The Baltic 500 as an autumn endurance test for two-handed crews: "It was challenging and dark, but fun"

This third edition of the Baltic 500 was not a cosy autumn outing. Postponed to September due to the coronavirus pandemic and with a severely decimated field due to the harsh weather forecasts, 16 boats started the Baltic Sea rally for two-handed teams on 30 September. 15 made it through. The last boat crossed the finish line on the evening of 2 October. Only the highly motivated crew of the modified F & F 95 "Feinschliff" had to give up the race with cracked lug fittings.

"So far, we've had a very positive response to the race and the alternative course we chose. Everyone was happy that they did it," said Baltic 500 founder and organiser Cord Hall on Sunday after the autumnal endurance test. "It was challenging and dark, but it was fun," confirmed "Humboldt" skipper Morten Bogacki. The 2019 mini-transat bronze medallist made his Baltic 500 debut with Susann Beucke. The Olympic silver medallist in the 49erFX wants to build a career in sailing and, after her Olympic success this summer with her helmswoman Tina Lutz, is now taking every opportunity to broaden her horizons and gain as much experience as possible. The duo had obviously started the race ambitiously with a set code zero in 20 to 25 knots of wind at the start. In the end, it was difficult for the top sailors to draw a sporting balance because, apart from their "Humboldt", only one other identical Dehler 30 od took part in the Baltic 500 and comparisons with the overall ORC winner "Sunkini", a fast Swedish Figaro 3, or the JPK 10.30 "Hinden" were only possible to a limited extent.

The Swedish winners Leif Jägerbrand and Anna Drougge dominated the regatta with "Sunkini" on the alternative course over 390 nautical miles. However, he did not lead the small fleet into the Kattegat as usual for this edition, which was postponed from its regular date in May - when it was still "full house" and had a waiting list - due to the latest storm warnings. Instead, the route went from the Bay of Strande first to Schleimünde and around Fehmarn to a mooring buoy off Travemünde, then once into the Bay of Lübeck, along the coast around Rügen, past the mooring buoy off Sassnitz to Warnemünde and back to Strande via Kalkgrund. While Jägersbrand and Drougge won ORC 1 and also won the overall classification, Jonas Hallberg and Till Barth secured victory in ORC 2 with their JPK 10.30 "Hinden".

Leif Jägersbrand from Gothenburg, who also organises the increasingly popular Swedish Midsummer Solo Challenge in the region, was jubilant after the race: "It was fantastic! We had dream conditions for the Figaro 3: Lots of wind! Downwind! Simply great!" Jägersbrand had set his sights on an Olympic double-handed offshore career with Anna Drougge before the IOC rejected the new sailing discipline proposed by the World Sailing Federation for the 2024 Olympics.

Bogacki was still trying to find out why the two top boats "Sunkini" and "Hinden" completed the course so much faster than the "Humboldt" after crossing the finish line. "The Figaro, for example, is only one metre longer, but is already a proven racing boat that had its ideal conditions. The Dehler 30 od is a bit more of a jack of all trades. For example, we had problems between Travemünde and Darßer Ort and kept switching between Code Zero and jib. Although we had left Jonas behind on the JPK at the beginning, he then passed us and was soon no longer visible on the horizon. I'm curious to find out exactly how that happened. But the two of them also sailed really well." Axel and Julius Grawe won the yardstick classification on the X-442 "Mopion".

At the award ceremony on Sunday on the grounds of the host Yacht Club Strande, all the starters celebrated their completed autumn adventure. The prospects for next year are good. Cord Hall said: "We are assuming normal conditions and the normal start date in spring. We expect the maximum number of starters of 75 boats again and probably also a waiting list." Click here for the results (please click!).