Rolex Baltic Week at Glücksburg, Germany - Day 4
by Rolex Media Centre 2 Jul 2011 23:08 BST
28 June - 3 July 2011
It was a long day on the water for organisers and competitors alike at the Rolex Baltic Week for Day 4 (2 July) of the regatta, which saw a weather front over the Flensburg Fjord bring cold and rainy conditions, and fresh north-westerly breezes of around 15-20 knots. With windspeeds forecast to ease slightly later in the afternoon, the 8-Metre and 6-Metre fleets opened proceedings at noon, while the 12-Metre yachts delayed their start until late in the afternoon.
On the Robbe & Berking 8mR World Championship course the race team also worked hard to make up for the previous day’s abandonment, packing in three fiercely fought races. The top three boats once again shared the spoils, with Hollandia (NED) Ruud van Hilst & Jos Fruytier), Lafayette (GBR, Murdock McKillop) and Yquem II (SUI, Jean Fabre) each scoring a win, second and third place. This leaves Hollandia with a two-point advantage in first overall, from Lafayette who in turn is just three points ahead of Yquem II, setting the scene for a royal battle for the world title going into the final day of racing. Solidly consistent, the 1938 design Raven, steered by Bryan Gooderham, took three fourths.
Hollandia’s co-owner Ruud van Hilst said: “It was hard work in the fresh breeze, but we had fun and some good results. We had changed the trim a bit and this worked out. The boat was going really fast. But it's not over until it’s over; everything can still happen on the last day of racing.”
Race officer for the 8-Metre fleet Jobst Richter, from co-organisers Kieler Yacht-Club, commented: “The forecasted gusts were never really that strong, so we got three perfect races over the course. We only needed to shorten one because of a newly-built commercial ship crossing the Flensburg Fjord.” If conditions allow, Richter plans to run two additional races on the final day in order to complete the World Championship schedule.
Elsewhere in the fleet there is equally tight competition among the First Rule boats, with Sposa (Richard Gervé) holding a three-point advantage over her club rival and fellow 1912 design Elfe II. Andi Lochbrunner (GER), owner and helmsman of Elfe II reported: “I really like sailing in rain, so I enjoyed every single moment of it. We fought hard, but were still disadvantaged in these conditions, because we needed to drop the main upwind. But we always hoist it again downwind as we hoisted the spinnaker. So in all in all we are happy what we achieved today.”
The 12-Metres competed in two races in their Robbe & Berking World Championships, with the hot competition between Vanity V (Patrick Howaldt, DEN) and Germany’s Trivia (Wilifried Beeck) each earning a first and second to leave Vanity V just two points ahead going into the final day of the title contest.
Racing for the Robbe & Berking Sterling Cup opened for the 6-Metres with an intense day of three races. Best of the fleet was Andreas Krause’s Sleipnir II (GER), who scored two wins and a second to take the lead. Behind, Mena (Dr Thomas Kuhmann, GER) and Aida (Bjoern Storsberg, GER) both tied on eight points apiece, after Mena took the remaining race winner’s gun, with Aida coming home second twice. Oliver Berking’s own Lillevi (GER) is also close in contention, having earned two third places.
Among such equally matched competition, boat-handling and playing the shifts proved all-important, whilst getting a good start was also key, as Sleipnir II’s helmsman Christoph Nielsen explained: “We managed to start perfectly on time without being over early. But this was really tight in the second race, with maybe half a metre left, no more.”
On Sunday July 2, racing concludes for the Robbe & Berking 12mR and 8mR World Championships, as well as the Robbe & Berking 6mR Sterling Cup, with the first gun scheduled to begin at 11 am.
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Results after Day 4:
Robbe & Berking 12-Metre World Championship (after 6 races)
1 Vanity V, Patrick Howaldt (Denmark), 1-1-(2)-2-1-2, 7pts
2 Trivia, Wilfried Beeck (Germany), 3-2-1-(3)-2-1, 9pts
3 Sphinx, Gorm Gondesen/Jochen Frank (Germany), 2-3-(4)-1-4-3, 13pts
4 Anitra, Josef Martin (Germany), 4-4-3-(4)-3-4, 18pts
5 Vema III, Eric Svenkerud (Norway), 6-5-5-(DNF)-6-5, 27pts
6 Evaine, Georg Kierspel (Germany), 5-6-6-(DNF)-5-6, 28pts
Robbe & Berking 8-Metre World Championship (after 7 races)
1 Hollandia, Ruud van Hilst/Jos Fruytier (Netherlands), 1-1-(DSQ)-2-2-1-2, 9pts
2 Lafayette, Murdoch McKillop (Great Britain), 2-(4)-1-1-1-3-3, 11pts
3 YQuem II, Jean Fabre (Switzerland), 3-2-3-3-(3)-2-1, 14pts
4 Raven, Richard Self/Mark Decelles (Canada), 5-3-2-4-4-(8)-4, 22pts
5 Sira, King Harald V of Norway, 8-(DNF)-4-12-7-5-7, 43pts
6 Sagitta, Timo Saalasti (Finland), 11-(12)-7-5-5-7-9, 44pts
Robbe & Berking 6mR Sterling Cup (after 3 races)
1 Sleipnir II, Andreas Krause (Germany), 1-2-1, 4pts
2 Mena, Thomas Kuhmann (Germany), 3-1-4, 8pts
3 Aida, Björn Storsberg (Germany), 2-4-2, 8pts
More information on the event website.