Preview Around Bornholm: Duel of the big yachts

In 2019, the prestigious long-distance race around Bornholm was all about the new course record set by the local ocean-going yacht “OSPA”. The 60-foot-long, former “SEB” from the 2001/02 Volvo Ocean Race managed the 270 nautical miles from the mouth of the Warnow around the Danish holiday island back to the starting port in just 24 hours, 54 minutes and 23 seconds. In doing so, the team shattered its own record, set just two years earlier, by more than three hours and 40 minutes.

This fable time should be in the 83rd edition of the Warnemünder Woche will be difficult to undercut and will last until ideal conditions for a corresponding racing goat are reached again. This time the focus is on teams of two who are competing in the first half of their International German Championship. The IDM Double Hand Long Distance is part of the German Offshore Championship in 2021, which is organized by the Berlin Yacht Club and will host all other disciplines of the German Offshore Championship in Olpenitz in September.

Regardless of the ongoing uncertainty as to whether the Double Handed Mixed Offshore discipline will be included in the Olympics in 2024 or not be included due to the IOC's reservations, a scene has already formed in Germany. A number of entries were received early on for this competition, which is organized by the Berlin Yacht Club, including mixed teams.

“The popularity of sailing in pairs, regardless of gender, will grow regardless of the Olympics,” believes Eckart Reinke, “because many skippers are having increasing problems getting a crew of several people together for a regatta season.” Reinke is otherwise in favor of the Kieler Woche sea regattas responsible and supports the race management in Warnemünde as a coach. His commitment underlines the importance of offshore sailing in the program.

The two-person boats will be launched on Monday afternoon, July 5th, along with the other yachts that will be ranked according to ORC or Yardstick. Under ORC, the sea sailors expect a duel between the new “Halbtrocken 4.5” from Michael Berghorn from the Kiel Yacht Club and the TP52 “Imagine” from Holger Brückenbach from Greifswald. Berghorn always caused a sensation with his previous boat, a First 41, and bought a Mills 45, a thoroughbred racer, in Australia. The legendary Rolex Fastnet Race in England in late summer is set to be a highlight of the season.

“The start directly between the pier heads will once again provide spectacular images,” says sports director Peter Ramcke. The participants are then completely free to choose their route. You can sail both clockwise and anti-clockwise around Bornholm. Ramcke: “That leaves maximum tactical scope and is what makes this regatta so popular.”

The long-distance regatta around Bornholm and the integrated IDM sea sailing Double Hand Offshore are made possible by the support of our long-standing partner WIRO living in Rostock.