In 2017, Denmark's "Daniel Gyro Gearloose" of the single and double-handed regatta scene launched the Vegvisier Race and hit the nerve of the times. Morten Brandt Rasmussen, the enterprising and imaginative organiser of exciting sailing rallies, who once also invented the Silverrudder, could only rejoice on this late summer weekend: 133 boats started in the extremely participant-friendly 26 (!) categories on three courses of different lengths. 31 teams did not make it to the finish line because the calm had slowed them down too much or other adversity blocked the course. However, this hardly dampened the exuberant enthusiasm in Nyborg.
For example, the well-known Danes Per Cederberg and Ana Sutej were caught out when they ran aground in heavy seas at a speed of ten knots and, after consulting with the race organisers, had to call the coastguard for help, who rescued the duo on the Seascape 27 and towed them back to the harbour. The fact that Jure and Urban Jerman from Slovenia came second in the Small Class with their Seascape 27 "Republika Palma de Coco" on the longest of the three different courses (225 nautical miles, 158 nautical miles, 75 nautical miles) behind the Dehler 30 OD "Joint Venture" with Uwe Barthel and Sverre Reinke was nothing short of a minor miracle. In 25 knots of wind, the Slovenians' tackline was broken, which is why the following spi-drop turned out to be quite exciting. The duo almost lost the anemometer and the lantern, but came through and returned to the beautiful start and finish harbour of Nyborg with a strong result, where they celebrated at the award ceremony and dinner party on Saturday afternoon.
The many winners, but also all the other participants in this sailing rally, which offered the large fleet varied conditions and a whole range of navigational challenges, had good reason to do so. Mini-Transat sailor Jan Heinze and his skipper Peter Sorowka won the mini class over 225 nautical miles with their D2 series mini "Kolibri". Heinze said: "That was a cool race! It took a little longer than expected. We drifted under the Great Belt Bridge with two knots of current. The navigational challenges were sometimes crazy, because we sometimes had to pass through very narrow fairways. You had to be very careful and prudent."
The adventure of Hans Holzenkamp and Andreas Brachwitz also had a happy ending: the skipper and his co-pilot had contested the race for the first time with the Umltimate 20 "Leetje", which Holzenkamp had brought overland over 1200 kilometres from Lake Ammersee to Denmark. The reward for their efforts: second place in the mini category behind Frenchmen Mathieu Bonnier and Mathieu Laperche on their XP 20 "Row and Sail". In the Medium Class division over 225 nautical miles, which had the largest number of starters with 23, the Poles Tomasz Odzioba and Jaroslaw Dubowski on their Caravela 950 "Black Caravela" and Andreas "Coachi" Rhode with Stefan Knabe on the JPK 10.30 "Ratzfatz4" fought a thrilling bow-to-bow duel. In the end, the Germans were narrowly beaten by 16:43 minutes. In the Small Class division over 158 nautical miles with the second largest number of boats (17), shorthanded grand seigneur Franz Schollmeyer and Falko Braun on the already legendary Esse 850 "Firlefanz" once again came out on top. The "Line Honours" for the first boat to finish went to Jan Andersen and Roland Gäbler, Olympic bronze medal winners in the Tornado in 2000. "Victory in the Vegvisier Race! We took the line honours with the ten-metre 'Black Marlin' on the 158-nautical-mile course in the beautiful Danish archipelago," said Gäbler jubilantly, "the conditions were challenging with winds of three to 30 knots from the west. What a fantastic adventure race through the islands of the western Baltic Sea!" Click here for the final results (please click!).
It was clear from the celebrations after the final that this regatta is still on the upswing. The Vegvisier fan community in Denmark celebrated not only the completed race itself, but also the happiness of finally being able to sail and cheer again after corona-related cancellations over the past year and a half. Morten Brandt Rasmussen, almost overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, said: "It was surreal, crazy. Simply good. Plus the huge commitment of the town of Nyberg, which supported this regatta so strongly. They really gave it their all." The host city on the east coast of Funen provided the perfect setting for the Vegvisir Race 2021, including an enchanting light concert on the return of the participants. The Vegvisir adventurers leave the Danish harbour inspired. Many of them are heading straight for Svendborg, as there are less than two weeks until the start of Northern Europe's biggest single-handed race on 17 September. The Silverrudder organisers are already expecting their fleet and have sent the first welcoming greetings to Nyborg. The harbour in Svendborg is now likely to fill up quickly.
