Patrik Heinrichs not only led the group of small boats at the end. Also in the overall classification of the One Star Challenge 2019 he surprisingly came out on top with his "Jynx". He left all 41 other single-handed sailors in his wake.
Parallel to the new Baltic 500, the soloists set off from Køge in Denmark on the east side of Zealand last Ascension weekend. The 106 or 130 nautical mile course took the participants southwards around the island of Bogø and Møn and back to the harbour of departure.
Sailing was organised into four groups depending on the size of the boat. The starting shot was fired on Friday morning; all participants had to have crossed the finish line by Sunday lunchtime in order to be timed.
Winner Patrik Heinrichs has written a report about his personal One Star Challenge 2019, which we are publishing on the following page.
One Star Challenge - a race report by Patrik Heinrichs
After a long winter, the sailor simply realises that there are still five months until the big Silverrudder festival in September, where you can meet all the other nice people again and indulge in the agony of single-handed long-distance sailing.
The Baltic 500 on Ascension weekend was a bit too big for the little "Jynx" with its 7.20 metres, so what to do? Oh yes, two years ago this One Star Challenge was born in the wake of the Silverrudder hype, as was the Vegvisir Race. Why not sail in it?
The fact that another T24 had entered was an additional incentive, meaning that it would be the world premiere with two of these rare boats in a regatta, so to speak. And as designer Thomas Wiberg wanted to make himself available as shore crew, plans were made and the logistics planned.
First problem: It's not so easy to get from Berlin to the starting point in Køge. Eating up kilometres through almost half of Denmark with the trailer? Or take the short ferry journey via Rostock? Or the other option with the ferry via Fehmarn? After studying the ferry prices for boat combinations, I didn't like the idea of paying money to put a boat on a boat and then spending less time sailing. So Father's Day was turned into a sailing week and I travelled to Kiel a week before the race with the idea of combining "a bit of spring sailing in Danish waters" with the journey. At the same time, I could do a few training miles and survey the Bøg Current again, through which parts of the race pass and which is quite shallow in some places with depths of 2.0 to 2.5 metres.
Was it the memory of the warm spring weather in 2018 or the general softening of my mood, or was it simply too cold for the end of May? In any case, it felt more like sailing in November on my departure Sunday with drizzle, 12 degrees and a fresh wind. But at least the gusty south-westerly drove me swiftly towards Lolland, where there were thundery showers in the evening...
The next two days were at least sunnier, but the temperatures remained unsatisfactory. On Tuesday, a day earlier than planned, "Jynx" and I arrived in Køge after a "refreshing" 16-mile cruise. The first thing I saw there was the T24 sister ship. Michael (not the one from Lönneberger), a friendly Swedish Banner 28R sailor and fellow participant, helped me moor up.
And there we had it again, this Nordic, uncomplicated friendliness among sailors. When I was alone with the boat and car at the slipway in Kiel and really struggled to tame the heavy boat on the trailer, at least ten people stood around it without even flinching, let alone lending a hand. It was only a Dane who came over to help the German into the wet element before a first-time Silverrudder 2019 participant lent a hand. Many thanks again to both of them!
Back to the One Star Challenge. Once we arrived, we immediately met some of the club's many helpers and were immediately provided with harbour maps, mooring cards and good tips. While they themselves were busy making all the preparations for the big regatta. Setting up the large tent for the parties and gatherings of the participants alone took three days of work.
After a relaxing layday in sunny weather in the very picturesque town, the event was then "officially opened" by the town secretary on Thursday evening, after photos had already been taken with representatives of the local "Volvo Nielsen" as a major sponsor - unfortunately the keys to the smart new cars remained with the organiser even after the prize distribution. It's not tennis or golf after all, it's just sailing...
The helmsman's briefing was short and emphatic with witty cross-references to those who had suffered in the past by "nibbling" some of the flat current corners too tightly. Friday morning at 9.00 a.m. there was a bit of drizzle again, but great winds of 12 to 14 knots for a downwind start for the 56 registered participants.
My toughest opponent in my "small class" was Per Cederberg, a fierce Silverrudder rival since 2016 and its winner in 2017. He got off to a super start and immediately took the lead after I unfortunately lost out in the infight with the start buoy during the Genni setting and, in the best shrimping manner, wrapped it up with the sheets and tied it to me - grrrrr.
A mere nine minutes later, everything was sorted, the due circles turned, sailed back, restarted and the bubble was back up. Well, we still had 105 miles to make up. And "Jynx" was in good spirits, so we ploughed back into second place under the big A1 over the next ten miles!
However, Per had great downwind speed that day, so I tried a first attack with two or three fast gybes under the coast to see how he would react. Better, but still not enough. Behind Stevens Klint at the entrance to Faxe Bay, it first became flatter and sharper and then even flatter. A second attack 300 metres downwind with very little speed looked better. Unfortunately, the next line started with him first and the old gap was restored.
Then came the big turn in the middle of Faxe Bay, the gennies went down and we crossed. I pulled out my miracle weapon, the "killer code", and was able to break away from Per's cover with a small speed advantage and escape first to the left into the wind. That was the key point. Because at the entrance to the Bøgestrom four miles further on, I had made up almost a mile upwind.
After that, we just kept going. Through the bridge in Kalvehavne onto the fantastic upwind section at 12 to 14 knots with a pushing current in the sunny afternoon, always tacking along the edge of the fairway and enjoying the fantastic landscape with forests, hills and birds.
We passed through the first bridge at Farø and cleared the Genni again, left the flat on the right, up the bubble and through the second bridge into the Grøhnestrom. Here, however, there was the notorious counter-current, so that the early evening passed by at only 3.5 knots. Again enough time to enjoy nature. And it was also warm now, so the oilskins finally came off.
The exit from the current in the south-west of Møn is then tricky due to the depth of the current and the large amount of sand that is deposited there. There is one safe exit and two faster ones over uncharted sand hills on the way to Klintholm. After the stories from the previous year, I chose the 90 per cent safe route, as I had only spent three days filling my keel in April. And the lead was comfortable.
Per, on the other hand, wanted to give it another go and cranked up his keel in the best Finn sailing style, lifted both rudders and took the inside turn. But by then it was already over. At midnight at Møns Klint, I pulled another parking ticket for 15 minutes because I was getting too close to the lull on land while rounding. Then, in the darkness of the night, I headed back northwards across Faxe Bay. Finally, in Køge Bay, there was a great sunrise - and lots of fishing nets that wanted to spit in your soup again on the last few miles.
But then, at exactly six o'clock in the morning, it was done. After 21 hours, "Jynx" and I were not only class winners in our first One Star, but also first ship home in a new record time of 21:00:30!
The rising wind then pushed the fleet swiftly to the finish line by midday, and in the sunshine you could only see happy faces, albeit a little marked by the night. But that's the game we were there for. After all, the event's slogan is "Who would YOU like to challenge".
The prize-giving in the evening with barbecue buffet was again typically hyggelig, and so there is probably a new fixed date in the sailing calendar around Ascension Day.
The return trip was planned for Sunday to Tuesday to complete the 380 miles for the personal Baltic 380. In the morning, however, I motored for two hours in a calm, then a south-easterly wind set in, which got better and better until the evening. And when I passed the day's destination of Vordingborg at 18:00 with double-digit speed values below the A1, sleeping was simply postponed due to the miles I had made and the wind forecasts for the next few days. At 6.00 a.m. on Monday morning, after 135 miles in 20 hours, Strande was reached - and the adventure ended under a rainbow over Schilksee.
Conclusion: Spring came late, but could still be felt. The fantastic organisers have put their heart and soul into creating something new. The sailing area is exciting and harbours some challenges. And the people are great, of course. Ergo: OSC 2020, I will be there again!
Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
