Globe40: First the final, then Hamburg harbour festival for Burke and Fink

The Globe40 has been sailing since 4 September 2025. More than seven months later, the double-handed crews and their Class40ies are now heading for the start and finish harbour of Lorient. The final spurt is underway. In the early afternoon of 13 April, frontrunner "Crédit Mutuel" still had around 640 nautical miles to go to the finish line, travelling at a speed of around 14 knots.

The duel for the Globe40 victory

Around 80 nautical miles north-west of the Frenchmen Ian Lipinski and Antoine Carpentier, the Belgians struggled to catch up again. Mathematically, they were around 50 nautical miles behind "Crédit Mutuel" on the course to Lorient, but in the end they were travelling two and a half knots faster. The two top teams in this second Globe40 edition are not yet finished with each other. One thing is clear to both teams that started the final on equal points and to all fans: whoever reaches the Lorient finish line first has won this race around the world.

A good two weeks after the start of the current final Globe40 leg, it no longer looked as if Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink would be able to repeat their "miracle" from leg two last year, when they were currently a good 570 nautical miles behind the leaders. Back then, they had accumulated a gap of more than 660 nautical miles on the course from Mindelo to La Réunion before catching up with the top duo and catapulting past "Crédit Mutuel" to second place behind the Belgians in a thriller decision.

Burke and Fink are currently 15 days behind the start of the Final stage in third place. This time, they will have to defend their position in their comeback following the rig damage on leg three and the three missed leg classifications as a result. Because behind the three leading Scow-Bug boats, the Spitzbug Class40ies are still fighting with each other for the third podium place in the Globe40 and supremacy in their special "Pointer" classification, everyone has their feet on the accelerator.

Lots of first-world circumnavigators on course for Lorient

Everyone wants to finish the race on a high. So too Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney on "Wilson". The Austrian-Welsh duo was recently in sixth place behind "Barco Brasil" and "Free Dom", but would like to move up again. On Sunday morning, Lisa Berger and her co-skipper were still enjoying 20 knots and more boat speed. "How 'Wilson' loves it!" Berger wrote enthusiastically. After two weeks on the same bow and without many manoeuvres, more action came back into play on Monday.

With the exception of "Whiskey Jack" skipper Melodie Schaffer, the Globe40 marked the first circumnavigation of their sailing careers for all the other participants. They will have completed it in just a few days. For Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink, this only applies to a limited extent, as they had to abandon the third leg after their boomerang broke and were subsequently unable to complete legs four and five.

Nevertheless, the youngest crew in the race has achieved a great deal. With a total of 26,000 nautical miles completed, they are hardly inferior to the others, who have sailed over 30,000 around the world. The German nautical miles came together after the aborted third leg and the repairs carried out on La Réunion and finalised in Cape Town during the transfer to Recife in Brazil. There, the Next Generation Boating team rejoined the fleet, which had reached the Brazilian harbour from Valparaiso via Cape Horn.

Hamburg welcome party for Burke and Fink

Eight months of action - with a few interruptions - the German team wants to even without a completed lap around the world celebrate. For the 2 May a public welcome party is planned in Hamburg. This will put the spotlight on sailing, adventure and crew performance to mark the return home of the Next Generation Boating Around the World team.

It was our dream from the very beginning to dock in Hamburg after the race, take the duffel bag off the boat and walk home!" Melwin Fink

When Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink's Class40 passes the Elbe and moors in Sandtorhafen harbour, visitors can expect a maritime highlight: with the bridge opening at the Elbphilharmonie - accompanied by boats, spectators and a unique backdrop - the return of Next Generation Boating Around the World will be an experience for their families, friends, sponsors and fans. The team has designed the arrival as a public event.

After the team's arrival on its Class40, the focus will be on the history behind the regatta. According to Team Next Generation, the aim is "to make offshore sailing in Germany more visible and to establish it at world-class level in the long term".

After the Globe40: the schedule for the sailing festival

The welcome party in the spirit of sailing is to be included in the official event calendar of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Not without emotion, Lennart Burke said: "For us, this moment is not just a conclusion, but the starting signal for the next big chapter." In addition to the challenges at their two shipyards Next Generation Boating in Hamburg and Next Generation Yachting in Kiel, Burke and Fink also want to tackle the third edition of Globe40 in the Olympic year 2028.

The welcome party on 2 May will take place on the Elbe and in the harbour:

• 10.30 am: Start in Wedel (support boats welcome)
• approx. 12.30 pm: Arrival at the Elbphilharmonie
• 1.15 pm: Bridge opening
• 1.30 pm: Arrival and mooring in Sandtor harbour
• from 1.45 pm: Official welcome with representatives of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, guests from sport and business, partners and sponsors as well as family, friends and fans
• until approx. 4.30 pm: "Sound and atmosphere at the harbour (DJ set, get-together)
• 5 pm: Film premiere "All in good time" (60-minute documentary, Zeise cinema, Hamburg; Tickets can be purchased here for 12 euros; followed by a live talk with Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink)

If you can't be there on 2 May, you can also meet the team at the Ancora Yacht Festival in Neustadt from 7 to 9 May. The Class40 will be on display there at jetty T (berth 19). Until then, however, there are still a few miles to sail in the Globe40 final sprint. Click here for the tracker.

The cinema premiere of the documentary "All in - Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink Around the World" is still to come. But the film can already be seen here: