Vegvisir 2023

Vegvisirrace 2023

Her kommer den danske version. Further down, below the pictures, the english version.

Oprindeligt havde vi tilmeldt os 225 sømils banen, men de fleste gode konkurrenter, bl.a. Dehler 30 OD, sejlede medium bane, så vi skiftede også til denne.

Et godt valg med 26 startende både i vores klasse small og konkurrencen blev endda et nummer strammere end vi ønskede.

Allerede fra starten torsdag kl 18:20 fik vi en forsmag på hvad den næste dags tid skulle gå med. Båden Firlefanz, en optimeret udgave af Corsa 915 i fuld carbon og med vandballast, blev dygtigt sejlet af Franz Schollmeyer og Braun. Ved første mærke, fly-by ved havnen, var de et par længder foran og øgede støt fra Nyborg, sydover mod Marstal hvor de var omkring 15 minutter foran. På det lidt åbne ben, twa 110 / tws 15-20 mod sydspidsen af Langeland hentede vi 3-4 minutter med vores meget fine Jiib 0.

2 filmklip taget fra LM Striker, Runar Asly. Storsejl og jiib 0

Til trods for at fuldmånen i perioder oplyste hele Østersøen, syntes vi det hele så lidt skummelt ud, bølgerne var korte, stejle og fra varierende retninger. TWS 20+ og TWA mod Rødby 165. Så dybt kunne vi ikke gå med en asym. Vi valgte i stedet at sætte stagen på Jiib 0 og gå direkte på waypointet med 8-13 knob BS. Det meget konservative sejlvalg gav plads til en times søvn os begge. Vi holdt samme sejlføring videre mod Gedser og i det tidlige daggry så vi det havde givet bonus, vi var sejlet forbi de 2 forreste singlehandbåde, Norlin 41 og Dehler 30 OD og Firlefanz (som havde sejlet med deres asym). Vores VMG var bare bedre end deres. Havde der været mere vind og dybere vindvinkel, var det gået endnu mere i vores favør.
Videre nordover mod Hestehoved trak vi fra de øvrige både og var forreste båd af alle. Desværre kom der en lille opsamling ved indsejlingen til Grønsund, der nappede det meste af forspringet på knap 1 mil til Firlefanz. Fra Grønsund stod der kryds på menuen de resterende 55 nm til Nyborg, TWS 12-20 knob. Udover at Firlefanz sejlede lidt hurtigere, slog vi også rigtig skidt op ad banen, kom helt galt på et 30 graders vindskift, så vi måtte se os slået og hensat til en andenplads med knap 15 minutter efter 11 timers kryds.
3. båd i mål, en lille time efter os, var Per i sin Seascape 27. De 2 Dehler 30 OD der deltog, havde ikke deres bedste dag på vandet og var noget efter os.

Vores fine Aeolos P30 går rigtig godt så snart vindvinklen åbner lidt op, på kryds er der mod de bedste, stadig lidt at arbejde med. Vi har på knap 300 nm inkl. transportsejladsen ikke haft nogle tekniske udfordringer med båden, alt spiller fint.

Når jeg efterfølgende tænker over hvilke indtryk sejladsen har givet mig, er der især to der lyser op:

Firlefanz, en båd bestilt af Franz Schollmeyer, optimeret til single- og doublehand sejlads. Båden blev leveret sidste år og der ikke sparet på nogle finneser eller optimeringer. En gennemført racerbåd, der er gået all in på alle tangenter. Franz var 68-69 år da han bestilte båden, er nu 71 år, i fin form og skarpt sejlende. Han er en rollemodel for sporten.

Et ungt tysk hold (gætter på slut tyverne) i Melges 24 Freya, Franken-Schmieding, som lige har fået båden og kaster sig frygtløst ud sejladsen. Gives den gas med asym ned over Østersøen, har sække med flytbar ballast ud over siden og de hænger begge som var det kort banesejlads. De vinder deres klasse og kommer før os i mål. Rigtig flot sejlet.

Det viser hvilken alsidig og herlig sport vi har. Der er plads til unge og ældre, til de lidt gamle både og til nye optimerede racere og vi har alle en vinderchance.

Next stop Silverrudder i Svendborg.
Onsdag aften før Silverrudder sponserer Garmin et arrangement hvor deler ud af mine erfaringer omkring Silverrudder. Mere om det senere

Her finder du et link til TracTrac https://live.tractrac.com/viewer/index.html?target=https://em.event3.tractrac.com/events/6d750980-2811-013c-ad56-342e996a9920/races/6e48b480-2811-013c-ad57-342e996a9920.json

Her et til sejladsen: https://www.vegvisirrace.com/https://www.vegvisirrace.com

And in English by Google Translate 🙂

Originally we had signed up for the 225 nautical mile course, but most of the good competitors, e.g. Dehler 30 OD, sailed medium course, so we switched to this as well.
A good choice with 26 starting boats in our class small and the competition was even a number tighter than we wanted.
Right from the start on Thursday at 18:20 we got a taste of what the next day’s time was going to be like. The boat Firlefanz, an optimized version of the Corsa 915 in full carbon and with water ballast, was skilfully sailed by Franz Schollmeyer and Braun. At the first mark, fly-by at the harbour, they were a few lengths ahead and steadily increased from Nyborg, south towards Marstal where they were about 15 minutes ahead. On the slightly open leg, twa 110 / tws 15-20 towards the southern tip of Langeland, we picked up 3-4 minutes with our very fine Jiib 0. Despite the fact that the full moon lit up the entire Baltic Sea at times, we thought it all looked a bit uncertain, the waves were short, steep and from varying directions. TWS 20+ and TWA against Rødby 165. We couldn’t go that deep with an asym. We chose instead to put the spinakkerpoole on Jiib 0 and go directly to the waypoint with 8-13 knots BS. The very conservative sailing choice gave us both an hour’s sleep. We kept the same sail setup direction towards Gedser and in the early dawn we saw that it had given a bonus, we had sailed past the 2 front singlehanded boats, Norlin 41 and Dehler 30 OD and Firlefanz (who had sailed with their asym). Our VMG was just better than theirs. Had there been more wind and a deeper wind angle, it would have gone even more in our favour. Heading north towards Hestehoved we pulled away from the other boats and were the front boat of all. Unfortunately, there was a small come together party at the entrance to Grønsund, which nibbled most of the lead of just under 1 mile to Firlefanz. From Grønsund there was a upwind on the menu for the remaining 55 nm to Nyborg, TWS 12-20 knots. In addition to Firlefanz sailing a little faster, we also did some really badly, got completely wrong on a 30 degree wind shift, so we had to see ourselves beaten by almost 15 minutes after 11 hours of upwind. 3rd boat at the finish, about an hour after us, was Per in his Seascape 27. The 2 Dehler 30 OD that participated did not have their best day on the water and were some way behind us.
Our fine Aeolos P30 goes really well as soon as the wind angle opens up a bit, on the upwind there is still a bit to work to be done against the best. We sailed almost 300 nm incl. the delivery trip and did not have any technical challenges with the boat, everything works fine.
When I subsequently think about the impressions the race has given me, there are two in particular that light up:

Firlefanz, a boat commissioned by Franz Schollmeyer, optimized for single and double handed sailing. The boat was delivered last year and no improvements or optimizations were spared. A complete racing boat that has gone all in. Franz was 68-69 years old when he ordered the boat, is now 71 years old, in good shape and sharp sailing. He is a role model for the sport.

A young German team (guess late twenties) in Melges 24 Freya, Franken-Schmieding, who have just got the boat and fearlessly throw themselves into the race. Pedal to the metal with asym down the Baltic Sea, they had sandbags of removable ballast over the side and they both hang as if it were short course sailing. They win their class and finish ahead of us. Really nice sail.

It shows what a versatile and glorious sport we have. There is room for young and old, for the slightly older boats and for new optimized racers and we all have a chance to win.

Next stop Silverrudder in Svendborg.
On the Wednesday evening before Silverrudder, Garmin sponsors an event where I share my experiences around the Silverrudder. More on that later