International German ORCi Championship - One massive festival of sail

by Herman Hell on 25 Jun 2014 The vision for the 2014 International German ORCi Championship (IDM) was to bring together not only the best offshore sailors in Germany, but also to attract teams from the rest of the world to compete in the same venue as August’s ORC World Championship, which thusfar has attracted 176 teams from 18 countries. With 64 teams entered from six countries, this idea has succeeded - embedding this championship event into Kieler Woche has ensured that the best of the offshore world is here with the best of the inshore world in one massive festival of sail.

'We are really happy with the turnout here in Kiel,' said Ecky von der Mosel, Chairman of the ORC Worlds. 'The IDM has been great not only for the sailors, but for our organizers and race managers to anticipate our big crowd coming here in August.'

Among the talent assembled here in Kiel is a German team that is no stranger to the world of Grand Prix racing, and it’s no surprise they have chosen to race the latest in the world of high-speed offshore design.

With help from renowned America’s Cup and Olympic veteran Markus Weiser, Harm Muller-Spreer has assembled a mixed team of pro sailors from Germany, New Zealand and Japan to race Platoon, a brand-new Carkeek 40 built by Premier Composite Technologies in Dubai. Inspired by the HPR (High Performance Rule), this high-speed beauty built in carbon represents the latest in modern design, combining the elements of speed and efficiency found in the TP 52 Class with the strength and stability of a boat also capable of safe offshore racing. With the format of both the IDM and the upcoming ORC World Championship being two offshore races and several inshore inshore races, this boat could be the perfect weapon.

'This boat is very fast, not unlike my old TP 52,' said Muller-Spreer. 'But the 52 Class is a development class and is changing all the time. So I found this boat in the Emirates and really liked it.'

Yesterday Platoon had some traffic problems at a leeward mark rounding, forcing them to not finish the first race of the day, and Muller-Spreer admitted he should have avoided this, being the fastest boat in the fleet here in Kiel. But aside from this, so far Platoon has shown herself to have tremendous potential: she has won the first two offshore races (form Kiel to Eckernforde and then back to Kiel), and has tied for third in the other inshore race with Sven Wackerhagen’s Desna. This teak-decked Knierim 49 couldn’t be more different than Platoon, but the fact that she is leading the series thusfar is a testament to the ORC’s ability to rate fairly a wide range of boat types.

One more race will allow a discard, and this may then allow Platoon to take the lead. But she will have some strong rivals: Morten Ulrikkeholm’s Norwegian team on the Farr 400 Oxygen (another Premier Composite’s product) has an impressive string of second places, and lies only 0.5 points back. With Danish Olympian Jesper Bank on board they will no doubt continue to be strong for the remainder of the series.

And Heinz Peter Schmidt’s SILva Neo, the Felci-designed GP 42 built and campaigned as AIRIS and Bronze medal winner in the 2012 World Championship, is now in the hands of Dennis Gehrlein and his young team who have proven themselves dangerous by winning both inshore races held so far.

So the road to the World Championship is already proving a tough Kieler Woche