ORC European Championship: Strong winds and steep waves – Danish-German ‘Dixi 5’ crew come out on top

The Danish XR-41 “Dixi 5” and the Swedish Garmin Team Pro4u, led by Patrik Forsgren, have made their mark at the ORC European Championships in the Lithuanian waters off Klaipėda. “Dixi 5” won the 240-nautical-mile long-distance race to open the series in the combined ORC Group AB. The Swedes, sailing their modified First 36.7, came out on top in ORC C on corrected time.

The “Dixi 5” Silver Sailors have bigger things on their minds at the ORC European Championships

The team led by Erik Stannow, the Danish owner and skipper of the “Dixi 5”, is competing for the Helsingør Sejlklub (Click here for crew information for all European Championship entrants). Alongside Stannow’s compatriot and tactician Jesper Radich, the consistently successful crew includes many well-known German offshore sailors. They include offshore ace Gordon Nickel, RVS boss and North Sails expert Bertil Balser, navigator Robin Zinkmann, Sydney Olympic silver medallist Gunnar Bahr, Lennard Peilcke, Charlotte Graffunder, Florian Heinze and Nicolaus Schmidt.

Together, the eleven-strong crew form a European Championship team that is as success-oriented as it is ambitious. They have only just, in June, won the International German Inshore Championship for offshore sailors as part of Kiel Week. Now they are battling it out for the European Championship title. At the start of the ORC European Championship, they raced at high average speeds in strong winds. Some boats reached boat speeds of 20 knots and more during the downwind legs. In contrast, short, steep waves turned the long upwind legs into a gruelling test for all the challengers. Not all of them made it through. Three of the 35 crews in Divisions A, B and C were forced to retire.

Having won two silver medals at the 2024 ORC European Championships in Åland and – with a brand-new XR-41 – at the 2025 Garmin ORC World Championships in Tallinn, the “Dixi 5” crew travelled to Klaipėda raring to go. The long-distance opener in the ORC AB class was an immediate success, with a sailing time of 26 hours, 13 minutes and 33 seconds. Based on calculated time, “Dixi 5” thus had a lead of almost an hour over the Italia 11.98 “Rhino” and the E 44 “Clean Energy” skippered by Mati Sepp, which was hot on its heels. Click here for the race results.

A tough test on the European Championships mogul course

Although the “Dixi 5” crew has frequently secured podium places at major championships, the XR-41 remains a relatively new platform for the team, one which they are continuing to optimise. Jesper Radich described the race as fast but unforgiving. He said: “The upwind leg was brutal, with winds of 20 to 30 knots and short, steep waves. Downwind, we reached 23 knots whilst surfing the waves. This type of boat has a very high top speed, so once it gets going, it really flies.”

At the same time, the harsh conditions also called for sound risk management. Jesper Radich said: “Throughout the race, we had to strike a balance between going flat out and ensuring we reached the finish line. We encountered a few problems along the way, but were able to resolve them without losing too much time.”

"It’s incredibly tough sailing against the wind at night in huge waves. You have to go full throttle, but you’ve also got to make it to the finish line." Jesper Radich

Equally important was careful positioning in view of the predicted wind changes during the opening race of the ORC European Championship. Jesper Radich explained: “"We played a sort of game of chess against the competition and calculated precisely where we wanted to position ourselves in relation to the fleet. That part worked really well."

Lars Hiddes’ “Pure” lurks behind the podium screws

The best German boat at the ORC European Championships, following the long-distance race in the ORC AB class, was Lars Hiddes’ Mat 1220 “Pure”, which this year has already the German Offshore Championship for offshore sailors, held as part of North Sea Week won. The crew led by the owner from the Blankenese Sailing Club finished in fourth place, just behind the top three. John Victorin’s XR-41 “Aja” (ASVW) was initially in seventh place.

In Class C of this ORC European Championship, the reigning world champions came out on top straight away in the long-distance race. The Swedish Garmin Team Pro4u kicked off the European title series with a victory. The team had expected to spend up to 36 hours at sea. However, the strong winds propelled the fleet so swiftly that the “Garmin Team Pro4u” returned to Klaipėda after just 26 hours. Based on calculated time, it relegated the Neo 350 “Dia” (Lithuania) and Eike Claas Carmincke’s Mat 1010 “Matchbox” to second and third place respectively.

​The German race director, Eckart Reinke, explained that the weather and the wind shift had developed as forecast, which had confirmed the race committee’s choice of course. Reinke said: “The upwind legs were bumpy due to the short, steep waves, but on the downwind legs the crews had a great time and reached speeds of over 20 knots under spinnaker.” Reinke added that offshore courses are designed more with the expected racing time in mind than solely on the basis of distance.

The ORC European Championships run until 15 August

The forecast of stronger winds had enabled the race committee to select a 240-nautical-mile course for Class AB and a 195-nautical-mile course for Class C. As a result, the start time for the next races this Wednesday was brought forward – much to the sailors’ relief – so that they could recover a little better from the opening long-distance race. The racing programme resumed on the afternoon of 12 August from 2 pm. The ORC European Championship ends on 15 August.

The teaser for the ORC European Championships in Klaipėda shows the sailing area: