Baltic 500: Two-handed Baltic Sea race starts on Father's Day, record possible

50 boats were registered and 48 crossed the start line on the Kiel Fjord on Father's Day morning for the seventh Baltic 500. For the first time in three years, the classic race in German and Danish Baltic Sea waters will once again cover the full distance, much to the delight of organisers and challengers.

Baltic 500: Will the record fall?

The chosen course takes the fleet of Doublehand crews from the Kiel Outer Fjord to the southern tip of Langeland through the Great Belt. The island of Læso remains to starboard. The return journey takes them past Copenhagen through the Öresund. The long-distance course continues southwards through the Kadet Channel past Gedser, then through the Fehmarn Belt. From Fehmarn, the start and finish line in the Bay of Strande is already on target.

The record for the double-handed Baltic Sea race has stood at 2 days, 7 hours, 54 minutes and 23 seconds since 2022. It was set by Tim Behrendt and his long-time sailing partner Andreas Buchheim with the JPK 11.80 "Frida", which is once again taking part in this seventh edition of the Baltic 500. The boat is being sailed this year by Tim Behrendt and Julius Battenfeld.

However, the duo are not the prime contenders for a new record this time. On paper at least, there are faster boats in the race. The forecast conditions and plenty of reaching could favour the teams Wolf Scheder-Bieschin/Arnt Buhns on the J/V 43 "Vineta" and Lennart Burke/Mwlin Fink on their Class40 in particular, but also other candidates. Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink are preparing for the Globe40 circumnavigation, which they will start on 31 August.

First boats expected at the finish line on Saturday

At the current regatta on the home turf, the starting shot was fired on this Thursday morning in picture-book weather. "We got a little bit more wind in the last few minutes before the start, just under ten knots. Then suddenly everyone got faster and it was quite close. It was glorious weather with endless sunshine. If the wind holds out, we could even set a course record," said regatta director Cord Hall, summarising the start.

It was a sporty start with lots of colourful cloth in the air. I didn't see any contacts or red flags." Cord Hall

The two starts of the Baltic 500 went off without any major incidents on Thursday morning, even if it was surprisingly close in some situations. The Dehler 30 ODs and the yardstickers were sent into the race first, followed by the main field of ORC club duos. Several boats sailed in eight to ten knots of wind only a few centimetres close to the starting boat. The race committee heard quite a few howls of protest, but initially saw no red protest flags.

A more recent routing by Sverre Reinke and Lina Rixgens before the start of the race for their Sun Fast 30OD, for example, resulted in a sailing time of 2 days and 16 hours. This would mean that they would be back at the finish line on the night of 31 May to 1 June. Looking at the even bigger and faster 50 and 40 metres yachts, we can at least dream of a record journey. Click here for the YACHT preview and the record candidates.

"Vineta" in front at the start

While the crews at sea press the accelerator pedal to the floor, their progress here in the tracking are closely monitored. On land, the organising team led by Baltic 500 founders Cord Hall and Rasmus Töpsch will keep an eye on the fleet day and night. After their return at the weekend, the athletes can look forward to the award ceremony on Monday at the Strande Yacht Club.

After the first four hours or so, Wolf Scheder-Bieschin and Arnt Bruhns led the field with "Vineta". The leading group behind them included Team Next Generation Boating as well as the Swedish XP-44 "Xar", the First 36 "Salicornia" with Arno Böhnert and Christian Heermann, the Seaquest 36 "Circus" with Thorsten Thelen and Christian Knop and the two fastest Dehler 30ODs: "Play harder" with Luca Meyer and Luca Leidholdt and "Powerplay" with Oliver Schmidt-Rybandt and Bjarne Lorenzen.