The challengers travelled 95 nautical miles overnight of the 5th Brassfahrt through the Bay of Lübeck and Mecklenburg. The rules of the race are very simple, much to the delight of its growing number of fans: it is sailed in groups ranging from mini and small to medium and large through to X-large. The smallest group is sent into the race first. The others follow. The "Notice of Race" is just five pages long and shows that maximum regatta fun is also possible with a manageable framework and set of rules.
5th Brassfahrt: 100 nautical miles across the bay
Despite the calm winds, there was an intense battle until the finish line between the "Passat" and the clubhouse of the Lübeck Yacht Club was reached again. Many guests and fans on and around the Trave took advantage of the glorious weather on the Whitsun weekend to watch the start and finish of the race with the motto "100 nautical miles across the bay". The starts in particular were great fun for the fans, as they went directly along the Travemünde pier.
"Then the boats sail past 50 metres away from the spectators. The gennakers are hoisted before they set course for Fehmarn. Those were beautiful pictures for the spectators," said co-organiser Matthias Renner, who launched the race half a decade ago together with his sailing friends Olav Arne Nehls and Timo Manske. The enthusiastic single-handed sailors wanted to attract minis to the Baltic Sea in 2022 without huge effort.
The event was intended to be a one-off event. It has since become a single-handed and, above all, two-handed regatta, which was held for the first time in 2022 and has now celebrated its fifth edition. "It was great! And we're looking forward to the sixth edition next year, hoping for similarly challenging conditions," said Matthias Renner with a twinkle in his eye about the 95-nautical-mile challenge. "Of course, we sailed a few more nautical miles, but there was actually very little cross."
The Code Zero was the sail of the race." Matthias Renner
The fastest boat across the bay in this fifth year of the Brassfahrt was the Arcona 465 "Intoxicated" with Thoralf Wigger from Warnemünde Sailing Club and Matthias Huhn from Yachtlub Warnow. They mastered the course in 17 hours, 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Patrik Heinrich (Sail-Lollipop Regatta Verein) and Thomas Weigel (Steinberger Yacht-Club) were remarkably successful with the Esse 850 "Jynx". For Heinrich, it was the fifth Brassfahrt victory in a row in Group Small.
Warmer than the Baltic 500: the Baltic Sea sister Brassfahrt
Hasso Hoffmeister (Kieler Yacht-Club) and Sven Winterberg (Schilkseer Yacht-Club) also defended their title from last year in the medium group on the Akilaria 950 "Whiteout". The perennial favourites, who also received the challenge prize for the fastest boat in the numerically largest group for the fourth time in a row - a beautiful watercolour by Frauke Klatt - relegated Johannes Berg and Louis Enking with the X-35 "Jinx" and Jens Hufnagel and Thomas Panten with the modified Archambault A-35 "Chenapan" to second and third place.
Hasso Hoffmeister said cheerfully after the race: "It's nice that I don't have to take the nail out for the picture." The "Whiteout" owner, experienced regatta sailor and shipbuilding engineer from Hamburg is a fan of the Brassfahrt and said: "It was a real dream weekend. Despite the light conditions, the race sometimes had strange winds that were almost impossible to explain with instruments and forecasts. You couldn't rely on anything except your own observations and intuition - a great challenge."
The participants spent the night in air temperatures of 15 or 16 degrees - a more pleasant experience, when the Baltic 500 duos had it on their nights in icy single-digit temperatures. "That's one reason why I don't sail the Baltic 500 and why I like the Brassfahrt so much," says Hoffmeister, whose team set standards on the water again this year.
Surprising encounter: Russian warship in sight
The "Whitout" duo also had an unusual encounter: when they were forced to make a "small tactical northern banana" between Fehmarn and Warnemünde, they came across the coastguard vessel "Bad Bramstedt". "They radioed us, 'Whiteout', 'Whiteou', please change to channel 6. Then they enquired where we were going. We briefly explained that we were sailing a regatta and that there were about 50 other ships coming after us."
The coastguard then asked the crew to change course slightly and keep at least two nautical miles away from the Russian warship ahead. Hasso Hoffmeister recounts: "We saw it briefly in the twilight of dusk (ed.: see picture in the gallery) and then we were lucky, because the wind picked up just at that moment. I wasn't even aware that Russians are allowed to stay in designated shipping lanes. That seems to be international law. They lay there quite calmly while the coastguard maintained a presence on the edge of German territorial waters."
"Warm, sunny, marvellous," was Hasso Hoffmeister's brief description of the 5th Brassfahrt at the end of the race. "They even simplified the sailing instructions. Two tonnes in principle, that's it. Plenty of room for tactics and strategy in between. Compared to the Silverrudder, you don't have to go through the Little Belt and you don't have a sandbank here and a sandbank there. Regattas that are only organised by size are simply the most relaxed."
One soloist beats almost all the duos in his group
According to Hoffmeister, there is also the great atmosphere at the Brassfahrt. "The race is neither too aloof nor too informal. It's simply friendly and organised and implemented by a great team." This also applied to the get-together before and after the race at the hospitable Lübeck Yacht Club. The winners and participants were honoured and celebrated here after the race. The results can be found on the Homepage of the Brassfahrt here.
Peter Thyen and Jan Speer were the first to cross the finish line with their Santa Cruz 37 "Sonic". They won the Large group ahead of Arno Böhnert. Remarkably, Böhnert was one of the few starters in the field to sail the First 36 "Salicornia" single-handed, reaching the finish line in second place just 19 minutes and 18 seconds after the group winners. He left ten two-handed crews and a further two soloists behind him. Third place in Group Large went to Jan B. Hansen and Helle Hansen with the First 36 E "The Beast".
In the Mini group, Gregor Förster and Dirk Freilinger won on the Flaar 24 "Wildes Mädchen". In the Small group, the confident winners Patrik Heinrichs and Thomas Weigel, who reached the finish with their "Jynx" after 18 hours, 31 minutes and 5 seconds, were followed by Uwe Süring and Rolf Schmidt with the Onyx 850 "Onyx" and Markus Schöner with Brar Okke Braren on the modified 30 dinghy cruiser "Kleine Brise".
The Brassfahrt continues, registration portal opens before Christmas
In the largest group of XL boats, Thoralf Wigger and Matthias Huhn on the Arcona 465 "Intoxicated" beat Andrian Backmann and Hendrik Decker on the Rainbow 42 "Uijuijui" with the fastest brass time. Dr Martin Rafalcyk and Patrick Böttcher took third place in this division with the Luffe 45 "Schlawutzi".
The enthusiasm of the Brasssfahrt lovers carries the organisers into the future. A good 200 sailors celebrated the race together at the end. The registration portal for the 6th Brassfahrt is expected to open in December. To be continued.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
