This regatta isn’t even a teenager yet, but for its participants it’s already a major event: the Helga Cup is taking place for the ninth time this long weekend on Hamburg’s Outer Alster. The starting gun is set to be fired at 11.30 am on 12 June. The organisers have put it rather nicely: “Helga, there you are again!”
Helga Cup: two boat classes, hundreds of female sailors
The inaugural event took place back in 2018 at the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, where hundreds of female sailors are set to gather once again this year for their unique sailing experience on the Alster. The races will be contested on J/70 keelboats – the same class used in the Bundesliga – and on the accessible RS Venture Connect. The format is also modelled on the league: the teams take turns in short races. The action is fast-paced, with numerous starts, mark roundings and finishes right in front of Hamburg’s city skyline.
As one of Hamburg’s top ten sporting events, the Helga Cup is a key feature of Hamburg Active City. The North German Regatta Club As the organiser, it brings its experience as one of Germany’s leading regatta clubs to the event and, together with the club, is responsible for We are Wir Inclusion in Sailing, the procedures on the water.
And that's where it gets as in previous years They’ll have to get down to business, as there are some formidable challengers in the line-up. Among them is Sophie Steinlein and her crew, an Olympic squad sailor from the German Sailing Team who also represents her NRV Olympic Team on the Alster. Together with her 49erFX helmswoman Catherine Bartelheimer, she has already finished second this year at the high-calibre Sailing Grand Slam in Spain and has her sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Silke Basedow and her team at the Mammazentrum Foundation are the favourites
As a 2012 Olympian and a long-standing national coach, Franziska Goltz also brings experience from the world of elite sport. Above all, however, all challengers must keep Silke Basedow in mind. The match racing specialist from the Hamburg Sailing Club knows the Alster like the back of her hand and is a master of the waters, has won the Helga Cup many times. This year, she is once again taking part with her regular crew in aid of the Mammazentrum Foundation.
Olympic silver medallist Sanni Beucke is also competing in the Helga Cup. What regatta could be a better fit for her “This Race is Female” campaign? However, the Kiel native – who has long since switched to offshore racing – is not leading a team into the race this year. Following her 35th birthday on 11 June, she will be coaching two crews competing in the Helga Cup. In this and many other ways, very different sailing worlds will come together at the women’s regatta over the long Alster weekend.
The event will see elite athletes with Olympic experience, club teams, up-and-coming talents, inclusive teams and newly formed squads compete against one another at the NRV Stegen. The patron is once again Kristina Vogel, the double Olympic champion and eleven-time track cycling world champion who joined the Helga Cup in 2020. The official opening ceremony takes place this evening, 12 June. The starting signal on land will be given by a man: the 2026 Helga Cup will be opened on Friday evening by Dr Andreas Dressel, Senator for Finance and Districts of the Free and Hanseatic City.
The live stream of the Helga Cup
The regatta will run for three days. Following the first races on Friday and the opening ceremony, the action continues on 13 and 14 June, starting at 9.30 am on both days. On Saturday and Sunday, the races will be streamed live between 12 noon and 4 pm. Click here for the Saturday broadcast is this about, to the Sunday races here.
