Two-handed mixed offshore world championship: One low chases the next - Rixgens/Reinke want to reach the final
Tatjana Pokorny
· 27.09.2024
Lina Rixgens and Sverre Reinke are facing a tough test. At the Two-handed Mixed Offshore World Championship in France, the German duo will be fighting for a top five place in the second of the two qualifying races starting on Friday evening. Only the best five teams reach the final of the Two-handed Mixed Offshore World Championship. The first race has already been decided. France's Charlotte Yven and Lois Berrehar capitalised on their home advantage in the competition on the Sun Fast 30 OD boats provided.
Two-handed mixed offshore world championship: 10 finalists wanted
Also qualified are Federico Waksman and Justina Pacheco (Uruguay), the co-favourites Jonas Gerckens and Djemila Tassin from Belgium, Maggie Adamson and Cal Finlayson from Great Britain and Benjamin Daniel and Sarah Nicholson from Canada. The quintet is now eagerly awaiting to see which five teams will prevail in the second qualifying race and also make it to the final of the Two-Handed Mixed World Championship.
Lina Rixgens (Seglerhaus am Wannsee club) and Sverre Reinke (Turn- und Sportverein Schilksee von 1947) are pursuing precisely this goal. They are competing in the second elimination group. "We want to qualify for the final. That's the goal," said Lina Rixgens on the start day in Lorient. The second qualifying group has now waited 24 hours. The start was originally scheduled for 26 September. "It was postponed by 24 hours because one low-pressure system after another is simply rushing through here," said Lina Rixgens.
The race organisers are trying to get the races through between all the cold fronts." Lina Rixgens
So far, the only German crew has had one afternoon to train on the world championship boat. No problem for doctor Lina Rixgens and her co-skipper Sverre Reinke: they have already competed in several regattas this year with their own new Sun Fast 30 OD and know the advantages of the boats well. "The boat here at the Two-handed Mixed Offshore World Championship is a little bit different to our boat, but ultimately the same type with the same equipment. That's why we're very confident about it," said Lina Rixgens on the start day.
Sprint decision in the first run
The skipper from Hamburg said of the first World Championship group's already completed qualification: "The first group of eleven teams sailed the day before yesterday. They were travelling for about ten hours. It was quite a sprint. That means the first five teams for the World Championship final have already been decided. We'll be sailing from 5 p.m. today," explained two-time Mini-Transat participant Lina Rixgens.
Weather-wise, it's still going to be pretty rough." Lina Rixgens
The course for the second qualifying group of the Two-handed Mixed Offshore World Championship has now been shortened from 102 to 87 nautical miles. Lina Rixgen's forecast: "We will probably start into the back of a front that will have passed through. The gusts will still reach 35 knots. Depending on the model, we could have around 20 or 25 knots of wind at the start. We start with a downwind course. This is followed by a bit of reaching between the islands before we set off on the long cross. We expect to go round the outside of Belle Île. There are probably still two and a half metres of wave there."
The teams are facing an "uncomfortable cross". Nevertheless, Lina Rixgens was optimistic about the challenging world championship stage: "I think we'll find a good set-up and rock our way through it." The wind is expected to die down at the end of the qualifying regatta for the second group. "The wind will then probably drop rapidly. We expect a short reach to the finish, around ten knots. That will also determine the five finalists in our group," says Lina Rixgens shortly before the race.
Stormy conditions for Sunday's final too?
The grand final of the two-handed mixed offshore world championship is expected to start on Sunday. But the conditions remain challenging. "But the next low is already coming in. So we'll have to see if it can take place as planned. We are in good spirits. The wind is of course challenging. We can say that we know the boat well. But we're also super excited to see how we do against the other teams in our group, because we just don't know them very well. So we don't know exactly where we stand yet. We'll have the answer to that in less than 24 hours.
Click here to watch the live tracker for the qualifying race of the second group of the Two-Handed Mixed World Championship in Lorient. It bears the title "Région Bretagne Race". The final race planned for Sunday to Monday is then called the "Lorient Agglomeration Final".
