Olympic medalists to compete in ninth edition of Nord Stream Race
by Nord Stream Race 3 Sep 2021 22:40 AEST
4-17 September 2021
The Nord Stream Race sets sail from Kiel, Germany on Monday, September 6th. Starting from the Baltic port in the midst of Kiel Week, the world's biggest sailing regatta, there are some star names set to take part in the Nord Stream fleet.
Four Olympic sailors from Denmark and Sweden will be on board on different stages of the race which takes place from September 4th to 17th, 2021.
Jonas Warrer, Danish Olympic champion in 2008, starts from Copenhagen for the Aarhus Sejlklub and Mikaela Wulff for Kongelig Svenska Segelsällskapet from Sweden. Wulff won Bronze at the Olympics in London 2012. Almost 60 percent of the sailors are under 30 years of age.
On September 6th, at 4 p.m., the Nord Stream Race starts from Kiel on a challenging course through the Baltic Sea via Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki to the finish in Russia. Five international teams will be fighting for the title: "Best Yacht Club in the Baltic Sea".
Before the start of the first offshore leg, the fleet spends two days at Kiel Week and offers visitors a full program. In addition to the Olympic sailors from the 49er class, the Star, the Nacra 17 and Elliott keelboat, the yacht clubs are sending the youngest teams in the history of the Nord Stream Race to compete in their name. After two years of waiting because of the Covid pandemic, the longest offshore race in the Baltic Sea is back. Organisers and sailors are excited to be back, looking forward to "connecting Baltics through sport".
Sailing for Denmark is the Olympic Champion Jonas Warrer who in 2008 won gold in the 49er class in Beijing and only a few weeks ago was the flag bearer for the Danish Olympic team at the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo. Also from Denmark: Anders Geert Jensen, experienced Olympic Star boat sailor. The 23-year-old Emil Järudd, who sailed in Tokyo in the Nacra 17, is there for Sweden, as well as Mikaela Wulff who competed in the Elliott keelboat in London.
On Saturday morning, the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee (Germany), the Aarhus Sejlklub (Denmark), the Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet (Sweden), the Esbo Segelförening (Finland) and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (Russia) take part in Kiel Week's Welcome Race. It will be a spectacle to behold as the modern 15-meter racing yachts used in the Nord Stream Race, the futuristic ClubSwan 50s, race on the Kiel inner fjord alongside an impressive array of yachts from all over the world. The day ends with an "open boat" invitation for visitors to step onto the ClubSwan 50 racing yachts to experience the perspective of high-performance athletes.
On Sunday there will be three inshore races in the Bay of Kiel. At every stopover, the crews have to prove themselves in short windward/leeward races near the shore, in addition to the 1,000 nautical miles of offshore racing to Russia.
4pm on Monday, and the time has come. The starting shot in front of the Kiel Yacht Club fired by Alexey Zaystev, Managing Director of Nord Stream AG, signals the start of the first offshore leg, 150 nautical miles to Copenhagen. Now is the moment to see if the Russian team can defend their victories from 2019 and 2018.
The schedule for Nord Stream Race 2021:
Kiel as part of Kiel Week: 4th to 6th September
Copenhagen at Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub: 7th to 9th September
Stockholm at Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet: 11th to 13th September
Helsinki at Helsingfors Segelklubb: 15th to 16th September
Finish in Russia: 17th September