The 24-hour sailing race in the Bay of Kiel is organised by the Möltenorter Seglerkameradschaft (MSK) and the Wassersportvereinigung Mönkeberg (WVM). Unlike all other races, there is no fixed course. Only one buoy, which must be passed, is drawn before the race. The rest of the course can be freely determined by the crews of the participating boats. In addition, the participants are allowed to call at all harbours and moorings within the area. However, crews that only want to collect miles on the open sea for 24 hours are also allowed to do so. Nevertheless, it should be attractive to call at the harbours: For each mooring/port where crews send a picture of their boat moored with a fore and aft line to the race organisers via WhatsApp, there will be a credit of four nautical miles towards the nautical miles sailed.
This mode has its appeal: now in its 50th edition, the 24-hour sailing race is one of the most traditional races in the south-west of the Baltic Sea. In the Netherlands, a race with a similar concept is even the largest regatta event in the country.
Tracking: How the evaluation is carried out
The 24-hour sailing race is analysed using a tracking-based system. Each ship taking part in the race is equipped with a transmitter unit on board. The trackers of the various ships can be located live during the race by the race organisers, family, friends and also the crews of the other ships. This creates an exciting battle, which also involves assessing which opponents are sailing how fast and where. Nevertheless, in the end, only the race organisers led by Frank Krupinska can say who has won: Krupinska is tasked with manually offsetting the miles collected by calling at the harbours against the miles sailed as recorded by the tracker.
24-hour sailing: The schedule
The start of the 50th edition of the 24-hour sailing race in the Bay of Kiel will take place on Friday, 7 June, at 7 pm in front of the Heikendorf-Möltenort marina. The helmsmen's briefing is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will take place in the MSK clubhouse in Möltenort. The crews can cross the finish line at the 24-hour sailing race on Saturday, 8 June, from 5 to 7.30 pm in front of the Mönkeberg marina. The award ceremony is scheduled for around 9.30 pm at the WVM. Anyone who wants to can round off the evening in a convivial atmosphere.
The news so far - is this racer getting ahead of everyone?
The boat with the lowest yardstick number to date, i.e. the one that has to sail the furthest in 100 minutes to win, is the X-treme 32 "Tormund" from G-Force Yachts. It is sailed by owner and skipper Arne Meincke, among others. In addition, 13 other yachts have already entered, including an H-boat, a J/80 and various other slower and faster cruising boats. Entries for the 24-hour sailing race will be accepted until 4 June at 6 p.m., but late entries will no longer be possible due to the trackers required.
