German Offshore Award: "Ginkgo" wins, young Bremen "Lions" strong, Wolfgang Schäfer honoured
Tatjana Pokorny
· 22.04.2024
Anyone who thinks back to the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race last year will remember: the British classic proved to be a furious, but at times brutal anniversary edition in stormy conditions at the start. The legendary long-distance race began with an impressive record fleet of 430 registered boats and almost 3,000 sailors from 49 countries. 93 crews - around a quarter of the field - had already abandoned the race in the first 15 hours.
With winds of 40 knots and more from the front, there were cries of "Mayday", sunken yachts and broken masts. But others came through, parried the harsh conditions with the right boats and good seamanship. At the end of the 620 nautical mile classic, the IRC overall standings certified that 201 teams had crossed the finish line. 151 had given up. Six had not even started in view of the forecasts. The situation was not much different in other classification groups.
"Ginkgo" plans with "Red Bandit" for Admiral's Cup 2025
Dirk Clasen's "Ginkgo" was the only German yacht to finish on page one of the long online results lists in the Rolex Fastnet Race. With 21st place in the overall IRC ranking, the "Ginkgo" crew was the best German Fastnet team in terms of calculated time and came fifth in its IRC 1 classification group.
Dirk Clasen and the Ginkgo Sailing Team on the Humphreys 39, which is just under twelve metres long, were honoured with the German Offshore Award on Monday evening. Dirk Clasen said at Hamburg City Hall: "Thank you very much for this wonderful prize! We didn't expect it at all." In addition to a packed regatta programme for 2024 with a German and Scandinavian focus, Dirk Clasen also revealed at the award ceremony that he is planning to enter his crew and the southern German "Red Bandit" as a team in the newly launched Admiral's Cup 2025.
One of the first congratulations for the "Ginkgo" crew in the Great Ballroom came from someone who had experienced the storm fastnet himself. Melwin Fink had contested the long-distance race with Lennart Burke on the Class 40 "Sign for Com", finishing as the fastest German boat and taking fourth place in the class. Melwin Fink said at the presentation of the German Offshore Award: "'Gingko' sailed very well and also left larger boats behind. That was a strong performance on the Fastnet."
State Councillor Christoph Holstein said in his laudatory speech for the "Ginkgo" team: "In this regatta, the participants had to push themselves to their limits. They had to be able to do more than just sail their boat fast. Good seamanship was required. A strong team spirit. The will to persevere. The willingness to toil for several days and keep the ship on course in the most adverse conditions."
Complicated formula, prominent nominees
The KYC yacht "Ginkgo" left a number of prominent nominees behind in the vote for the best German offshore yacht, which is controlled by a complicated formula that takes into account many elements such as the size of the field of participants in regattas and the weather conditions. Harm Müller-Spreer (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) and his TP52 world champion "Platoon" were just as unlikely to prevail in the poll organised by the German Offshore Owners Association as Boris Herrmann and his "Malizia - Seaexplorer", which he sailed double-handed with Will Harris in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023, came seventh.
The J/112E "Aquaplay" was also nominated (Verein Wassersport Lesum) with skipper Max Habeck for sixth place in the ORC 3 classification group at the ORCi World Championship off Kiel and the JPK 10.80 "Rockall VIII" by Christopher Opielok (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) for IRC 14th place in his second Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, which brought him the happy ending he had hoped for after his unfortunate retirement at the premiere.
The Life Time Award For his lifetime achievement in sailing, Dr Wolfgang Schäfer, who was an integral part of the German ocean racing scene for decades with his "Struntje" yachts, received the award in front of around 200 guests. Albert Schweizer, a long-time sailing companion of the multiple Admiral's Cup participant and later Farr 40 World Champion, who represented the interests of German sea sailors for over 15 years together with him on the DSV Sailing Committee, gave the witty laudatory speech.
Lifetime achievement award for Wolfgang Schäfer
In preparation for his speech, Albert Schweizer spoke on the phone with Italian America's Cup helmsman Francesco "Cecco" Bruni, who has also sailed for Wolfgang Schäfer, for example in the 2015 California Cup off Los Angeles. Bruni's comment, as quoted by Albert Schweizer: "The Dottore, Bruni told me, is an incredible sailor. But not with his bum. He does everything with his head." Wolfgang Schäfer, who had not expected to be honoured, celebrated the award for his life's work with his wife and long-time navigator Angela Schäfer.
On stage, Schäfer said: "I'm completely surprised. Nobody told me anything. The 'Struntje' turned 50 last year. Until two years ago, we were still sailing the North Sea Week." Wolfgang Schäfer passed on the jury's bow and the applause from the audience directly to his wife and concluded his acceptance speech with the words: "Congratulations, Angela!"
Carolina Werner and Paul Farien from Kiel, who promoted their German involvement in the Puig Women's America's Cup and the Unicredit Youth America's Cup, were not the only ones to provide a youthful dynamic on the festive evening. The best film of the evening was shown by the young crew of the Sun Fast 3600 "Löwe von Bremen" from the sailing club Das Wappen von Bremen (SKWB).
Young German sailing talent: promoted and courted
The team had mastered its transfer and the wild 50th Rolex Fastnet Race despite the injury and cancellation of its helmsman before the start of the race with an average age of 22 years. It was the Fastnet première for all five crew members. They were honoured for their performance with the Wehring & Wolfes Youth Prize. In his laudatory speech, Managing Director Rainer Kugler put the spotlight on the reorganisation of youth training at the 90-year-old sailing club "Das Wappen von Bremen". It aims to give young crews responsibility early on and motivate them to take part in ocean races independently with a modern, competitive ship.
Mona Küppers, President of the German Sailing Association, also addressed the topic of young talent in her welcoming speech in the evening and reported on the DSV's efforts to maintain the attractiveness of offshore regattas and to promote the next generation of sailors with various projects, including during Kiel Week.
Mona Küppers also referred to three German sailing championships that will be held in 2024: "The North Sea Week and the subsequent Rund Skagen long-distance race will be about the offshore title, the Blue Ribbon Cup will see double-handed crews sailing for the championship title and the Flensburg Fjord Week will be for the inshore specialists. This year, true all-rounders have the chance to become German champion three times with their yacht."
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