There is no mercy for race organisers or sailors in the Baltic 500 marathon. In the final of the 500 nautical mile long-distance race, night turned into day when the First Ship Home crossed the line at 2.38 am on 17 May. Mathias Müller von Blumencron and Cole Brauer drove the J/V 43 "Red 2" to the finish line in the dark.
Her sister ship "Vineta" followed at 3.01 am with friends Wolf Scheder-Bieschin and Arnt Bruhns. Three of the first four sailors to finish were racing for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein. Cole Brauer started for the New York Yacht Club. The trio of the fastest three finishers in this eighth edition was completed at 7.41 am by the Pure 49 "Gorre" with Matthias Schernikau and Urs Kohler.
Baltic 500: rough second half of the Baltic Sea race
"It smelled like the Southern Ocean on the Baltic," said Cole Brauer with a smile after her Baltic 500 premiere. The American Class 40 circumnavigator and co-skipper of Boris Herrmann in Team Malizia was taking part in the Baltic double-handed test for the first time. Her description was in line with the conditions she experienced in the Baltic Sea, which were sometimes very rough, especially on the way back.
An endless rumble. We hope the ship doesn't break apart." Mathias Müller von Blumencron
As a reward for the exertions they had mastered, the highly committed organising team from the Yacht Club Strande served the teams that had arrived a warm chilli in the middle of the night, while the pursuers at sea were still battling towards the start and finish harbour and fighting for every mile.
After the Pure 49 "Gorre" crossed the finish line, the rocket of the race also took off in the morning. Jonas Hallberg and Jonas Hiller are the top favourites to win the overall ORC classification with their new JPK 10.50. "The JPK is like something from another planet," noted "Salicornia" co-skipper Arno Böhnert during the race.
One has already in Cap Martinique and also seen before: the JPK 10.50 is a power." Cord Hall
No wonder that "Hinden" owner and skipper Jonas Hallberg enjoyed the race with "super fun". His crew also had to brave the cold in this race. "It wasn't that cold for the first few nights. It only got cold when we set off on the cross from Læsø. Then we also had to put on gloves and things like that."
First downwind enjoyment, then thunderstorms at Læsø
Travelling without on-board heatingThe ambitious JPK duo had a different approach, as Hallberg reported at the start of the second half of the race: "We always try to charge the batteries regularly. Then the engine really warms up. That keeps the boat warm and works quite well as a substitute for heating."
Jonas Hallberg described the course of the race in the second half of the two-handed test as follows: "There was a lot of downwind with the A2 until Læsø. It was great fun against the Pogo RC. It was a great neck-and-neck race the whole time. Shortly before Læsø we looked a bit stupid. There were two relatively large thunderstorm cells. But luckily we were able to manoeuvre in between. That went quite well."
Commenting on his new JPK 10.15, which has just been delivered to Germany, Jonas Hallberg said: "I'm amazed at how well the new boat is performing, especially compared to the other boats on the cruise. We are also surprised ourselves and are delighted that it is sailing so well. All in all, we are very satisfied here, the mood is good and we are continuing to push ahead." The "Hinden" - strongly sailed and with a strong racing value - is unlikely to be beaten by any of her pursuers after ORC. Click here to track the current Baltic 500.
Baltic 500: A bow to all finishers
Baltic 500 co-founder and race director Cord Hall took stock on Sunday morning, saying: "I'm really impressed that the boats at the back are pulling through so hard. That really is worthy of honour!" On Sunday morning, there was every indication that 30 of the 47 boats that had originally started would be able to reach the finish. "It was cold, windy and probably rattled a lot. It probably wasn't easy," said Cord Hall, summarising the reactions of the crews he received from the sea.
At the same time, the organisers noted that "a lot of people had obviously made a mistake with their time planning this year". This could also be seen from the fact that a number of crews cancelled the race without any acute distress because the 500 nautical miles took considerably longer than they could have imagined - or wanted.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
