Heading for Helgoland

This year North Sea Week has many new features including a Rolex Commodores' Cup qualifier

This year at Whitsun, the rocky North Sea island Helgoland will once again attract many offshore sailors who will find some novelties added to the programme. During this year’s North Sea Week, competing teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the Rolex Commodores Cup.

The “Early Bird Series” is for the most ambitious sailors and a new feeder race from the small island Hallig Hooge widens the spectrum of the races. An eye-catcher will be the classic yachts, which are new to the 74-year-old North Sea Week.

The 'Pantaenius Round Skagen Competition' on Whitsun Monday will be a challenge for the most sporting and daring sailors.

The organizers expect 150 yachts to Germany’s 74th annual offshore regatta and 1,500 sailors are going to participate in this year's event.

The preparations are reminiscent of the times when the North Sea Week was one of the most important events in the national sailing scene. For decades, the German team for the Admirals Cup, the most prestigious sailing cup in Europe until the 1990s, was determined in tough competition off Helgoland. This tradition is now coming to life again with the qualifying regattas for the Rolex Commodores Cup Team.

“We are hoping for good attendance. The Commodores Cup is getting more international attention and rising in importance. It’s time for a German team to qualify again for this race”, says organiser Gero Brugmann.

Along with a number of other races, the new 'Early Bird Series' will count towards the qualification. But there is also a variety of competitions for sailors who are looking for other fresh challenges in the North Sea Week. The event will be kicked off on Friday evening (9 May) with the 'Sundowner Regatta', a race from Cuxhaven on the mouth of the river Elbe to Helgoland. Early Bird races 1 and 2 are scheduled on Sunday evening.

The start group of the classic yachts will provide a very special sight. Christoph von Reibnitz, who came up with the idea to include a classic yacht division in North Sea Week, will be competing with his 1936-built Peter von Seestermühe. Von Reibnitz also promoted the North Sea Week among fellow owners of classic yachts whom he expects to race off Helgoland. The classic yachts will sail on various courses laid out around the island for both spectators and their enjoyment. “Many of the boats that will be competing in the classic yacht division have previously made an appearance here at North Sea Week. I’m happy that they will now be able to race in a group of their
own”, he says.

Whitsun Monday will see the start of the grueling 500-nautical mile Pantaenius Round Skagen race. It is not only a true North Sea Week classic, but also an incredibly challenging event. Starting off Helgoland, the course makes its way through the treacherous North Sea, around the northern tip of Denmark, ventures into the unpredictable Baltic Sea and finally reaches the finish line at Kiel Lighthouse. To ensure the transparency and fairness of the race, a Fleet Tracker can be accessed via the Internet. “The Fleet Tracker makes the race understandable to outsiders”, says organizer Bernd Jörg, “We want to appeal to all those who are unable to experience the race first hand.”

The fourth edition of the Family Cruiser Cup will allow crews of families and friends to enjoy the excitement of a regatta without having to cope with the complexity of a full blown competition. A weekend trip to Helgoland is the attractive first prize of this race.