The German offshore sailing scene celebrated its best for the seventh time on Friday evening in Hamburg City Hall. Hamburg businessman Jens Kellinghusen and his young "Varuna" crew were honoured for their achievements in the past season with the Senate Prize of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg - the German Offshore Award - in front of 400 guests from politics, business and sport from nine countries. The highlight of their success story was their successful participation in the long-distance classic Sydney-Hobart. The prize has been awarded jointly by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Hamburg Sailing Association and the German Offshore Owners Association since 2008.
It took the coal-black Ker 51 "Varuna" just two days, 19 hours, 30 minutes and one second to complete the 628 nautical mile race from Sydney to Hobart. The only German participant reached the finish line in tenth place out of 94 participating yachts with an average speed of 9.3 knots. With this result, the "Varuna" team secured victory in IRC Division 1 and third place in the 36 yachts strong ORCi fleet. In the overall IRC classification of the classic Down Under, "Varuna" sailed to fourth place. For this, owner Kellinghusen and his young German amateur crew, supported by just two professionals, have now been honoured with the Senate Prize of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
The prize, which was established by the German Offshore Owners Association, honours impressive offshore sailing performances by German crews and ships once a year. Volker Andreae, founder and chairman of the association, said: "Jens Kellinghusen deserves the prize quite objectively due to his success in a major international regatta. But I am also personally delighted for him. And not just because he is a member of the German Offshore Owners Association and Alsterpirat. But also because he has followed his path so consistently and has not been deterred by initial failures. That is a gigantic achievement."
"Varuna's" crew is young: the average age of the 14 to 15-strong crew is 30, although owner Kellinghusen and his friend and companion Günter "Gügi" Alajmo are very sporty people in their mid-sixties. In addition to the ambitious duo, the team in the Syndey-Hobart race included: Tim and Finn Daase, Jonas and David Blass, Moritz Christiansen, Jan "Flumi" Hilbert, Christian Stoffers, Holger Lehning, Vasco Ollero, Sebastian Vedder and the two professionals Guillermo Altadill and Hartwell Jordan. The regular crew at other regattas also includes Andreas Niermeier, Phillip Nerbe, the North sailmakers Nihad Aydin and Arnd Howar as well as shipyard manager Gunnar Knierim.
The Ker 51 is a modern one-off design from the pen of British designer Jason Ker, who has succeeded in creating an outstanding racer with the 15 metre long coal-black "Varuna", which is still causing a stir at international regattas almost two years after its christening. "We wanted a fast and light boat for fun. Jason has achieved this brilliantly," says Jens Kellinghusen, who was delighted with the award. "Our crew outdid themselves in the Syndey-Hobart race."
You can read a detailed interview with Jens Kellinghusen and Günter Alajmo in YACHT 5!
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
