will be decided in the next two days. There is still a chance." Kuphal said of his team's preparations for the long distance: "We'll eat together again, then take a power nap and off we go into the night. We're in good spirits, even though we're pretty exhausted after the days so far. Fortunately, we're not heading into the Ballerwind."

The 67 boats in Class C had 86 nautical miles to cover between the start at 7 p.m. and Friday morning. In the world championship group of the smallest boats, Max Habeck's J/112 "Aquaplay" with helmsman Gordon Nickel was able to catch up with the leading group again after seven races in fifth place overall. With third and second place, the team from the Munich Yacht Club Monte Baldo reduced the gap to the World Championship bronze medallist to ten points. The World Championship fleets are expected back from the long distance on the morning of 11 August. After two short races on Saturday, the medals will be awarded to the best of the 111 teams from 13 nations at the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre.

Click here for the results of the ORC World Championship.