After a two-day break, the sea-going yachts began the second offshore part of the 125th Kiel Week on Friday evening with the After Work Cup.
The wind steadily dropped on the 14-mile course and not all yachts made the time limit. In the IMS I yachts, the "Beluga Sailing Team" of Christian Plump (Bremen) was just one second ahead of the "Sixty 4" of Alv Gundlach (Kiel) after the calculated time.
In the group of ORC II yachts, in which Dr Michael Kohlhoff won with his "Nautilus", only four of the thirteen yachts that started made it to the finish line in time and dropped out of the classification after the time limit had expired.
Nevertheless, all participants had fun. "After the two-day break between the Kiel Cup and the second weekend of Kieler Woche, the After Work Cup is a good warm-up for the Senate Prize. You can arrive without rushing and train a little for Saturday. In any case, it's a perfect alternative to the long-distance overnight races sailed in previous years," summarised Björn Jonas, tactician on board Bernd Kriegel's "Unique" (Kiel). Tom Ross, head of the sea course organisation, was also pleased about the increased number of participants in the After Work Cup.
