Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

2015 Transatlantic Race – Top results for Germany

by Barby MacGowan on 13 Jul 2015
Lucky - 2015 Transatlantic Race Daniel Forster / NYYC
German boats were fourth and fifth home on the water in the Transatlantic Race. Tilmar Hansen’s Outsider crossed the finish line off the Lizard at the southernmost tip of Cornwall, at 13:55:27 UTC (09:55:27 EDT) on Saturday and completed the Coastal Race on to Cowes, finishing off the Royal Yacht Squadron just after dawn this morning.

“Being back in Cowes is a very emotional moment for me,” said Hansen. “We have very nice memories from 1983 and 1985 with our [victorious] Admiral’s Cup campaigns with Outsider.”

This was the present Outsider’s second Transatlantic Race following the HSH Nordbank Blue Race in 2007 in which she claimed line honours, IRC Class 2 and was second overall under IRC. The German team looks set to repeat the latter result in the present race – a performance all the more remarkable because its satellite communications broke down early in the race, and they were unable to receive vital weather information.

“These days there is so much weather routing and technology, it is a good feeling that you can do it without that help, just like the good old days,” remarked Hansen. “We had to go back to basics, sticking to the rhumb line, hoping that we wouldn’t fall into any wind holes.”

Outsider, a New Zealand designed and built Elliot 52, usually based in Kiel, has a canting keel and provided a wet ride for the crew. Hansen described it as being like “a constant fire drill where we were the fire!” This was particularly bad early on in the race as they were crossing the Gulf Stream. “The sea state would change dramatically, in seconds at times with the eddies. You went from flat water, when the racing was easy, to moments when you were surfing down huge waves and you had to slow down, especially at night time when you couldn’t see anything.”

The most wind they saw was only in the mid-30s. At times, they saw peak boat speeds of 27 knots, but Hansen said they preferred to maintain a constant average speed of 16 to 17 knots, under jib top, staysail with one reef in the main.

“They did a really great job and worked like hell,” said Hansen of his crew led by Thomas Jungblut, whose tenure with the Outsider team dates back to the Admiral’s Cup campaigns 30 years ago. “They kept Outsider running and fighting and racing. We had no major damage, only a little stuff, and we were amazed how well the boat sailed and was behaving in a long distance race. I am very, very happy about this amazing race.”

Crossing the finish line at 01:11:44 UTC (11 Jul 21:11:44 EDT) was Stella Nova, the Class 40 winner. Class 40s are built for ocean racing, so the big conditions the boats experienced crossing the Atlantic were not overwhelming for her. Burkard Keese’s team, which includes double-handed round the world sailor Jörg Reichers, performed exceptionally, finishing more than 180 miles ahead of Michel Kleinjans’ second-place Class 40, Visit Belgium.

“It was a big victory for us. We expected to win, but not by that much,” admitted Keese. Of the final days of the race, he added: “There was a trough which was very difficult to cross, but other than that it was maximum boat speed, 18 to 24 knots for the last two days, which was amazing. When we arrived at Bishop Rock [off the Scilly Isles] the wind dropped down a bit, but we put the big spinnaker up and went through to the finish.”

During the race, they lost one sail, the Code 0, near the finish. On another occasion while sailing under spinnaker, Stella Nova caught a giant rope towing cable around their keel that required the crew to drop the spinnaker and reverse up to remove the rope. “I have never seen such a big cable. That was the catch of the day!” as Keese put it.

Otherwise, Keese paid tribute to his crew and his Sam Manuard-designed Mach 40, built by JPS Productions in France.

Crossing the line off the Lizard at 10:10:59 UTC this morning (06:10:59 EDT) was the Open 60 Grey Power, skippered by 76-year-old Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who in 1969 became the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world. According to Sir Robin, this is his 24th transatlantic crossing and hopefully there will be a few more to come. “I’m pleased to have beaten 11 days and Rambler and Comanche over the line,” he said.

Sir Robin was sailing with a crew that included former RORC Commodore David Aisher and Dilip Donde, the first Indian to sail singlehanded around the world.

The next 24 hours are set to be busy ones at the Lizard with Lloyd Thornburg’s Phaedo³ expected later this afternoon (British time) followed by the maxi-monohulls Comanche and Rambler 88 tomorrow. The outcome of the final podium placers in IRC Class 4 after the giant schooner, Mariette of 1915, will also be decided. This will be between three different generations of racing yachts – the 1930s S&S classic Dorade, the 1979 generation McCurdy and Rhodes 48 Carina and the more modern Oyster Lightwave 48 Scarlet Oyster.

Maritimo 2023 M600 FOOTERSea Sure 2025Mackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOM

Related Articles

SP80 kiteboat reaches a top speed of over 58 knots
100 km/h barrier is smashed in Leucate The SP80 kiteboat has reached a top speed of over 58 knots, or 108 km/h. This new personal best makes SP80 the second fastest sailboat ever recorded, behind Vestas Sailrocket II and its 68.01-knot top speed.
Posted today at 10:04 am
Italian SailGP Team acquired by investors
The consortium includes Hollywood royalty, Anne Hathaway SailGP has today announced that the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, has officially been acquired by a consortium of accomplished investors and sports industry leaders, including Hollywood royalty, Anne Hathaway.
Posted today at 8:53 am
Armstrong Foils: On tour - Home of Armstrong II
Join America's Cup champion, Blair Tuke and Armstrong team riders on the tour of NZ's Far North Join three times America's Cup champion, Blair Tuke and Armstrong team riders Olivia Jenkins, Naumi Eychenne, Bowien van der Linden, Cash Berzolla, and Reo Stevens, on the Home of Armstrong Tour II, as they explore NZ's Far North.
Posted today at 4:46 am
America's Cup entries open on Sunday
A Cup in turmoil - has Grant Dalton dodged a bullet with the new Cup organisation? America's Cup gets underway in Rome with Round 2 of the official welcoming ceremonies on Wednesday in Naples. Emirates Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton apprears to have dodged a bullet with the formation of of new AC organising body.
Posted on 26 May
Italian PM welcomes America's Cup in Rome
Prime Minister Meloni set out a bold vision for the regeneration planned around AC38 The magnificent setting of the Casino del Bel Respiro, commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1644, in the grounds of Villa Pamphilj, was the outstanding and historic setting for the formal presentation of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup.
Posted on 26 May
Kai Marks Dasent completes 38.1nm fundraising sail
Raising Funds for Union Island Secondary School and Vincy Sailing On Saturday, May 24th, 14-year-old sailor Kai Marks Dasent completed an impressive solo sail from his home St. Vincent to Union Island, covering 38.1 nautical miles in 6 hours and 3 minutes, with an average speed of 6.3 knots.
Posted on 26 May
Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta preview
Sørvind to debut at this edition, in Sardinia The Mediterranean superyacht racing season will kick off on 27th May with the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta, organised annually by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda since 2008 and supported by title sponsor Giorgio Armani since 2022.
Posted on 26 May
J/105 NE*NE blitzes Elite Keel Regatta
Tim Russell's super hot and quick NE*NE team rolled to a fairly easy win The San Francisco YC hosted its annual springtime favorite event, the Elite Keel Regatta- for a huge fleet of twenty-six J/105s.
Posted on 25 May
Edlu Distance Race at Larchmont Yacht Club
One of the "must-do" events on western Long Island Sound Last weekend, Larchmont Yacht Club held its EDLU Distance Race, the first of the major offshore races that take place on Long Island Sound all summer long.
Posted on 25 May
Winning Sails for Every Sailor & Every Program
Beer cans or the big leagues, North Sails perform From one design sails to custom inventories, trust the experts at North Sails to elevate your performance.
Posted on 25 May