This weekend marks the grand finale of the 131st Kieler Woche, while elsewhere in Europe prominent long-distance races start on Sunday: Sweden's Gotland Runt, the world's largest annual offshore race, covers around 350 nautical miles around Gotland and regularly attracts huge starting fields, well-known boats and crews as well as ambitious regatta sailors to Sandhamn.
Gotland Runt: Imoca solo for "Biotherm"
Gotlant Runt has been organised since 1937. Around 250 boats are expected on the starting line this year. The start list also includes well-known German boats, including Jens Kellinghusen's Ker 56 "Varuna 6" and the 12mR yacht "Anita" from SV Rheingau in the classic classification. All participants can be found here. Among the most eye-catching boats this Swedish summer are the 100-foot racing machine "Black Jack" from Monaco and Paul Meilhat's Imoca "Biotherm", which is competing in the Gotland Runt under the name "Havsörnen III" (Sea Eagle) with a French-Swedish crew.
Both "rockets" could attack the Gotland Run record of a good 24 hours in possibly dynamic space sheet conditions. With his Swedish detour, Paul Meilhat is breaking away from the programme of other well-known Imoca racing teams one and a half months before the start of the Ocean Race Europe on 10 August off Kiel. They have already gathered in Boulogne-sur-Mer, organised speed runs there this week and will start the premiere of the new Course des Caps race around the British Isles on Sunday alongside the Gotland Runt.
Team Malizia will start the French premiere with a British focus without Boris Herrmann. The team founder wants to use the time between now and the Admira's Cup race for the Monaco team in July and the start of the Ocean Race Europe for important team tasks on land. On "Malizia - Seaexplorer", skipper Will Harris (Great Britain), Francesca Clapcich (Italy/USA), Cole Brauer (USA) and Julien Villion (France) will put the pedal to the metal under the German flag. The on-board reporter is Flore Hartout.
More than 50 restricted zones in the course of the cap
Will Harris said after the speed runs: "We had a really great day on the water and completed speed runs with the team and some guests on board. The conditions were ideal at around 15 to 18 knots. We were able to test all our sails. We did lots of speed runs, learnt a lot about the boat, foiled really well and sometimes reached 30 knots. In the end, we finished fourth overall, just one second behind the podium! Nevertheless, we are very satisfied, which is a good sign for Sunday and the start of the race!"
Five months after the Vendée Globe triumph, the fastest boat in the speedruns was once again "Macif Santé Prévoyance" by Charlie Dalin, skippered by Sam Goodchild for the Course des Caps. However, it is now clear that the start of the Course des Caps will be associated with attributes such as "slow", "demanding" and "complex". Weather expert Harris said: "We are looking at a start with light and complex wind conditions."
The Briton, who is about to circumnavigate his home country, continued: "It will be a challenge to get away from Boulogne. Then we will sail clockwise around the British Isles. I think we feel good and ready to fight and see how we will do in this race. I think the race will bring a whole range of different conditions. The navigation is very challenging, there are more than 50 exclusion zones with all the ships and oil rigs in the North Sea."
Imoca star parade around the British Isles
The key data for the upcoming Imoca Hunt: eleven teams are taking part in this first edition, which will cover around 2000 nautical miles. Four seas, five countries and seven capes characterise the challenge for the four-person crews with at least one female sailor plus an on-board reporter. The reference time for the newly developed race is the 5 days, 14 hours and 54 seconds it took Brian Thomson and the Artemis Endeavour team to sail around the British Isles in 2014.
In addition to Team Malizia, ten racing teams will be lining up at the start line with their Imocas. The Vendée Globe winner "Macif Santé Prévoyance" and Sam Goodchild's crew are the favourites for the race around the British Isles. Goodchild is sailing with Guillaume Combescure, Charlotte Yven and Loïs Berrehar. Thomas Ruyant and Ambroggio Beccaria also want to attack with their crew on "Vulnerable". "TeamWork - Team Snef" will be sailing with the best Vendée Globe skipper Justine Mettraux from Switzerland and her team-mates Carlos Manera, Xavier Macaire and Ocean Race winner Marie Riou.
Charal" with the crew of Vendée Globe fourth-placed Jérémie Beyou and Team Holcim-PRB with Vendée Globe sixth-placed Nico Lunven are also expected to be strong and will be attacking with Franck Cammas, Annemieke Bes and Alan Roberts. The red and white "Initiatives-Cœur" will be racing with three female sailors - the "Queen of Hearts" Sam Davies, Vendée Globe darling Violette Dorange and Vittoria Ripa di Meana as well as Joseph Brault.
Felix Oberle and Andreas Baden in the race
In the team on "New Europe" around Vendée Globe endurance fighter Szabolcs Weöres, Swiss mini-sailor Felix Oberle is taking the opportunity to broaden his horizons in the north of Europe. On Fabrice Amedeo's non-foiler "FDJ-United - Wewise", offshore sailor and electronics expert Andreas Baden from Kiel is in action. Click here for an overview of the Imoca fleet in the course of the Cap.
The starting gun for the Course des Caps will be fired at 2pm on Sunday. In France, the start will be broadcast live from one hour beforehand by France 3 here transferred.
Team Malizia is back in racing mode - here is the latest clip:
