ORC World Championship: No way out - Class A has to sit out, B and C in the storm

For Kirsten Harmstorf-Schönwitz and her crew, the cancellation of the second race day of the World Championship for Group A came as a relief. On Monday, the women's crew suffered a mast track that had come loose in the upper section. The damage could not be repaired in the harbour due to the stormy winds. The DK 46 "Tutima" therefore had to be rushed to the Knierim Yachtbau shipyard in Kiel. The damage was repaired there by Tuesday afternoon. The sailors might even have made it to the starting line in time for an afternoon race, but that was no longer necessary.

Low water level cancels the race day for class A

On the second day of the Sailing World Championships off Kiel, the extreme August weather conditions also disrupted the programme. While a race close to the coast could be held in the medium and small classes B and C, the 15 large boats in class A had to stay in the harbour.

The rough weather had caused an unusually low water level in the harbour basin of the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre. The water level dropped from plus 20 centimetres above the normal level by 80 centimetres to minus 60 centimetres within one day. Some of the yachts with the longest keels were already sitting up. Some boats were also unable to leave the harbour due to insufficient draught. At 1 pm, the "Coastal" for Group A had to be cancelled.

What wasn't broken yesterday will be broken today" (Jens Kuphal)

In Class B, Jens Kuphal's "Intermezzo" (Berliner Yacht-Club) with Berlin ocean race tactician Robert Stanjek dropped back to sixth place as the best German boat after tenth place on Tuesday. Just how good the performance was nevertheless is emphasised by the "Intermezzo's" break list from Tuesday: "What didn't break yesterday, broke today," said Jens Kuphal with smiling sarcasm. The tackline of the Code Zero broke first, then the Code Zero sheet, then the halyard. A tear in the mainsail put the final exclamation mark behind the series of breakages that other teams also experienced in the harsh conditions.

After two days, the co-favourite Polish Grand Soleil 44 P "Windwhisper 44" was leading the medium-sized boats ahead of the Danish Swan 42 "Sirena" and the Norwegian Landmark 42 "White Shadow". "What 'Windwhisper' did today is worthy of honour. They pulled the A2 at the start, set off and couldn't be caught," said Jens Kuphal, paying tribute to the leading team. "We learnt a lot on the first day and translated that into speed on day two. But it was a lot of work in the heavy gusts, so we rotated through the grinder," said "Windwhisper" navigator Aksel Magdahl.

We had a little damage to the boat, but the guys worked quickly. After that it was a fun round" (Gordon Nickel)

In Group C, Max Habeck's "Aquaplay" team, led by helmsman Gordon Nickel, took a win on the day. The J/112 from the Munich Yacht Club Monte Baldo moved up to second place behind the Estonian J/112 "Shadow". "It went very well for us today. We had a little damage to the front of the boat, but the guys worked quickly. After that it was a fun round," said Gordon Nickel after another stormy test with winds that peppered the reefed sails with gusts of up to 75 kilometres per hour.

But the wind also took its toll again. A total of seven yachts from the B and C classes abandoned their races. Among them was the young crew of the "Charly Whisky". The crew from Wismar had suffered a broken mast just a fortnight ago and travelled to the World Championships on a borrowed yacht, a Farr 30. However, in the very first race, they broke the forestay, which they had to replace at great expense. In the second race, they gave up for safety reasons so as not to suffer further material damage.

World Cup extra shifts in sight

The ORC World Championship is to continue on Wednesday with another "Coastal" and up to two Up & Downs for all groups. The schedule for the rest of the week includes two Up & Downs on Thursday. On the same day, the previously impossible offshore race is scheduled to start overnight in the evening. If everything goes according to plan, the teams will return to Kiel-Schilksee on Friday morning and then have a day off. If possible, two more Up & Downs are scheduled to conclude the World Championships on Saturday.

Click here for the interim results of the ORC World Championship.