Around 1200 sailors on 132 participating yachts were put to a tough test of patience on Saturday. In view of midsummer temperatures but only light winds, the course of the 34th Peter Guest Regatta from Schleimünde to Ærøskøbing. The yachts, divided into five starting groups, made slow progress. Race officer Markus Boehlich (SVAOe) finally realised the situation and shortened the course so that the finish was reached after just under twelve nautical miles. But even for this short distance, some crews still needed over six hours.
"First Ship Home" in the end was the classic twelve-oared "Trivia". The fastest ship by time sailed with three hours and 29 minutes was the 60-foot former Volvo Ocean Racer "Ospa", entered by Lloyd's Register. The ORC Club overall winner was the Luffe 43 "Nixe" of Dr Jörg Zieron, entered by the H. Vogmann shipping company. And the "Moon Safari", a Tango 34, which had started for Ernst Russ AG, was the overall yardstick winner.
Together with the three other twelve-man yachts "Anita", "Heti" and "Sphinx", the "Trivia" skippered by Andreas Krause started in the group of classic yachts, which had grown considerably in comparison to previous years. Christoph von Reibnitz with the "Peter von Seestermühe", Holger Schmidt with his "Senta" and Rollo Marquardt with the Herreshoff ketch "Tioga" were also in the field of large, elegant yachts. The two yachts from the Truly Classic shipyard, "Little Dragon" and "Princess of Tides", completed the group.
Classics side by side with Volvo Ocean Racers
As in previous years, the large German racing yachts also took part again, often chartered for the regatta by a shipping company or shipping agency, but supported by the regular crew. With the "CJ Legend", "Ospa" and "Illbruck", three former Volvo Ocean Racers were also taking part. Their competitors on the regatta course were the German racers "Desna" from Sven Wackerhagen, "Ember Sea" from Dirk Becker, "Outsider" from Tilmar Hansen and the newly christened "Wappen von Bremen" from the sailing comradeship Das Wappen von Bremen (SKWB).
"The special attraction of the shipping regatta lies in the participation of so many representatives from the entire maritime industry. They all have an affinity for water, so the ships were sailed with ambition," said Dieter Gast, Managing Director of Peter Gast Shipping. "Shipowners and shipping merchants, shipping agents and investors come together here. Many also sail privately and come here with their ships."
The smallest crew was formed by Dr Berthold Brinkmann and his son Tobias (Brinkmann und Partner), who took part with the Pogo 30 "Mariejo". Arend Brügge from Vega Reederei also started with his family on his "Nathurn IV" and Torsten Conradi, Managing Director of the Judel/Vrolijk and Co design office and President of the German Boat and Shipbuilders' Association, on his "Esta". Dr Harald Vogelsang, Spokesman of the Board of Haspa Hamburg, sailed on board Hermann Ebel's "Viktoria" (Hansa Treuhand). Stephan-Andreas Kaulvers, CEO of Bremer Landesbank, took part in the race on the 50-foot yacht "Sanc Souci". And Knut Ørbek-Nilssen, Chairman of the classification and testing organisation DNV GL, sat on the high side of the "Broaderview Hamburg", downwind in accordance with the weather conditions, together with the young sailors from the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt.
Regatta sailing and networking
"The shipping regatta thrives on the community of participants from different business sectors and not on perfect regatta conditions," said Christian Gast, Managing Director of Peter Gast Shipping, who took part in the regatta on board the sailing yacht "Ventus", summarising the midsummer day on the water.
An integral part of the regatta programme is the get-together of the participants in a relaxed atmosphere. On the Friday evening before the start, numerous participants met in the boat hall of the Henningsen & Steckmest shipyard in Grauhöft. Frank Nägele, Economic Secretary of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, who was on board the "Thila" as an active crew member, says about this special mix of the regatta: "We sail together, talk and exchange ideas. I'm looking forward to taking part again this year."
Before the sailors moved on to the social part of the evening in the marquee specially set up in the harbour of Ærøskøbing, they all walked together through the picturesque Danish harbour town, accompanied by the sounds of the marching band from neighbouring Svendborg. In the more than three decades of its existence, the regatta has become a firm fixture in the Danish municipality's calendar of events, and Mayor Jørgen Otto Jørgensen was one of the evening's speakers.
The winners of the classes:
Class 9 ORC Club A
1st Ospa, Martin Buck, Lloyd's Register EMEA
2. Illbruck, Martin Kringel, Lloyd's Register EMEA
3rd Tutima, Kirsten Harmstorf-Schönwitz, Peter Gast Shipping GmbH
Class 8 ORC-Club B (ORC-Club)
1st Nixe, Dr Dr Jörg Zieron, Reederei H. Vogmann
2nd Arconia 4, Karl-Wiegand Braun, Pronav Ship Management GmbH
3rd Pax, Klaus-Uwe Stryi, Peter Gast Shipping GmbH
Class 7 Yardstick / 85
1st Matilde, Per Joergensen, ABS Europe Ltd.
2nd X-Marie, Peter Wrede, Mankiewicz Gebr. & Co
3rd Victoria, Hermann Ebel, Haspa and Hansa Treuhand AG
Group: Class 6 ORC-Club C
1st Halbtrocken, Dr Knut Freudenberg, Peter Gast Shipping GmbH
2nd ReläXX, Jens Tschentscher, Geo. Gleistein & Sohn GmbH
3rd Ostwind, Jürgen Kölln, Schiffahrtskontor Jürgen Kölln
Group: Class 5 Yardstick 85-88
1st Dirk VII, Svante Domizlaff, Offen Group
2nd Express, Jörg Rüther, Bernhard von Blomberg
3rd Verano, Sven-Erik Braun, Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG
Class 4 Yardstick 89-92
1st Moon Safar, iErnst Russ AG
2nd Titan, Peter Gast Shipping
3rd Lilla Blas, Dr Berend Terveer, Wyker Dampschiffs-Reederei
Class 3 Yardstick 93-99
1st Alexa, Axel Grißmer, MacGregor Hatlapa GmbH
2nd Mad Max, Roger Pilz, Fuchs Fördertechnik AG
3rd Felix, Jan Floto, Stichling Hahn Hilbrich GmbH
Class 2 Yardstick / 99
1st Louise, Karl-Heinz Hilbig, Seatrade HR40
2nd Four, Oliver Fuhljahn, Breb GmbH
3rd Melos, Klaus Barnitzky, Bosch Rexroth AG
Class 1 Classics
1st Trivia, Andreas Krause, Norddeutsche Landesbank
2nd Peter v. Seestermühe, Christoph von Reibnitz, Hammonia-Reederei
3rd Tioga, Rollo Marquardt, E.R. Schiffahrt GmbH
Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
