North Sea Week: 100 years around Heligoland - "A marvellous sailing day!"

The Capitell-Cup Rund Helgoland was the highlight of the 90th North Sea Week, which is still ongoing. The heart race of the North Sea series was held for the first time 100 years ago. Now, to the delight of the sailors and spectators on land, it has experienced a picture-book chapter in its long history.

90th North Sea Week: Classic with two lanes

"It was super, brilliant, with fantastic sailing conditions," enthused North Sea Week Race Director Albert Scheizer on the North Sea island, which is a good four square kilometres in size. Schweizer continued: "We had 14 to 24 knots of wind, a stable wind direction, one to one and a half metres of nice waves. It rained a bit at the beginning, then it was dry and even the sun came out a bit."

For the first time, the race committee decided to organise the North Sea Week classic on two courses. The participants in the DSV squadron race were given their own course between the island and the dune. "It was a kind of Helgoland figure of eight, passing twice between the island and the dune. That was interesting for the sailors and the spectators," said Albert Schweizer.

For all the other North Sea Week challengers, the big course took them further out and once around the island. The course for the smaller boats was 33 or 34 nautical miles long, while the course for the larger boats was around 45 nautical miles. "They were really great courses with everything that makes sailing so special. There were highlights and lowlights on the course. A halyard may have snapped or something else happened, but nobody was hurt."

Everyone had booked their little adventure in the Capitell-Cup Rund Helgoland." Albert Schweizer

The response to the lush regatta day in the German Bight was correspondingly positive. "Everyone I spoke to thought it was great and was very satisfied," reported Albert Schweizer on Whit Sunday evening. According to the sporting director of the North Sea Week, which was first organised in 1922 and is still very lively, the boot Düsseldorf party the day before had already been "super" with a live band and great atmosphere.

North Sea Week final: Who will win the North Sea Cup?

This Whit Monday, after the Sebamed Cup Helgoland Eight, the starting signal for the Helgoland Offshore Triangle (H.O.T.) will be given in the afternoon, before races 11 and 12 bring many North Sea Week participants back to Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven on Tuesday.

The question of who will win the North Sea Cup remains exciting. The prize goes to the boat with the most points in ORC International and takes into account participants in the feeder regattas of the North Sea Week - Cuxhaven-Helgoland, Bremerhaven-Helgoland and Hooksiel-Helgoland - and in the Sundowners of the Glück Early Bird Series, the Capitell Cup Rund Helgoland and the sebamed Cup Helgoländer Acht.

The special feature: at least six boats must participate under ORC International for a race to be included in the classification. The low-point scoring system is used. The crew with the lowest number of points wins the North Sea Cup.

DSV squadron ride: Dehler's "Sporthotel" wins

The best starters in the Capitell-Cup Rund Helgoland successfully collected double points for the North Sea Cup. Kalle Dehler and his team on the Dehler 38 C "Sporthotel" won the classification for the DSV squadron race ahead of Rainer Tatenhorst's Norlin 37 "Cansas" and Carl-Heinz Acker's HR 372 "Kallisto". The Family Cruiser Cup was won by Helge and Monika van Freeden's Hallberg Rassy 352 "Röde Orm". In two classic races, Benrd Frieling's 12mR yacht "Anita" crossed the finish line almost five minutes earlier than the Krupp Foundation's "Germania VI".

In ORC X, Tom Stryi and his crew on the IMX-40 "Pax" won the race. Daniel Baum's beautiful one-off "Elida" and Ralf Lässig's XP-44 "Xenia" took second and third place. For the "Elida" crew, the North Sea week marked the traditional home Whitsun celebration of the Pantaenius family Baum under sail, before the boat heads to England to take part in the Admiral's Cup in July.

"Some of the big hitters were missing from the North Sea Week this year," reported Albert Schweizer, referring to a number of well-known German big boats. But he knows: "Some are taking part in the Admiral's Cup and are already in England. They have also written to us nicely and announced that they would like to take part in the North Sea Week again in the coming years."

Highlight of the North Sea Week 2026: IDM Offshore

In 2025, the German Offshore Championship will be held at the North Sea summit meeting of keelboat sailors, which could attract more high-performance teams to Helgoland again. However, some of them were also present this year: Harald Brüning's Farr 30 "Topas" won the Capitell Cup Rund Helgoland in ORC Y on the small course ahead of Jürgen Klinghardt's Italia 9.98 "Patent 4" and Hagen Reese's Faurby 396 "Susewind".

In ORC Z, Maik Gütersloh's BM 96 "Zappalotte" came out on top in the Capitell Cup Rund Helgoland at the Nordseewoche. He was followed on the podium by David Kortmann's Hanseat 68 "Coriolis" and Jan Tietges J/80 "Jim". All Further results for this and the other races of the North Sea Week can be found here.