Countdown for the 4th Rolex Baltic Week

by KPMS on 17 Aug 2007
24 hours to go: The participants of the 4th Rolex Baltic Week had their final tests on Thursday (16 August) on the Baltic Sea off Neustadt where the first race of the prestigious Farr 40 class will start on Friday (17 August) at 11 h local time.

The fleet will race for the first time ever in Germany by competing in the fifth and decisive series of the European Circuit - the European grand-prix ranking of the Farr 40 class. The European Championship of the international Melges 24 class will start a day later on Saturday (18 August).

A gale warning with strong gusts that was published by the Trave Traffic in Travemuende became true in the afternoon and caused challenging conditions on the race course. When the sky darkened and visibility suddenly got poor, most of the 13 Farr 40 boats that had already checked in were hit by a nasty squall out on the water. But the field braved the extreme weather conditions well and returned safely into the port.

'We have been out twice for training sessions because we had to fine-tune our rig trim,' said Wolfgang Schaefer (Lueneburg, Germany), owner and skipper of Struntje Light. He wasn't happy with the yacht's acceleration in gusts. 'On most of the other boats the crews are still working in order to find the ideal adjustments for the local conditions,' explained the medic. Although the forecast for the next days sees a little improvement, the wind will surely be difficult to assess and still shifting.

Schaefer not only has his regular tactician Jesper Bank from Denmark on board, the former skipper of the German America's Cup campaign, but also Tony Kolb (Munich, Germany), another experienced AC sailor. 'The team is well prepared,' said Schaefer. 'We will manage the conditions and hope to end up on the podium.'

While the Farr 40 teams had passed their various measurement procedures on Thursday, most of the Melges 24 crews were still in the process of checking in before they will have to stand the measurers' scrutiny. They will start their European Championship one day later on Saturday afternoon at 14 h local time. The entry list shows 79 teams from 14 nations, a number which sets a new record for European Championships being held in the Northern parts of Europe. 'The sailors have already been impressed of the set-up which we established in the ancora Marina by the help of our title sponsor Rolex,' said Torben Knappe of the organizing club Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), Hamburg.

The Italian teams are the favourites in the Melges 24 field. World Champion Nicola Celon on board Bete Bessini and Lorenzo Bressani sailing on Uka Uka owned by Lorenzo Santini are obvious contenders for the title. Santini who experiences the Melges 24 class for the first season entrusted the helm to the hands of Bressani, who won the IMS 600 World Championship during the Rolex Baltic Week in 2005. Francesco Bruni joins the crew as tactician. He had been the strategist of the Italian America's Cup syndicate Luna Rossa Challenge.

The Rolex Baltic Week is the one and only regatta in Germany which enjoys the support of Rolex. The worldwide calendar of the Rolex regattas comprises famous yachting events such as the now finishing Rolex Fastnet Race in England, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup held at the beginning of September in Porto Cervo (Italy), the Rolex Middle Sea Race at the end of October in Malta and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starting on Boxing Day in Sydney, Australia.