Helga Cup: Pink Alster fun - final at the world's largest women's regatta
It is the almost 380 female sailors who have made the eighth Helga Cup a unique sailing festival since its premiere in 2018. The world's largest women's regatta is once again the female sailing magnet in the current edition, attracting 73 teams from eleven countries. The final races are scheduled for this Sunday, before the finale in the early afternoon and the award ceremony with Hamburg's State Councillor Christoph Holstein.
Helga Cup: Crews from Down Under answer the call
61 teams will compete in the J/70 boat class, with twelve inclusive crews competing on RS Venture Connect boats. As patron, the former German track cyclist and two-time Olympic champion Kristina Vogel brings a golden glamour and plenty of competitive spirit to the women's sailing summit on Hamburg's Outer Alster. She had already encouraged the women at the start of the event not to allow themselves to be limited by external factors, but to pursue their own goals and lead by example.
Two Australian teams had the longest journey to the Helga Cup this year. One of the crews is competing on the Alster for the second time. "It's great to be back at the Helga Cup. The atmosphere is always great," said the team of four sailors from the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Western Australia.
Three of them sail together in a kite at home Down Under near the windy Perth area. "First and foremost, we want to have fun sailing in the Helga Cup. In 2024, we finished in the top half of the field. This time it would be great to be in the top third. However, we don't have that much experience in the J/70 boat class because it's rather unusual in Australia," said helmswoman Sandy Anderson.
In the same boat with Hamburg Active City and NRV
The Helga Cup is organised and hosted by the foundation "Wir sind Wir - Inclusion in Sailing e.V.". The first starting shot was fired on Friday. As in the previous year, it was fired by Senior Police Officer Julia Homburg, Head of Hamburg Police Department 31, who said: "Being responsible for the starting gun at a women's regatta is a special honour. It was fun again."
With partners Hamburg Active City and the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, the Helga Cup is enjoying a brilliant eighth edition, with the wind and weather playing along well so far in the natural sailing stadium on the Alster. One of the best-known starters this weekend is the Olympic 49erFX silver medallist Susann Beucke.
The 34-year-old professional sailor from Kiel is competing with the MammaSeatas. The female sailors with cancer thus have an experienced helmswoman at their side, even on the high seas. Sanni Beucke said at the halfway point of the Helga Cup on Saturday: "It's great to see the smiles on the faces of my crew! The aim is to enjoy the time on the water. Today was sailing at the highest level and was great fun. Our motivation is high."
Typical Alster winds: gusty and twisting
Eleven-year-old Nomine Fabian and Jola Schönebeck were on course to defend their title in the RS Venture Connect class. Jola Schönebeck described the conditions as "twisty, gusty and challenging", typical of the Alster, but still "super nice". "We had a few bumpy starts, but we always made good progress. We are getting better and better and are happy with our current position," said the sailor from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein.
The Helga Cup will also be settled after the top ten final on Sunday afternoon. A total of 142 races should be completed by then - a mammoth programme with a high sporting fun factor, which has been taking place since Sunday morning on the Showdown course. Light summery winds of around eight knots were blowing on the Alster on Sunday morning - good conditions for the sailors and the best city cinema for fans and walkers on the banks.
On the morning of the final day, Helga Cup motor Sven Jürgensen drew a first brief interim conclusion, saying: "It's an incredibly good and beautiful event. We have more sailing time than ever before. The teams are also full of praise for the pairing lists from SAP. We had a good campaign with the Germany SailGP team. Anna Barth sailed with the Mammaseatas. The topic of inclusion reaches many people."
Helga Cup: Local heroes in front
The sailors from the Hamburg Sailing Club with Team Stiftung Mammazentrum were on course for the final at the Helga Cup in the morning, ahead of the "Fiven" crew, the VSaW ladies and Team Nordkomplott with the 49erFX European champions Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille from Mühlenberger Segel-Club. However, there was still some movement in the table before the top ten teams were determined for the final.
Click here for the intermediate results in the classification. There were more races to come before the top ten final begins early Sunday afternoon. Click here for the live tracking of the Helga Cup.
The Helga Cup is "like coming home", "a family reunion", "a holiday" - impressions of the world's biggest women's regatta:
