Race to the Arctic: “Momo” and “Gaia” – two stage wins to kick things off

It is a very special premiere: In Norway, the new Island Offshore Race to the Arctic has begun with its first leg. However, the race has little to do with Iceland. ‘Island Offshore’ is the name of the main sponsor. In fact, the double-handed regatta takes its competitors on a four-leg journey covering around 750 nautical miles from Mandal via Fedje, Kristiansund and Sandnessjøen to the finish port of Svolvær, the largest town in the Lofoten archipelago. The final leg offers the chance to cross the Arctic Circle whilst heading for the Lofoten Islands.

Race to the Arctic: three German pairs perform well

​Three German teams have taken up the challenge of the Race to the Arctic: Christoph and Benjamin Morgen are competing in Group A aboard the JPK 10.50 “Momo” (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein). Jochen Denkena and Mini ace Jan-Hendrik LenzOn the Sun Fast 3200 “Arrabiata”, they are also competing in Group C for a top result, just like Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke on their Sun Fast 30 OD “Gaia”.

Right on schedule, the three groups – “Wergeland” (A), “Delmar” (B) and the “Partner Class” (C) – set off on Friday for the first leg from Mandal to Fedje. Line honours went to the Norwegian Dehler 44 “Off Course”, ahead of their compatriots on the Swan 45 “Zorro” and the Landmark 43 “White Shadow”. Christoph and Benjamin Morgen, sailing “Momo”, crossed the finish line in fourth place on Saturday evening at 18.54. The NRV crew’s calculated sailing time of 1 day, 8 hours, 19 minutes and 36 seconds secured them victory in the “Wergeland” group.

And that’s not all: at 8.54 pm, Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke were the first in the “Partner Class” group to cross the finish line ahead of Fedje – both in terms of sailing and calculations. This means that, after the first leg, two German boats have taken the lead across the three groups. Shortly before “Gaia” crossed the finish line, the wind had picked up. This allowed Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke to race past Fedje at 15 knots.

A race as an adventure in new territory

Shortly after crossing the finish line, Lina Rixgens said: “We had a really, really cool race – quite challenging, too. We got off to a brilliant start, but then there was generally little wind, with lots of lulls time and again. The race course, with the high Norwegian coastline, is also relatively tricky to navigate if you’re not a local. For the most part, though, we managed to weave our way through it quite well. Then the strong south-easterly wind arrived much later than originally forecast. We then had another six hours of downwind sailing under the A2, and at times we really flew along. We were quite relieved when we were finally able to take it down and cross the finish line.”

Around three hours later, at 10.35 pm, Jochen Denkena and Hendrik Lenz crossed the finish line in fifth place in the ‘Partner Class’ group aboard ‘Arrabiata’. They, too, got the Race to the Arctic off to a strong start. The duo on the Sun Fast 3200 had woven in an extra leg out to sea to put themselves in a better position for the final sprint.

“We deliberately headed a bit further out so that we’d have a bit of wind and swell here,” Hendrik Lenz had reported from the sea on Saturday evening. The Mini Transat winner added: “We’re hoping that this might mean we finish a bit better than those who’ve been dithering close to shore. We’ll see…” Denkena and Lenz had a bit of a scare in the meantime when, although they spotted a tugboat in good time, they almost failed to notice its towline. “We had to swerve out of the way rather frantically,” Lenz explained.

Tracking the Iceland Offshore Race to the Arctic

Click here to track the Race to the Arctic. To do this, you need to Visit the website Click on the large tracking button, then scroll down first and click on the current stage, and only then click on “Show Race Viewer” to access the tracking for the section you’re looking for.

The crews in the Race to the Arctic in Fedje won’t have much time to catch their breath. The start sequence for stage two begins as early as 4 pm on Sunday. After the cruisers, the “Partner Class” will be the first to take to the course. They will be followed by the “Delmar” and “Wergeland” groups. The next destination is Kristiansund.