Silverrudder: Sunny Silverrudder with doldrums start for advanced sailors

The mood of the participants was already great in the days leading up to the start of the ninth edition of the Silverrudder in the harbour. The intensive preparatory work of the dedicated organisation team in Svendborg led by regatta boss Ole Ingemann Nielsen and Philip Cossen, the warm September sun and the rare and therefore particularly appreciated togetherness in this season overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic all contributed to this. Smiling, anticipatory and expectant faces wherever you looked.

Some of the starters were not quite as enamoured with the extremely challenging flat start on Friday. For participants in the 2017 Silverrudder edition, it was déjà vu all over again, while first-time starters experienced this particular challenge anew: the first starting groups Mini, Small and Medium were completely denied the wind at the start. As a result, some of them became involuntary early starters because the boat could hardly be steered in the current and, above all, could not be held. The really unlucky ones were unable to start correctly because they drifted past the starting buoy on the wrong side without being able to do anything about it. And "Yella 3" skipper Heiko Zimmermann had a really bad time with his Beneteau First 36.7. He later reported: "The Silverrudder adventure ended prematurely for me. I ran aground off the Great Belt Bridge and was unable to free myself. So some nice rescuers came and pulled me down. Many thanks to the Danish sea rescue service. Now back to Svendborg. And now the weather is so nice and the wind is still good. In case anyone is wondering how this could have happened: At the spot where I was sitting, the chart says 2.8 metres. Close, but that's usually enough."

The most experienced skippers managed to drop anchor about 50 to 100 metres before the start line in the agonisingly calm conditions of the smaller divisions, catch up again within the last minute and cross the line cleanly in this way. There was a lot to be learnt on the day about starting in a lull in the current - both for the sailors and for the numerous spectators on land and on the pontoons, who were kept informed of events on the water with live commentary. At one point, the fans even stood up and applauded spontaneously and loudly. And the cheering Danish helmsman Martin Meredin could hear it too. After some pitiful scenes in the previous starts in his division of XL keelboats, he had managed the perfect zero start in what was now a few knots of "funnel" breeze. The Landmark 43 named "Esbern Snare" with sail number DEN 36789 pulled away directly and maintained its top position among the largest monohulls in the evening.

While for the majority of participants the adventure and challenge of the single-handed rounding of Funen with its magical attraction takes centre stage in this race, there are also those who are aiming for a top result right from the start. The comparisons within larger class groups, such as the seven Dehler 30 ods and the traditionally well-represented Seascapes, were eagerly awaited. In the new Dehler 30 od, the expected top duel between Oliver Schmidt-Rybandt and Morten Bogacki took place right at the start. Behind Franz Schollmeyer's Esse 850 "Firlefanz", traditionally successful in Division Small, the "PowerPlay" and the "Humboldt" skipper fought a thrilling duel at the start. Both had declared each other favourites to win the internal class ranking in advance. However, Bogacki has only been able to complete a few sailing days on the "Humboldt", which has just been christened by DSV President Mona Küppers for Offshore Team Germany during Kiel Week, despite a great deal of sailing experience in single-handed mode and is still working on the optimum settings.

In the Medium division, the favoured Swede Per Svanberg led the fleet into the first night. In the large keelboat group (Large), Kim Basland with the Olsen 370 "La Femme" was initially in the lead. The positions changed frequently on this first day. This year, the field is sailing anti-clockwise around Funen in varying light to light winds - the island remains on the port side. The time limit has been set for Sunday at twelve o'clock and could well throw a spanner in the works for slower boats.

Here goes to the tracker.