Starting signal for the summer rallies: 27th Ærø Round Ahead: German-Danish sailing pleasure for Baltic Sea lovers

Four clubs are behind this regatta event, which took place for the first time in 1994 and has been attracting an increasing number of fans ever since. The 27th edition of the Ærø Round is once again being organised by the tried and tested quartet of organisers in friendly cooperation with Danish friends on Ærø: The Godewind Yacht Club, the Schilkseer Yacht Club, the Baltic Sailing Club and the Kiel Sailing Association are joining forces to organise the Ærø Rund in a highly lively and loving manner. Traditionally, there have often been well over 100 boats at the start in previous years. This year there are already almost 60 on the entry list. As in the past, more will be added spontaneously in the last few weeks before the start.

One of the many advantages of this beautiful rally for Baltic Sea lovers is that its 44 nautical mile course makes it suitable for ambitious and experienced crews as well as family crews and beginners. So far, 40 boats have registered in the "Ærø Round with Spi" category, a further ten in "Yardstick without Spi" and six in "Ærø Round ORC". Patrick Heinrich's T-24 by Wiberg "Jynx", known from his many Silverrudder successes, and Walter Watermann's Fast 40+ "X-Day" are not just well-known boats among the ORC boats. In the division for yachts with spinnakers, Martin Görge and his crew on the "Hunky Dory" and his brother Rainer Görge and his team on the Wasa 360 "Little China Girl", two brothers from a sailing-enthusiastic North German family, will be on the starting line.

After a two-year break, the Ærø Round Fun in the South Funen Archipelago is back on the water. The regatta runs in two stages around the Danish island of Ærø. Stage one is a night race which, after the start in Strander Bucht at 9 p.m., leads from Kiel northwards and around the northern tip of Ærø to the finish line off Æroskøbing. The fleet will then sail into Marstal in the morning, where, after a good night's sleep, the sailors will get a good impression of why thousands of couples say "I do" and get married on this beautiful Danish island every year. Romantics also get their money's worth at the regatta itself, as the photos by Ekke Erben and Jonas Lange with the "I want to be there too" factor in this article show.

On Saturday evening, the award ceremony for the first leg of the regatta will be held in the wooden Ærø halls with a Danish buffet, which is extremely popular with the participants. Leg two starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday from Marstal and covers almost 30 nautical miles back to Kiel. The prize-giving ceremony for the return race traditionally takes place in November. In addition to the three main divisions, there are plenty of special prizes on offer, such as for the best double-handed mixed crew on the outward leg, the endurance prize for the last boat timed in Ærø and the Mermaid Prize for special achievements by a helmswoman or female crew member. Entries can be submitted to Manage2Sail, where you can also find the results later (please click!).