Race to the Arctic: A two-handed race to the Arctic Circle – three GER crews taking part

​“All sailors dream of sailing under the midnight sun. At first, we had the idea of rounding up a few friends for a regatta from Lindesnes across the Arctic Circle. Then we decided to see if anyone else would like to join us. The whole thing has turned out to be bigger than we ever imagined.” With these words, the organisers her idea for the Iceland Offshore Race to the Arctic before.

In four stages from Mandal to the Lofoten Islands

What began as an idea amongst offshore sailing enthusiasts has turned into a veritable race with real ‘bucket list’ appeal: 70 teams from five countries have gathered in Mandal. The starting port for the race across the Arctic Circle is one of the most idyllic little harbour towns in southern Norway. This is where the two-handed adventure begins on 26 June, taking the competitors on a four-stage journey from Mandal via stops in Fedje, Kristiansund and Sndnessjøen to the finish port of Svolvær.

The race takes the two-man crew from Mandal on the southern tip of Norway north of the Arctic Circle to the Lofoten Islands. All boats are expected to finish there on 6 July. Three German teams are also taking part in this inaugural event: Christoph and Benjamin Morgen on the JPK 10.50 “Momo” (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) will be competing in Group A. Jochen Denkena and Mini ace Jan-Hendrik Lenz They will be competing in Group C aboard the Sun Fast 3200 “Arrabiata”, as will Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke on their Sun Fast 30 OD “Gaia”.

"All in all, there’s a much greater sense of adventure than in other races, which is great for a change." Lina Rixgens

“We’re really looking forward to the sailing area, the scenery and sailing in the high latitudes around midsummer. It’s a large field with lots of similar boats in the 30 to 35-foot range. That promises to be an exciting race,” said Lina Rixgens the day before the race started. The co-skipper knows, as do all the others: “The short stopovers with extremely brief breaks will certainly be a challenge.”

By competitive sailors, for competitive sailors: the Race to the Arctic

For Hendrik Lenz, the contrasts could hardly be more striking. He has just returned from a research mission in Hawaii and is now heading for the Arctic Circle with Jochen Denkena. “The race offers an exciting mix of adventure and racing. They’ve really gone to great lengths here. You can tell it’s been organised by regatta sailors,” said Lenz, delighted on the eve of the start in Mandal with what Shorthanded Sailing Norway and the regatta team had put together.

The electrical engineer, who works for the marine research institute Geomar, also looked over at the GER trio and said: “It’s going to be an exciting contest between us German teams. We’re all competing with boats of similar sizes and ORC ratings.” The first leg of the Iceland Offshore – Race to the Arctic gets underway at 10.00 am on Friday.

Sunshine and lighter winds are expected at the start of the first leg, covering 215 nautical miles from Mandal to Fedje. This could be followed by some lovely downwind sailing. Click here for the tracker for the race to the Arctic Circle.