While Karl Kwok's favoured team on the TP52 "Beau Geste" and Tilmar Hansen's crew on the TP52 "Outsider" made the first World Championship race on Monday look easy even in the gale-force conditions, other crews struggled through the stormy winds on the fjord. Kwok's professional crew rode the 20 nautical mile coastal course for the 14 large Class A boats that started in 1 hour, 20 minutes and 36 seconds. Tilmar Hansen's "Outsider" team from the Kiel Yacht Club took just 2 minutes and 35 seconds longer.
Comeback in Kiel after four decades
"Outsider" tactician Markus Wieser said: "It really hammered into us in Eckernförde Bay. We couldn't hold 'Beau Geste'. They won the start against us and sailed two minutes away from us on the first reach to the buoy. They have a slightly higher mast, a slightly longer keel and are radically optimised ..."
Sailing on the top favourite "Beau Geste" is Simon Daubney, one of the sport's most decorated professional sailors. The 64-year-old has competed in eight America's Cups, winning five of them. For a long time, he was part of the core crew of the sailor of the century, Russell Coutts, whose name is synonymous with sailing excitement in the SailGP today. Simon Daubney has taken part in the Olympic Games three times. Daubney now fondly remembers Soling races off Kiel in the 1980s at the ORC World Championship: "That was about 40 years ago and it was fun."
We know that the Judel/Vrolijk boats are fast" (Simon Daubney)
Although "Beau Geste" delivered what was expected of her at the start, the crew around skipper Gavin Brady is not expecting a walk in the park to the title. Daubney said with regard to the Kiel "Outsider": "We know that the Judel/Vrolijk boats are fast. We had to work very hard today. That is likely to continue."
After the first day, Carl-Peter Forster's "Red Bandit" (Bayerischer Yacht-Club) is in third place in World Championship Group A of the large racers, ahead of Michael Berghorn's "Halbtrocken 4.5" (Kieler Yacht-Club) and Jan Opländer's 15-year-old Swan 45 "Katima" from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein. Kirsten Harmstorf and her women's crew on the DK 46 "Tutima" (Mühlenberger Segel-Club) sailed to a strong seventh place in their revival despite a delay of around 25 seconds at the start. The sailors reported gusts of up to 44 knots, but mastered the course confidently with one reef and genoa 4.
The race today took place at the absolute limit. But it was also a bit of fun" (Jens Kuphal)
In Class B, Jens Kuphal's co-favoured "Intermezzo" (Berliner Yacht-Club) opened the World Championships in the assault race as the best German boat in fourth place. The Berlin racing yacht with half the crew of the Ocean Race Team Guyot crossed the finish line first in class. According to the calculated ORC time, however, the team with tactician Robert Stanjek, Berlin-based Phillip Kasüske, Max Gurgel, Karl Gurgel, Ludger Gawlitta and other crew members initially had to settle behind the Polish "Windwhisper" and the Danish boats "Sirena" and "Dixi 4".
"The race took place at the absolute limit today. We experienced 40 knots of wind in gusts and 18 knots of speed. But it was also a bit of fun," said Jens Kuphal. His tactician Robert Stanjek said: "It was a good decision by the race organisers to sail the shorter race today instead of the long distance. It shouldn't have taken much longer ..." In fact, the wind continued to pick up in the early afternoon. Parking in the pits in the Olympic harbour became a real test for many crews. Many had to make two or even three attempts.
It seemed too dangerous and we wanted to spare the sails" (Jonas Missel)
However, there were also some teams that found the conditions too unpleasant and withdrew after the start. For example, the young team on the Farr 42 "Universitas". Their skipper Jonas Missel said: "We cancelled the race on the cross. It seemed too dangerous and we wanted to save the sails. We are all students and want to have fun at this world championship. In the middle of the week, when the wind dies down a bit, we'll get going."
The World Championship Group C with the smallest yachts, which started with 66 boats in two fields, was dominated by two Estonian teams on the first day of the World Championship: The J-112E "Matilda 4" and her sister ship "Shadow" opened the World Championship with race wins. Harald Brüning's "Topas" from the Kieler Yacht-Club was the best German boat in its home waters, taking second place in its group and thus third place on Monday evening. The co-favoured "Immac Fram" with Kai Mares initially had to settle for 17th place.
The programme for day two: a short offshore or a coastal
Michael Höfgen and his five team-mates on the JPK 10.30 "Lightworks" were also able to hold their own in the first third of the C fleet. "We're sailing together as a crew for the first time and haven't yet been able to utilise our handicap value today. The field is strong. We went out without a reef up to the top of the buoy, then got hit in the face. Then we pulled in a second reef and didn't sail the cross too badly. Then we reefed out again and got hit on the face again. It was sailable today. We are not dissatisfied with the start."
The World Championship is scheduled to continue on Tuesday in persistently stormy winds. The race organisers do not intend to announce the race format for day two of the World Championship until early Tuesday morning before 7 a.m. with the maximum current weather information. By then it should be clearer whether a short offshore race with possible course lengths of 115, 105 or 85 nautical miles can be completed. According to Principal Race Officer Eckart Reinke, the aim in this case would be to get the boats into harbour before midnight.
One World Cup, many perspectives
Alternatively, a race close to the coast could be held again - similar to the opening race. The wind forecasts remain very crisp, making the sporting organisation of the World Championship a balancing act for the time being. There are crews among the approximately 1,000 active participants in Kiel who, as heavy weather teams, even felt disadvantaged by the postponement of the long-distance race on Monday, as well as those who felt that the shortened race was already borderline and damaging to their equipment.
Not only "outsider" tactician Markus Wieser asked: "Why does the long distance have to be sailed on Tuesday or Wednesday in stormy conditions? The World Championship is a week long and offers more opportunities in less violent conditions." One thing was certain on Monday evening after the opening race: the start of the second World Championship race on Tuesday - a short offshore or "coastal" race - is scheduled for 10 am.
