SOLAIR leads the fleet to the KLAIPĖDA SEA FESTIVAL

28.07.07

Leg 3 Gdańsk - Klaipėda

At 7.28 on Friday morning 27th July riding a cool southerly breeze Peter Ufer’s 60ft X-yacht Solair smoothly crossed the finish line off Klaipėda to take line honours. Sounding the horn aboard Klaipeda University tall ship and Baltic Sprint Cup committee vessel Brabander was Lithuanian race committee chairman Algis Patasius. The arrival of the Baltic Sprint Cup yachts marks the beginning of Klaipėda’s immensely successful annual Festival of the Sea when up to a million people are reported to throng the streets and port of Klaipėda for the main event of the summer. Principal supporter in Klaipėda is DnB NORD bankas and the event is under the overall patronage of Mayor Taraskevicius.

Just 17 minutes after Solair the striking green spinnaker of Henning Klaus Neumann’s Sun Fast 52 XXL touched the line as second boat home.  Neumann has taken his permitted discard with a DNF on leg 2 so for XXL this and the remaining two legs must count.

Arriving at 8.35 Stefan Hummel’s Emil Reiseschwein endured the indignity of finishing bareheaded as her spinnaker ripped into two parts only a minute before she crossed the line.  Reiseschwein maintains fourth place in the regatta so far.

The leg started at 1600 in the Gulf of Gdańsk near the resort of Sopot on Thursday afternoon in the gradually declining westerly gradient wind.  A late strong sea breeze caused rapid changes in local wind with consequent sail shifts in quick succession.  Frühstuck Director (Hansa 430, Jörn Bock) made it first through the ruck past the offset buoy and into a short-lived 12-14 knot northerly but the forecast southerly dominated the leg with gusts and showers under the mainly occluded front.  

North-east from the Gulf to the neighbouring west-facing coast of the Baltic means all yachts pass the shores of Russian territory at Kaliningrad. To avoid misunderstanding the fleet had a waypoint 14 miles from the nearest Russian headland at Mys Taran and all yachts produced a countersigned declaration that “Point Alpha” had been passed to starboard.  There were no incidents.

Overall leaders are 1. Frühstuck Director, 2. Schüddelfrost, 3.Meltemi.
Results see here.

Alan Green
Race Director