On 2nd of June at 11 am the Nord Stream Race fleet will leave for the third and final part of the regatta across the Baltic Sea.
After the first leg from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki and three short inshore races, the Russian Team with skipper Igor Frolov is in the lead by a large margin. Team Germany and Team Europe follow behind on rank 2 and 3 level on points.
Up to now Nord Stream Race 2014 was mainly characterised by light wind. The first leg of 150 nautical miles from Saint Petersburg to the Finnish capital had to be shortened by the race committee due to a lack of wind. At 3 am the ranking of the yachts was determined after only having sailed a little more than half the way. At that point Russian "Bronenosec" was in the lead followed by Team China and Team Estonia. Subsequent protests against the second and third placed for entering a restricted area were withdrawn later. Both yachts accepted a one-point-penalty.
Nail-biting Inshore Races off Helsinki
Sunday, 1st of June, had inshore races on the programme. The results were also going to count towards the overall ranking. These races, too, although in beautiful sunshine, only saw little and often shifting wind. Laying out the course for 0.7 nm of leeward-windward racing was not an easy task for the race committee. Right from the start the German "SGM" dominated the first of three races and brought the victory home safely.
During the second race the fleet got properly mixed up due to a 180-degree wind shift. So Team Europe could pass the leading Russian team and win the race. For the last race the wind picked up again and Team Russia made use of this chance to secure their first win of the day by a large margin.
Despite the light wind there was a lot of action on the boats. Some jump starts happened because everyone wanted to cross the starting line with as much speed as possible and free wind. The more difficult it was for the respective yachts to clear and catch up with the fleet again afterwards. Some crews sent "windspotters" into the mast to look out for even the smallest of breezes. In addition the teams tried to optimise the body trim constantly.
In the end it was an extremely exciting inshore series which the "Bronenosec" crew clearly decided in their favour. So skipper Igor Frolov and his Italian-Russian team start for the final long distance race to Rostock-Warnemünde with a comfortable lead.
Final Result after Leg 1 and Inshore Races
Place Sail No. Boat name Leg 1 Inshore Total Points
1 2460 Bronenosec / Team Russia 3 3 6
2 2660 SGM / Team Germany 15 6 21
3 2860 Spirit of Europe / Team Europe 12 9 21
4 32010 Windward / Team China 7 15 22
5 2260 Petite Flamme / Team Estonia 10 18 28
6 2760 Tsaar Peter / Team Russia Youth 18 12 30
600 nautical miles from Helsinki to Warnemünde
The leg from Helsinki to Warnemünde is doubtlessly the biggest challenge of Nord Stream Race 2014. The yachts will have to pass by Gotland and Bornholm and will cross busy shipping routes. The forecast for the start predicts conditions with 15 to 20 knots of wind from a north-easterly direction. During the course of the race though, the wind is said to calm down considerably. Tacticians and navigators are going to be tested then in finding the best way out of a lull. Depending on the wind conditions the fleet is expected to arrive in Warnemünde between Thursday and Friday, 5./6. June, where the yachts will be moored at the Marina Hohe Düne. Of course this leg, too, can be followed live via the race tracker on the Nord Stream Race website.
All individual results are published on www.nord-stream-race.com/eng/results
