Two-handed Mixed Offshore World Championship: Final! Rixgens/Reinke fight their way into the top ten
Tatjana Pokorny
· 28.09.2024
It was already clear after the qualifying race of the first World Championship group that the conditions at the Two-handed Mixed Offshore World Championship in Lorient were and would remain rough: while France's top performers Charlotte Yven and Lois Berrehar won, India's Atool Sina and Sweta Shervegar had to abandon the race in winds of up to 32 knots. The helmsman - clipped in with the lifeline - was half washed off board. "He didn't let go of the tiller and broke his arm," reported Lina Rixgens.
Rixgens/Reinke: first defensive, then aggressive
The German duo quickly learnt the hard way for their reckless start, as Sverre Reinke recalls: "We slipped back relatively quickly. But we didn't know exactly where we stood. We didn't have a fully-fledged AIS because our systems weren't fully compatible." Counting the large sails in front of them, they came to five. Not good.ko, we took a conservative approach for the time being," reported Sverre Reinke after returning to Lorient.
The start was at around 20 knots under gennaker. "We went down to Belle Île and between the islands. We had 28 knots and two metre waves for about four hours. It was quite difficult to sail the boat," said Lina Rixgens, reporting on the challenges that increased as darkness fell.
As Sverre Reinke recalls, the German duo quickly learnt the hard way for their initially cautious start: "We slumped back relatively quickly. We didn't know exactly where we stood. We didn't have a fully-fledged AIS because our systems weren't fully compatible." Counting the large sails in front of them, however, they came up with five. Not good, because only the top five were guaranteed a ticket to the final.
Two-handed mixed offshore world championship: "really sporty"
The GER team realised that they had to change their defensive strategy and attack. "We changed the mode after two hours, actively adjusted our wind angles and changed the basic settings for trimming," says Lina Rixgens. The two-time Mini-Transat participant described the overnight ride as "really sporty": "You were thrown all over the place and had to hold on really tight."
The German world championship boat reached top speeds of up to 22.1 knots. On the long cross, they continued to be tested for hours by winds of between 20 and 24 knots. "Then there was the two-metre wave - not from the wind direction," says Sverre Reinke with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. The winds only died down towards the end of the race. Without sleep, tired and with salt-encrusted eyes, Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke crossed the finish line in fourth place after a cleverly organised race.
"We are super happy to have made it to the final. It wasn't certain, even though we had our suspicions," says Lina Rixgens at the end of the 110 nautical miles sailed. Her crew owns one of the new Sun Fast 30 OD boats that will be sailed in the two-handed mixed offshore world championship. That was and is a plus point. On the other hand, there are the French and some other top sailors with a lot of experience in the Breton waters.
France's top favourites are experienced Figaro sailors
The French teams came out on top in both qualifying groups. They start the final as top favourites. Elodie Bonafous and Basile Bourgnon won race two. "The French are experienced Figaro podium and top ten Figaro sailors. They know the mode, the area and have grown up in completely different training conditions," says Lina Rixgens, recognising the differences.
But with fourth place, Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke have realised their dream of reaching the final. As the two-handed mixed offshore world championship continues to experience one low after the next, the organisers have now set their sights on Sunday afternoon (28 September) for the start of the final. This is more challenging for the finalists in the second qualifying group than those in the first, as they hardly have any time to recover.
Like the other qualifiers in the second group, Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke are also trying to get a few hours' sleep this Saturday after returning from a tough race. They will have to be present again at 5 p.m. when the World Championship boats for the final are drawn again and are available for three hours to settle in and familiarise themselves.
"Of course this puts us at a slight disadvantage, but it is openly communicated. You can tell that the organisers here have a lot of experience in organising regattas. World Sailing is also present everywhere and does a lot of monitoring," says Sverre Reinke.
Final of the Two-Handed Mixed Offshore World Championship: two nights at sea
The final of the Two-handed Mixed Offshore World Championship is expected to head south to avoid the next area of low pressure. Around 200 to 250 nautical miles have been targeted. The starting signal could be given on Sunday between 10am and 12pm. The organisers will announce exact details by Saturday evening.
According to the results, two French crews (Charlotte Yven/Lois Berrehar, Elodie Bonafous/Basile Bourgnon), a Belgian team (Jonas Gerckens/Djemila Tassin), the Netherlands (Erik Van Vuuren/Yvonne Breusker), Uruguay (Federico Waksman/Justina Pacheco), Great Britain (Maggie Adamson/Cay Finlayson), Canada (Benjamin Daniel/Sarah Nicholson), Sweden (Anna Drougge/Martin Angsell), Germany (Lina Rixgens/Sverre Reinke) and Turkey (Onur Tok/Pelin Keskin). Official confirmation of the finalists was still pending on Saturday afternoon.
