It took just over four days for all the yachts to reach the finish line off Scotland on Friday evening. Due to the sometimes very stormy weather, nine of the 48 crews that had started had to give up.
An anniversary regatta is something very special, and so the field of participants for the 20th Helgoland-Edinburgh Regatta was exceptionally large. 48 crews set off on Whit Monday for the long-distance race to take on the rough North Sea. And once again, the North Sea dealt out a generous hand. During the 400 nautical mile long final race of this year's North Sea Week, the crews sailed through gales up to force nine and violent rollercoaster waves, but also calm, fog and sunshine. The race led from Germany's only offshore island Helgoland to the Scottish capital Edinburgh on the beautiful Firth of Forth. The fleet of sailors departed from the harbour of Helgoland on Whit Monday with atmospheric bagpipe melodies. After hard and varied days and nights at sea, the First 44.7 "Sunbird Dry" of Norbert Drücker from Bremen was by far the first yacht to reach the finish line in Edinburgh, 400 nautical miles away, on Thursday morning. The next competitors did not follow until eight hours later. "We were just in the harbour when the wind died behind us and the following yachts had to park up, so there was also a bit of luck involved," said "Sunbird" crew member Lars Koop (39) from Bremerhaven, who is delighted with his victory in the ORC class. The "X-Play" was the third yacht to arrive in Edinburgh and secured first place in the IMS-rated class. And this despite the fact that skipper Jens Nickel was thrown so hard against the edge of a table during the storm below deck of the bucking yacht that the sailmaker from Stade had to go straight to hospital on his first trip ashore: the Scottish doctors predicted a broken rib. On Friday afternoon, Hans-Joachim Goldt's "Yes" from Hamburg was the last crew to reach the Scottish mainland and was given a cheerful welcome with bagpipe music. For race coordinator Jens Kohfahl, the last 30 miles through the Scottish fjord were also quite a challenge. "Thick fog and shifting light winds caught us just before the finish," said the man from Cuxhaven, who took part with his Nicholson 31 "Tramontane" and was one of the last to cross the finish line. Defending champion Harm Müller-Röhlck from Bremen finished 14th in this year's ORC class with his new "Okke", a Dehler 35, placing in the front midfield. Markus Harbort from Bremen sailed the very first race with his newly completed, self-built "Chiro First". However, the chiropractor had to settle for 31st place in the ORC classification with his 55-foot yacht. Some crews withdrew from the race early and did not sail all the way to Edinburgh. "Chosi IV", "Dulcibella", "Gesa VI", "Sinfonie Sylt", "Schwarze Wand", "Luna", "Carpe Diem", "Lena" and "Zampano" cancelled their entries with the race committee, meaning that a total of 39 teams successfully completed the long distance. Klaus Murmann's "UCA", which was considered the favourite, was unable to start. The 26-metre yacht was damaged in Helgoland harbour and the crew had to abandon the long-distance race. The regatta was organised in the IMS and ORC classes. All the results are available at www.nordseewoche.org Despite a few injuries and minor damage to the boats, the atmosphere was excellent and reached its peak during the anniversary celebrations at the Royal Forth Yacht Club on Saturday. The celebrations came to a close on Sunday (3-4 June) with a reception hosted by the mayor, bringing the 73rd North Sea Week to a close.
The winner of the Family Cruiser Cup has now also been decided: "Tante Schmidt", sailed by Heiko Steppat from Husum and his crew, came out on top in the series sailed over Whitsun off Helgoland despite being tied on points with "Andiamo" sailed by Peter Schiefelbein from Bremen. The winner of the Family Cruiser Cup, which is organised for newcomers to the regatta, can look forward to a weekend for the whole family at the Atoll Hotel on Helgoland.
Current results, news from on board and information on the individual races at: www.nordseewoche.org
