Record participation of international IRC Yachts at Classic Fyn Rundt

by Hans Genthe on 14 Jun 2010 16 IRC yachts sailed the 150-mile track around the Danish Island of Funen, together with 151 other, mostly Danish yachts. The regatta 'Classic Fyn Rundt' of the 'Kerteminde Sejlklub' is one of the major regattas that take place in the Danish Islands.

It is characterized by it's challenging navigation and it's nerve-jangling wind and current conditions. Over recent years the IRC participation was rather small. But due to the new, comprehensive Baltic IRC judging this year, the participation numbers grew. The 'Classic Fyn Rundt' is one of 14 races that counts into the overall evaluation of northern europe championships. A total of 20 IRC yachts were reported, including the 'Krackemut' from Sweden.

Morten Grove, organizer of the regatta, is excited by the international interest and is planing a greeting celebration for next year, as the boats from further away usually leave right after the regatta.

The conditions were challenging. In some parts calm winds obstructed the sailors while in other parts the wind was veering about 180-degrees. Still the modified yacht Varuna by Jens Kellinghusen could rack up the victory. By this, the Varuna takes the lead in the Baltic-IRC evaluation. The Guts 'n Glory by Christopher Wuttke made the second place. Last year's winner, the yacht Visione 3 scored the third place. Despite the light winds the Varuna needed less then 24 hours for the 150 mile long race track. As the boats had to tack upwind and downwind most of the time, the sailed distance was rather 200 miles than 150 miles. The resulting average speed of about 8 knots shows the enormous potential of modern 46-foot carbon racer such as the Varuna - even with such light winds.

This sailing district has its pitfalls: At least three yachts run aground during the race. But all three were able to free themselves without the help of others. Among other things, the so called 'deep' harbor entrance of the Svendborg yacht harbor was a vicious trap. Jens Kellinghusen, skipper of the Varuna said: 'Tim, our navigator had the toughest job. He did not even sleep for more than half an hour. I myself found the regatta rather scenic.' A few minutes after the Varuna crossed the finishing line the wind turned 90-degrees and faded. The following boats had to tack upwind the track from Cape Fynshoved to Kerteminde, so that they needed a lot more time than the first boats. This explains the large time difference of the follwing boats.

Further Information:
http://www.fynrundt.dk/
http://www.baltic-irc.org/