Regatta news: Pantaenius Round Skagen: first yachts cross the finish line

The round Skagen race is one of the most notorious in Europe. This early in the year, the wind on the North Sea can be so strong that the yachts in Jammerbucht or Skagerrak really get on the leeward side. However, the 2008 Pantaenius Round Skagen has so far proved to be tame.

Patience is put to the test, nerves are stretched to breaking point. Where is the next stretch of wind to be found? Some crews are still fighting their way through the doldrums of the Baltic Sea. Half of the field of this year's long-distance North Sea Week has already arrived in Kiel - exhausted and sunburnt, but happy. On Whit Monday, 65 crews set off on the Pantaenius Rund Skagen long-distance race. And they experienced all kinds of weather scenarios, but above all a lot of light wind. At 26 metres, the longest yacht in the fleet, "Calypso" (the former maxi "Shockwave" from Australia) owned by Gerhard Clausen from Hamburg, sailed ahead as expected and crossed the finish line on Thursday evening. Final results are expected later this week.

As the final race of the North Sea Week, the
Pantaenius Round Skagen alternates every two years with the Edinburgh Regatta to Scotland. This year, the race once again sailed from Helgoland around the northern tip of Denmark to Kiel. The 510 nautical miles can be completed in two to three days if the wind is reasonably favourable. This year, however, the weather conditions gave the sailors a much longer time at sea. And despite the mostly light winds, it was and still is really exciting. Tough battles to windward and focussed duels all the way to the finish can be observed. "It's all about tactics here, and every mistake is penalised. Sometimes you could tear your hair out in anger, but that's just the way the game is. Regatta sailing is very interesting," says Harald Baum, owner of regatta partner Pantaenius, who took part with his Swan 44 "Elan" and celebrated his 25th participation in the Pantaenius Rund Skagen regatta. "We arrived at the finish late but happy and had a hearty breakfast with the other sailors in Strande," says Baum. And according to the current status of the calculated results, the fight was worth it: the Hamburg native can also celebrate victory in his ORC international 2 class.

As is so often the case when yachts of very different types sail against each other, the first to finish are not necessarily the winners of the regatta. The finishing times calculated with the respective handicap factor of the boat (time sailed) result in the "calculated times" and thus the true winners. For this to happen, however, all yachts in the classification group must first cross the finish line. In the ORC international 1 class, the winners have already been determined. Here, the Bremen IMX 38 "Xenia-Crew" sailed to first place under helmsman Okke Müller-Röhlck. The "Sparta III" of Hans-Christian Wulff (Bad Segeberg) followed very close behind, just three calculated seconds behind. Third in the class was Hartmut Hermann from Hamburg with "Nikaia". The results in the ORC Club 1 group have also already been calculated, as all the yachts in the classification group have finished: First place here was taken by Kai Neumann's "Roxy" from Wedel, ahead of Jan-Ulrich Stähr's Figaro 2 yacht "Gnaraloo". He finished ahead of Dirk Clasen with the "Gingko" crew (Wedel).

Meanwhile, Axel Zieseniss, Sven Köhler and photographer Hinrich Franck have to be just as patient as the sailors, some of whom have been stuck in the doldrums for hours. The three Hamburg-based race organisers have been waiting at the Kiel lighthouse since Wednesday afternoon. A day and a half later, on Thursday evening, the large sail of the "Calypso" finally made an appearance. After 72 hours and 13 minutes, at 6.03 pm, the 86-foot yacht owned by Gerhard Clausen from Hamburg was the first yacht to reach its destination at the Kiel lighthouse. It was closely followed by the 56-foot carbon racer "Scho-ka-kola" owned by Uwe Lebens from Neumünster. And 45 minutes later, the Volvo 60 yacht "SEB 1 Jever" with its characteristic green sails also sailed across the finish line at the fixed navigation mark in the Bay of Kiel. Skipper Ralf Kudra from Rostock had wished for much more wind for his racer, which sailed all the oceans during the Volvo Ocean Race 2001.

Almost ten yachts have withdrawn from the race, partly due to
time problems, but also due to material damage. The "Scaramouche", for example, returned to Helgoland harbour on Monday evening due to water ingress. During a routine check on board Frank Kamlade's J/V 54 yacht from Bremen, a crew member suddenly noticed a slight ingress of water, but it was not possible to locate and stop it precisely. "I suspect it's the keel bolts, but unfortunately I don't know exactly," explained Kamlade after returning to Heligoland harbour.

The record time of 43 hours and 46 minutes, which Klaus Murrmann set with the "UCA" in 2000, was not jeopardised at any time, because the
weather forecast, which weather expert Ralf Brauner had to present,
weather expert Ralf Brauner promised rarely more than ten knots of wind before the start.

Winner of all classes in the 2006 Pantaenius Round Skagen Race, Olaf Behrens was unable to defend his title, but did achieve second place with his "Rave" in the ORC Club 2 group behind Peter Hankemeyer's "Be Happy". However, the results are not yet certain, as there are still some competitors in this group on the course.

While some smaller yachts such as Thomas Holzes Granada 31 S "Roxane" are still at the entrance to the Great Belt, Henrik Masekowitz's "Beijamar", which is only six and a half metres long, has already fought its way under the famous Belt Bridge. The three metre wide mini-transat yacht with its characteristic boom proves that small boats can be quite competitive as soon as long distances are not sailed exclusively on the wind. What's more, the two-man crew on "Beijamar" consists of two experienced sailors who know how to handle a reach monster like a mini yacht.