Nord Stream Race draws to a close in Greifswald

by Philippa Holloway on 28 Oct 2012 In the inaugural edition of the Nord Stream Race, Team Russia took the title and the €100,000 prize money in Karlskrona in Southern Sweden on Thursday evening. The detour on the final leg was carefully considered due to high winds forecast and the safety of the fleet taking priority. Today, the 750 nautical mile challenge concluded finally in Greifswald, Germany as the teams arrived by motor in convoy this morning.

Champagne celebrations for all the teams were in order as the boats docked in finishing order, followed by a welcome brunch for the sailors at Hotel Utkiek situated right at the river entrance. Warmth and a chance to re-charge provided a time to reflect for the teams.

Tommaso Chieffi, 17 times world champion and America’s Cup sailor, coached Team Russia to victory and was extremely proud of the team: 'We have been training hard as a team over the summer and have had some good results. The team have been great, we have certainly developed as a team. The beginning was tough but we got into our roles for the long distance legs with ease. The future of Team Russia definitely looks bright, with plans to sail in Northern Europe and England next season finishing again with the Nord Stream Race.'

Russian Trimmer, Pavel Savenko, was elated with their performance during the race: 'The race has been fantastic, and with Team Russia taking the win it made all the hard work pay off. The future certainly looks bright for Team Russia and I look forward to the next events, the Rolex Fastnet Race in particular. But for now, I will be spending a bit of time at home with my family, before going off to another competition.'

The race has certainly been a challenge for the teams involved due to the low temperatures they endured on most of the overnight passages. Vladimir Ikonnikov, also a Trimmer on Team Russia commented: 'It was definitely one of the coldest races I have done, but it was such an enjoyable race. We will have the winter off, and training will start again in May for our programme next year.

Tim Kroger, skipper of Team Europe expressed his delight for Team Russia’s success: 'A huge congratulations to Team Russia, we knew the Russian boat would be a tough cookie to crack, from our point of view it’s not a lucky second but a solid second so we are happy. We started on a high level with this adventure and everyone found their role pretty quickly, and therefore the team were magnificent.'

To conclude their arrival the fleet of Swan60s motored up the River Ryck in procession providing Greifswald with a spectacular showcase of these fantastic boats and what they have achieved completing the Nord Stream Nord Stream Race website