50th Kiel 24-hour regatta: Who will cover the most nautical miles in one day?

"The halyard lock has opened!" The foresail trimmer was the first to see it, shouting the bad news against 23 knots of wind, and the crew set off immediately. The rain is literally pelting down from the sky. On the ship and our oilskins, but above all on our faces and heads, on which the hoods were not holding because of the wind.

We are on board the "Tormund" for the 24-hour sailing race organised by the Möltenort Sailing Association (MSK) and the Mönkeberg Water Sports Association (WVM) in the Kiel Fjord. The regatta has several special features: On the one hand, there is no fixed course, and on the other hand, it can be useful to call at different harbours.

The aim of the race is to collect as many nautical miles as possible in 24 hours. Only the start and finish lines and a buoy that must be passed are specified. The actual route can be freely chosen. The aim is to sail courses on which the respective boat sails best. Success therefore depends largely on taking its strengths and weaknesses into account.

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In addition to the nautical miles actually logged, there are various bonuses. For example, four nautical miles are credited for each harbour called at, which are not calculated according to yardstick like the nautical miles sailed. It should be noted that there must be at least four nautical miles sailed between the harbours, and the bonus is only awarded once for each harbour.

The only barrel on the course is drawn by lot

At the helmsmen's meeting in the MSK clubhouse, the one tonne of the course is drawn by lot. Frank Krupinska from the MSK, race director and head of the organising committee, draws from his cap. "It will be buoy one," he announces after pulling a slip of paper out of his cap. The course mark lies between Maasholm and Ærø. After final questions about formalities such as sending proof of the harbour points, everyone sets off for a last visit to the toilet and then on board and on the way to the starting line.

This weekend, the "Tormund" is not crewed by the regular crew with regatta experience. We don't have the same routine, so it takes a while to get the sails up. We cross the starting line a little late. We then set course for the prescribed course mark. We gradually overtake many of our competitors, as our boat is the fastest in the entire field. As a result, we will also have to clock up more nautical miles.

We reach the railway mark shortly before 10 pm. It has cooled down in the meantime. By now, most people have pulled their long oilskin jackets over their already thick onion look. We are expecting a cold night with temperatures in the low single digits. The fact that our boat is not covered below deck and will be wet increases our respect for the time without sun.

Sailing along on an X-Treme 32: water below deck is part of the concept

The "Tormund" is an X-Treme 32 from G-Force Yachts in San Diego. She is 9.95 metres long, 3.42 metres wide and displaces just under two tonnes when empty. The keel accounts for 900 kilograms of the Reichel-Pugh design. Owners Jan and Arne Meincke bought her at the beginning of 2022 when they were looking for a sporty regatta boat that they could sail with their grown-up children.

Arne had explained the idea behind the boat to me before we boarded it on Friday afternoon in Strande: "The concept of the X-Treme 32 is not that no water runs below deck, but that it comes out faster than it runs in." Water below deck is normal, partly because the gennaker pole is not sealed. Several pumps are therefore in use underway. Apart from the equipment packed in waterproof bags and suitcases, the only equipment that is reasonably safe from moisture is that which is stowed on the starboard side towards the stern in the net under the ceiling.

The purchase included a converted box trailer, which serves as a workshop, storage for sails and transport facility. "We actually have everything in the trailer. From ropes in every possible design to all variations of epoxy resin and catering. Basically, you can build the whole boat again with the material from the trailer," says Jan ironically. He usually sits at the tiller of the "Tormund".

Jan and Arne's plan to go sailing with their children, their former performance squad colleagues and friends worked out: The crew is now at the start of most of the well-known events. "We actually sail everything that comes up and takes place. This year the Maior, Ærø Rund, Kieler Woche and then the Blueribboncup or the ORC European Championship in Mariehamn," says Arne Meincke. They will also take part in the series of Wednesday regattas organised by the Kiel Yacht Club off Strande, where the "Tormund" is also moored.

Calling at a harbour earns you four bonus nautical miles

At around 0.45 am, we collect the first four bonus nautical miles in Olpenitz harbour. It is now just after one o'clock and things are slowly getting a little quieter in the cockpit. You can tell that the participants would normally be asleep by now - they all have a regular working day in their bones.

We're starting to feel cold and we're getting hungry. By now we've put on everything we've got with us. This makes it difficult to squeeze through the shallow companionway. Fellow sailor Luca attaches the Jetboil to his self-made holder and fills it with water from one of our drinking bottles. When the water has heated up after just over 90 seconds, it is poured into the bag of astronaut food. We enjoy the warm meal in the cockpit.

We then decide to head for the marina in Damp. When we reach it at around two o'clock, it looks exactly as it did after the Baltic storm surge last October. The "Welcome to Damp" sign has been tipped over, many of the pontoons are in the same condition as they were immediately after the flood and most of the pits are tied up with ropes, making it impossible to enter the harbour. However, as ships are already moored at some of the jetties again and the Baltic Sea Waterways and Shipping Office has officially reopened the harbour, we follow our plan to collect the four harbour miles.

When we leave Damp, we decide to sail north to Schleimünde. The pilot island had also been badly affected in October. And although we only reach the harbour entrance shortly before three o'clock in the morning, the destruction is still visible in the light of our torch. Although numerous volunteers have been working on restoring the island over the winter. A crew member balances on the jetty, which is still missing some planks, and puts the fore and aft lines around the cleats. Two people sit on the starboard side and hold the light boat off the jetty with their feet. Otherwise the wind would push it against the jetty.

"Harbour hopping" in the Kiel Fjord

Jan takes a photo of how the boat is moored with both lines and sends it to the race organisers with our location via WhatsApp. The tracker on the pushpit also sends a position. In the past, sailors had to prove their visit to the harbour by dropping a postcard in the harbour's letterbox. The "Tormund" is the best example of how much sailing has changed as a result of modern communication technology. Her Instagram account has made the racer's team known to many, especially young sailors.

There are over 180 posts on the account, which have already attracted more than 11,500 subscribers. "Tormundracing" plays on social media in the same league as the well-known professional German sailing teams and has even attracted the interest of certain companies for sponsorship.

The call at the two harbours of Eckernförde is uneventful. We continue our journey and sail back to the Kiel Fjord.

On the space sheet course, where the wind blows at an angle of 135 degrees and a speed of around 18 knots, we achieve a boat speed of between 11.3 and 11.5 knots under mainsail and jib alone.

We start our "harbour hopping" in the Bay of Kiel shortly before 2 pm. One after the other and with four miles sailed in between, we moored in Strande, in the north and south harbours of Schilksee, in Laboe Baltic Bay Marina, in Düsternbrook, in Möltenort and, just before crossing the finish line, in Mönkeberg.

Award ceremony is a true ceremony

After crossing the finish line, we set course for Möltenort, prepare the boat for the transfer under engine power to Strande and drive to Mönkeberg for the award ceremony in the cars parked in the harbour. Everyone is exhausted and tired. Sleep was out of the question last night. The "Tormund" has no bunks at all. Each of us rested for a maximum of two hours on a wet sleeping mat below deck. The award ceremony begins on Saturday evening in a convivial atmosphere. Despite all the efforts of the previous 24 hours, the participants turned up in large numbers. In addition to a band playing live music, there are neck steaks and sausages from the barbecue, as well as potato salad and bread rolls.

After a period of arriving and settling in - many crews have at least driven the boats close to their home harbours - Holger Stürck, who they only call "Holly" here, from the WVM takes the floor. He is a member of the three-person organising committee. Even before master of ceremonies Frank Krupinska has completed the evaluation and reached the WVM clubhouse, Stürck conducts a raffle with numerous prizes to be won. He then proceeds to the award ceremony and everyone waits eagerly for Frank Krupinska to present the results. Until someone finally shouts: "He's here!"

Things are about to get restless. Frank Krupinska rushes over; like the sailors, you can tell that he didn't get much sleep during the night. Stressed, the little man with the grey beard makes his way through the packed clubhouse. After a brief period of sorting and a quick introduction, he begins to announce the results, but first he recognises the achievement that the sailors have accomplished over the past few hours: "A total of 3,084 nautical miles were sailed without having started any calculations. That is a remarkable achievement!"

Krupinska has several prizes to award at the award ceremony afterwards. He himself donated the big trophy for the "winner over all" in 2021. The crew of this ship achieved the highest total number of miles sailed and harbour bonuses. This year, this prize went to the crew of the Hanse 320 "WiN" skippered by Ralf Frerix, who also won in their group three. The team on the H-boat "Rujo" skippered by Jörg Heitmann took second place in the overall standings and thus victory in their own fourth group.

Group two was won by the crew on the JPK 960 "Deja Vu" led by Fiete Quaschner. They also won the "Junior's Cup" for the boat with the most nautical miles and crew members under the age of 30. The crew of the Comfortina 35 "Longo Mai" skippered by Thomas Jung won the "Senior's Cup" for the crew with the most nautical miles and crew members over the age of 60. Our team on the "Tormund" secured victory in group one.

At the end of the award ceremony, the "head of organisation" of the regatta once again thanked all the helpers and sailors who had taken part. In view of the doubled number of entries compared to the previous year, he expressed the hope of being able to organise the 51st edition of the historic regatta next year. His final appeal is for participants to tell their club mates and on the pontoons about the event and to promote participation. "Then it will be more fun for everyone, for you as sailors as well as for us who organise the whole thing," says Krupinska.

Interview with "Mr 24 Hours" Frank Krupinska

How did you come to be in charge of organising the 24-hour regatta?

Frank Krupinska: I have sailed countless times myself, have known the event for a long time and try to develop it further. In clubs, there always has to be a good soul who feels responsible, and at the moment that's me.

How does the cooperation between WVM and MSK, the two organising clubs, work?

Holly from the WVM and I from the MSK work very closely together in a spirit of camaraderie for the 24-hour regatta. We are not interested in different club philosophies.

And what about the boards of the respective clubs?

The committee has always had a certain life of its own. The clubs from which it is formed have actually always let us do our thing. Their motto tends to be "Let them do it, then we don't have to worry about it". As a result, we only had to discuss very few issues with the boards. Occasionally there was a funding gap when the entry fees could no longer support the event. But even things like that work out. Also because, in this case, two clubs needed 250 euros each and not one club had to pay 500 euros.

Is the regatta the highlight of the year for both clubs?

The WVM also has a folkboat regatta, we have the Fjord Cup. However, neither of these can compete with the 24-hour sailing event. This is a supra-regional flagship event for both clubs.