The organisers and participants of the ORC World Championship in Kiel are ready for a hot week of sailing in the north of Germany. The opening long-distance race is scheduled to start on 7 August. The wind forecasts for this are currently more than crisp and are causing a lot of discussion. Will it even be possible to start on Monday? How long will the long course be? How tough will it really be?
Yes, we can expect wind. But not a dramatic swell like the Fastnet" (Eckart Reinke)
Principal Race Officer (PRO) Eckart Reinke will answer these and many other questions at the Skippers' Briefing on Sunday (6 August) from 6 pm. Beforehand, Reinke will study the current forecasts just as intensively as he will run through routing scenarios. And then decide on the courses. But one thing is already clear, says Reinke: "I like to refer to the sailing instructions. You can read it in point 12.2: 'There is no wind speed limit' - there are no upper wind limits."
According to Reinke, the Fastnet that has just ended has shown that even a stormy long distance can be mastered by those who can. The Baltic Sea also tends to be a "more sheltered area" compared to the Solent and especially the Irish Sea. Eckart Reinke says: "Yes, we can expect wind, but no dramatic swell like in the Fastnet."
The long haul will take place one hundred per cent" (Eckart Reinke)
The maximum possible course length of the World Championship long distance for the large yachts in the ORC A classification group is 220 nautical miles, but there are several shorter courses to choose from, as there are for groups B and C. "We choose in accordance with the conditions so that the slowest boat in each of the three groups reaches the finish line within a maximum of 36 hours," explains Reinke. The race organisers also want to avoid finishes in the dark. Within these parameters, the start time and length of the long distance will be decided at short notice based on theoretical routings.
Eckart Reinke, who is receiving an increasing number of calls about the long-haul scenario these days, says about the upcoming Monday start: "Everyone can assume that it is in our and my interest that everyone arrives safely back in Kiel on Tuesday. We will decide with a sense of proportion. But it's also a World Cup. And it's an offshore race. It will take place one hundred per cent. The start time and course length may have to be adjusted, but it will take place."
The starting shot is fired in Kiel's sailing arena in the inner fjord
A race management team of 45 team members including a dozen race officers are available to the PRO for the World Championship. Stefan Kunstmann is the race officer in charge of the ORC A course. He is supported by Alexander Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein and other team members. Peter Doepgen and Andreas Herbst and their team will be the race officers for ORC B. Laura Kühlewind from Warnemünde with the Hungarian IRO Bence Kárpáti and her team will be race officer for ORC Group C.
Around two thirds of the 115 World Championship boats registered on the entry lists had already arrived in Kiel-Schilksee on Friday morning. All others were expected to arrive by the evening. The measurements have already started and will continue until Sunday. The start of the opening long-distance race will definitely take place in Kiel's inner fjord, where the "Illbruck" and, more recently, Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia and the other Ocean Race teams once ensured a full house and a goosebump atmosphere.
The result of the long haul cannot be cancelled
"Kiel's sailing arena is the inner fjord, where the Ocean Race has just taken place. We would also like to offer this to the World Championship participants. The start is directly in front of the Kiel Yacht Club," says Eckart Reinke. When asked about favourites and hot podium candidates, he smiles and says: "There are many. I'm convinced that the long distance will be won by the teams that know how to sail in the current. Controlling the current will decide who wins and who loses. It's a bit like in the Solent. Especially with the expected wind conditions, this will have an even more intense effect."
It is clear that the favourites cannot allow themselves any slip-ups in the first major World Championship test if they want to finish on the podium. After all, the result of the long-distance race cannot be cancelled. "Anyone who flies out of the curve here is hardly an opponent in the battle for the top positions for the rest of the World Championship week. They carry maximum penalties with them," Reinke also knows.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
