To be considered for a nomination, you must round the Cape without interruption between the points Rio Grande and the islands south of the Strait of Magellan. This means 54°30' south on one side of South America and 54°30' south on the other side of the continent. In between, as is usual for the Trans-Ocean Association, the focus is on the challenge of offshore sailing: for the approximately 450 nautical miles long route, coastal sailing in the protection of the islands is therefore excluded in the award guidelines.
The prize: Tough trips are honoured
The upper limit for yachts that are eligible is 80 feet, just over 24 metres. Donor Schenk also stipulated that nominees with smaller boats, smaller crews, older crews or those sailing in more difficult conditions should be given preferential consideration when awarding the prize.
The new "Bobby Schenk Cape Horn Award" will be presented as a travelling prize to international sailors. "Trans-Ocean sees itself as cosmopolitan, and we recognise individual achievements. At sea, seafarers stand by each other regardless of nationality. This should also apply to the honouring of achievements," explains Marcus Warnke, Chairman of Trans-Ocean. Membership of the association is also not required for the honour.
Trans-Ocean - Home club for globetrotters and regatta sailors
Trans-Ocean e. V. has been dedicated to the promotion of ocean sailing since it was founded in 1968. With a network of around 180 bases worldwide, it offers contact points and assistance for currently over 500 yachts on long-distance voyages. The organisation has more than 4,700 members. Sporty ocean sailing is also promoted. Boris Herrmann, Lisa Berger, Melwin Fink and Lennart Burke, for example, are currently sailing in various transatlantic regattas under the TO banner.
Every year, a jury from the association honours outstanding sailing achievements and people from the maritime world in various award categories. The highest honour is the Trans-Ocean Prize. It is always presented in autumn at a ceremony in Cuxhaven. Bobby Schenk himself has been a member of Trans-Ocean for more than forty years. At the TO celebration evening on 18 November, which will be broadcast via livestream he will personally present the newly donated prize for the first time.
Bobby Schenk - a life for long-distance sailing
Schenk himself was honoured with the Trans-Ocean Medal in 1974. In 2022, the Ocean Award for his life's work and his role in the cruising scene. Since his first circumnavigation in 1967, he had developed into one of the most experienced ocean sailors of his generation and passed on his knowledge in numerous books and seminars. He always combined his professional career as a lawyer with his tireless passion for sailing.
Bobby Schenk, himself a Cape Horn conqueror, says of the new award, which is almost half a metre high and shows an albatross flying through a latitude stylised as a ring in which the southern view of Cape Horn can be seen:
"Some people may notice that Cape Horn makes such a peaceful impression. That is intentional. Because that's exactly how we experienced it after eight weeks at sea in the morning light."
