regatta Archive - Hightide

Starnberger Segeltage

24. September 202224. September 2022Alex Beck

Die 2. Starnberger Segeltage waren wieder ein Highlight. Ein Segelfestival der besonderen Art am See, mit einem bunten Mix aus Regatten, Prominenz und Entertaining. Veranstalter des Events ist traditionell der Münchner Yachtclub (MYC) am Westufer des Starnberger Sees.

Zum Auftakt der Veranstaltung traten die Schauspieler Lara Joy Körner, Hannes Jaenicke, Heio von Stetten, Rufus Beck, Markus Ertelt und Detlef Bothe neben dem Bürgermeister der Gemeinde Berg, Rupert Steigenberger, gegeneinander an. Als Schirmherr für die Regatta konnte der MYC die José Carreras Foundation gewinnen, die mit einer Tombola und Auktion noch Geld für den guten Zweck sammelten.

Gesegelt wurde auf sechs J/70 mit jeweils 4 Mann Besatzung auf einem klassischen Up and Down. Supportet wurden die VIPs von Segel Pros. Eine Regelung, wer welche Position auf dem Schiff besetzen soll, war nicht vorgegeben. Das konnten die Crews selbst entscheiden. Trotzdem aber wurde entschieden, die Schiffe ohne Gennaker über den Kurs zu jagen. Die Bedingungen waren unerwartet gut und haben sich dann auch noch verbessert. Der Regen blieb aus und die Sonne brach durch die Wolken. Während der Rennen hat es aufgefrischt und es standen stabile 10kn mit Böen bis zu 14kn.

Die Rennen waren Boot and Boot, Overall konnte sich aber Lara Joy Körner den Sieg sichern, die im Vorfeld zu diesem Event auch im MYC trainiert hat. Zweiter im Ziel wurde Hannes Jaenicke und Rufus Beck erkämpfte den dritten Podiumsplatz. Für ihn war es das erste mal auf dem Boot der Segelbundesliga. Seglerisch kommt er aus der Dickschiff Szene und war eben auch erst in Griechenland auf der Pelorus Jack Ocean Trophy ( http://pelorusjack.org/trophy.html ), die von Hannes Jaenicke gegründet wurde. Darüber hinaus ist er auch erfahren im Umgang mit der POGO 50, mit der er regelmäßig im Mittelmeer unterwegs ist.

Neben den VIPs war natürlich auch Politiprominenz vor Ort. Neben der Bürgermeisterin von Tutzing, Marlene Greinwald war auch der Abgeordnete im Deutschen Bundestag, Michael Kießling, der Vorsitzende im Landrat Landkreis Starnberg, Stefan Frey, die Geschäftsführerin der José Carreras Stiftung, Uli Serini live vor Ort und unterstützten die VIPs tatkräftig und wünschten den Race Crews „Mast- und Schotbruch und immer eine Handbreit Wasser unterm Kiel!“.

Dank der positiven Wetterentwicklung blieben alle trocken und die ganzen Segelcrews, Zuschauer und Sponsoren konnten noch einen schönen Abend im Casino des MYC verbringen und den Tag ausklingen lassen. Der erste Tag ging erfolgreich zu Ende und wir möchten an dieser Stelle noch Micki Liebl und seinem Team danken für das Engagement und die Durchführung der Segeltage.

Now we know, the America´s Cup becomes gets Dolce Vita.

28. Februar 202128. Februar 2021Alex Beck

Auf der BOOT 2020 war der ganze America´s Cup noch weit weg. Der Bootstyp AC75 war noch ungewohnt. Wir waren ja noch immer von den AC45 Katamaranen begeistert. Die hatten wir noch im Kopf und mussten erst noch lernen, dass Kats einen größeren Windwiderstand haben als ein Monohull. Bei dem irren Speed eben ein Thema. Die Pressekonferenz auf dem America´s Cup der Bootsmesse war aber sehr gelungen. Wir spürten den Spirit und waren natürlich gebannt; zum ersten mal in der Geschichte war der Pott auf der BOOT Düsseldorf live zu sehen. WOW.

Bevor der Cup nun startet, eine kurze Erklärung wie das ganze Ding überhaupt abläuft. Der Cup selbst ist lediglich ein Rennen des Herausforderers gegen den Verteidiger. Also 1:1, ein Matchrace. Deshalb gibt es eben auch diesen einen Sieger und keinen zweiten. Wir kennen ja die legendäre Antwort auf die Frage der Englischen Königin, wer denn nun zweiter geworden ist, nachdem die Amerikaner gewonnen hatten; „Your Majesty, there is no second“. Das sagt alles über diese Regatta aus, die zu den ältesten Sporttrophäen der Welt zählt. Es startet mit dem Prada Cup, hier kann sich jeder anmelden, der denkt gut genug segeln zu können, das Startgeld von rund einer Million direkt bezahlen kann und dann auch noch das Boot und die ganze Crew bezahlen kann. Dazu zählen nicht nur die Segler, es bedarf auch einer Shore Crew, mit Meteorologen, Ingenieuren und Designer, die das Boot bauen, das den Klassenvorschriften entspricht. Für den PradaCup und den 36. America´s Cup werden Boote der Bootsklasse AC75 gesegelt. Heute Nacht war ja das Finale des PRADA CUPs in Neuseeland. Damit hat sich der Herausforderer qualifiziert, gegen den Verteidiger anzutreten. La Dolce Vita, die Italiener haben gesiegt und treten nun gegen die Kiwis an, die beim letzten AC gegen die Amis gewonnen haben und daher nun die Verteidiger sind. In a Nutshell:

Im Prada Cup segelten 3 Schiffe/Nationen gegeneinander. Jeder gegen jeden. Diese Rennen heißen Round Robin. In 2020 waren drei Syndikate am Start. Das Waren die Amis mit „American Magic“, die Italiener mit „Luna Rosso“ und die Engländer mit „Britannia“.
Gewonnen hat nun „Luna Rossa“ mit der Besonderheit, dass sie zwei Steuermänner haben. Der eine ist Jimmy Spithill, der bereits 2010 den AC mit BMW Oracle Racing gewonnen hat und Francesco Bruni.
Am 06. und 07.03.21 geht es dann um den „Old Mug“, den America´s Cup itself. Da wird dann Neuseeland den Cup gegen Italien als Herausforderer verteidigen oder eben verlieren.
Wenn NZ gewinnt, bleibt der Cup in Neuseeland.
Wenn NZ gegen Italien verliert, dann wird Italien zum Verteidiger und der America´s Cup wird als nächstes in Italien ausgetragen, la dolce vita. In diesem Fall tippe ich auf Sardinien als Austragungsort.

Erstaunt war ich von der Tatsche, dass die Vorentscheidung nun nicht mehr von Louis Vuitton gesponsert wird, sondern von Prada, daher auch der Name PradaCup. Schade, da der America´s Cup schon die älteste Sporttrophäe der Welt ist und da ist LV schon ein richtiger Markenfit. Seit 1983 sponsert LV die Vorentscheidung. Bei den letzten ACs wurde dieses Sponsorship dann unterbrochen. Dem Konzern wurde die zunehmende kommerzialisierung des Cups ein Dorn im Auge. Es gab dann zwar nochmals ein Engagement, aber es lief einfach nicht mehr rund und für 2021 ist PRADA eingesprungen. PRADA ist als Teamsponsor beim Segeln keine unbekannte Größe und erst recht beim AC eine beständige Größe. Matching also. Mich persönlich hat Louis Vuitton als Sponsor mehr angesprochen, da segeln immer mit Reisen zu tun hat und LV für mich klar für Reisegepäck steht. Gerade auch die Reisetruhe für den Pokal selbst von LV wirkte überzeugender, als die Verpackung von PRADA, auch wenn diese beeindruckend ist.

PRADA CUP americas cup Luna Rossa — THX 📸 Amercia´s Cup und StudioBorlenghi.

Der Prada Cup ist nun Vergangenheit, der Gewinner steht fest. Luna Rossa wird nun im März 2021 als Challenger gegen die Emirates Team New Zealand beim 36. Amercia´s Cup antreten. Auch über 150 Jahre später wird es nur einen geben, den Sieger. Denn nach wie vor gilt; „Your Majesty, there is no second.“

PalmaVela 2019 – the 2nd Mission.

26. Mai 201927. Mai 2019Alex Beck

HighTide is back on Mallorca. We entered the 2nd time the starting line at the Sail Racing Palmavela. That year we had a much better boat with the Farr40 of the Sayonara Yacht Squadron. Unfortunately that race is not our league in competiting, but at the end it´s a great surrounding on Mallorca and we always feel like home beeing a guest at the Real Club Nautico Palma.

We always start with 3 trainings days in the bay of Palma. That´s neccessary cause a few of the crew are always new and we have to look at our skills. The races are on Friday and Saturday, two races a day. Quite the normal up and down. Last not least there´s on coastal cruise on Sunday for the final.

The key at a race like that is the fun factor, especially when you´re not sailing on a TP52, or ClubSwan50. It´s really amazing what you can see there. There´s a battle of material you can not imagine. I think there is no other sport which has so many adjusting screws as in sailing. There is the complex weather System, the high-tec boat which you have to handle and at least you need a crew and a lot of training.

Our training days were quite good. Everybody finds his position aboard and the handling of the boat get´s better from day to day. At our first PalmaVela participation we have been a lot at the Ballerman in el Arenal. But that time our Crew Manager, Tactician and best man didn´t allow us to be part of the partyscene. He had his reasons for that and he was right. Training and racing a whole week is quite stressful. You day begins at 0730. We start in on of the stylish majorcan breakfast bars and walk into the harbour to the Real Club Nautico, where SAYONARA LIGHT is based. There we have to do a lot at the boat. Trimming and repairing, checking the forecast, whatever. Time is always running fast there and we had to go out to the starting line. That´s also quite a long way and it is not easy to find the right slot for your Race. In our case it was ORC1. There is always a confusion with the 5min signal etc.

At the 1st Race Day we had perfect conditions. Unfortunately the wind gets down in the 2nd race and it was aborted in the last leg and just there we had a good position at least. That´s a pity, but that is sailing.

At the 2nd Race day no Wind was expected. The 1st race on saturday was realised under good conditions and than, the wind was gone. We´re waiting in the bay of Palma and the expectations was zero. However Oliver Ochse was supposed that there will be wind again. We were laughing and hanging around on the boat. He said it will be back at 0330 with 17kn. I couldn´t belive it, but exactly at 0330 the wind was coming, quite strong and we startet the race. We came quite fast up and after the windward mark we had two boats behind us an I just saw how their gennaker explodes. That was . . . what should I say. At that time we had more than 25kn of windspeed and the boat was running down with 16kn. In words, sixteen?! We´re talking about a Farr40 which is not state of the art, but a good lady with skills.

The rush was going on and in the meantime my position was not anymore as always. At that point I was standing behind Sascha, the owner and helmsman of the boat. We were really surfing the waves and it feels safe. So far for the moment, but as you know; in love and at sea you are never safe. BÄMM, there ist was. You know it from all the YouTube Videos. The broach. It was anwesome and as always. Everything is under controll and within that rush a we had a gust additional to the wind and the boat gets out of hand. At that moment everything was in slo-mo. Sayonara gets on its side, I looked at the boom which was high above me, the wind gets out of the main an the boom runs on the other side which is really impressive and was braked on the other side in the water. Puuh. At least we were still in race mode and we found ourselves and go on. Unfortunately just a few minutes later the gennaker halyyard breakes with a brute force. That was the second Puuh, but it was not a long way to the finishing line and we had enough for today. The wind had a maximum at that day of 28kn. We felt it. On our way back to the RCNP with just a the main we had 10kn on the log.

Every evening we had a delicious dinner at one of the Majorcan Tapas Bars. Just cause of dining Mallorca is an answer. It is so tasty and stylish in the old town of Palma. Unfortunately the end was near, Sunday was coming. Our last race day. Traditionally the last race is always a coastal race, which I like very much. The thousands ups and downs are getting boring. Therefore a kind of a cruise is quite cool along the coast of Mallorca.

All in all our second Palmavela Mission was a adventure for all of us. We get a lot of experience. We had a perfect mood and a very good crew. Always again. Stay tuned.

Season Opening at Trofeo Noli / Mallorca.

25. Februar 2019Alex Beck

Sailing is a complex thing. Every adjustable screw has its relevants and on such a boat of the ORC Class, there are many screws. If every screw is running you will have a perfect match. But if there is just one screw not really running you will have a major problem. In that race weekend we had that one screw which was not running. Our underwater hull was full of shells and vegetable cover. We don´t thought that this could be so hard after a few weeks, but on the other hand the boat was laying there since november at least. Perhaps SAYONARA had a few trips, but that was to less. What can we do? We try to do it with a carpet around the hull, but that wasn´t a hack. We did the race with all the natural cover. That was hard to see that we didn´t get the target speed. As always we also had a few mistakes in tactic and maneuvers; that means minute by minute loss.

Nevermind, it was a perfect kick-off for the season 2019. The crew was brillant as always. The mood was impressive and the Conditions on Mallorca are brilliant. Perfect surrounding within the Real Club Nautico Palma and the city of palma. At least the crew dinner in the evening is one reason to be part of Sayonara Racing Squadron.

In the meantime the hull get´s cleaned and SAYONARA LIGHT is prepared for the next race. Stay tuned to get all the reviews of a race season on Mallorca at the Real Club Nautico Palma. In the meantime I really feel like home there. It is always a good Feeling to walk into the club and smell that typical artificial odor HERMES in the insight of the RCNO ambience.

Where to stay?

At that time I found a very cosy and stylo Hotel not far away from the RCNP. At least maximum 10min away from the yacht harbour by foot. The Hotel is called Palau Sa Font and is located in the heart of Palma. The rooms are pleasant and the bathroom is stunning, quite new and modern. The service is excellent. We came always quite late and we get a warm welcome. The breakfast is a good standard, especially with the newspapers.

Copa Del Rey – sailing between the king and the world league.

13. August 201814. August 2018Alex Beck

Copa Del Rey is one of the most prestigious regattas in the Mediterranean yachting calendar. A Pinnacle event in sailing year by year in the bay of Palma, Mallorca.

It sounds quite cool when Sascha asked me if I want to be part of his „Sayonar Light Race Team“ for the Copa del Rey in 2018. That sounds great to me and with my experience from the Palmavela last year I said yep, for sure. Especially cause Sascha knows how to handle boats, races and a crew of soldiers of fortune.

The main actors of the regatta are the beautiful Island of Mallorca, his Majesty King Felipe VI, an nearly 200 boats and their amazing owners and crews. Some of them you will know from the FORBES list, but´s that´s another story.

It all began and how could it be otherwise at the „Ballermann“ in El Arenal. There we pick up of the first crew member. As expected he was still in another galaxy, which was quite good, cause that´s the reason why he is still alive. You know, drunk people always have a guardian angel. But more about this later on.

In El Arenal we get on the boat to bring it to Palma. Unfortunately we stopped after 2min very unsoft, cause we grounded in the marina. That was a pity but with our draught of 2,60m not so abnormal. Max, remember our first crew member, wasn´t fast enough to absorb the sudden stop. Perhaps he was still absorbed by the Ballermann Experienced. He had really big luck. Max stands in the middle of the cockpit and made a backflip down the gangway, where he landed on his head. The muscle relaxant of drunk people is really outstanding. After that shock and unnecessary first experience we started with a drink an get the boat to Real Club Nautico Palma.

The upcoming race days were quite similar day by day. In total it was physically quite hard. We get up in our stunning city loft in palma, had breakfast at about 09 am. After that delicious part we prepared the boat, looked around in the yacht club an we enjoyed the feeling there, which is amazing.

Our tacticians get their infos in the briefing and we went out to the starting line. Don´t underestimate the time you need to be at that point. It needs at least an hour.

We were registrated in ORC 1 and most of the time we had a few other starting groups before us. That was cool, cause we can see the start of the ClubSwan50, or the Maxi Racers, which is really stunning. The sound of the winches ist awesome when they get on course. It sounds like the buzz of a dinosaur.

The course itself was classic, up and down, two rounds and two races a day. Above that there is one long distance race. In total we had eleven races. The windspeed were about 8 to 13kn every day and 37° everyday. Perfect conditions. Don´t forget to drink enough. I don´t know how many litres water we drunk at sea. Enough I think and the funny thing, in that conditions you don´t have to pee the whole day. It is so hot and you will transpire everything.

Within the regatta I often pinched myself. Is it really me, racing between King Felipe VI and the enormous maxi yachts like MOMO or Protheus. Above you will see there the leading champs steering the TP52, the GC32, or the Club Swan fleets. At the end we were not compatible against all that pros with their unbelievable machines. Don´t be the last in our class, was our task. At least we get that in every leg. Just in the last race we had a difficulties at the windward mark. We hoist the gennaker, it gets twisted and we had to jibe. It don´t came over and it was catched by a damaged sail batten in the jib and in a second the whole gennaker was split into two pieces. The only thing which we could do was a call to the race control; Sayonar Light 47 is retired. That was really a sad moment.

The whole week was a stunning experience in a awesome setting. Above that it was quite cool to get on track with the pros. With just one day of training and not with our material we had great results, an outstanding team spirit and a wonderful time on that beautiful island of Mallorca.

BMW will participate a challenging Project.

4. April 20184. April 2018Alex Beck

BMW Yachtsport: #TeamMalizia will take the chance to get the victory in the Vendée Globe 2020. BMW is partnering the Campaign of the Yacht Club of Monaco (YCM). Within that partnership Boris Herrmann from Hamburg/GER will be at the helm of the IMOCA OPEN 60 at that single handed sailing race around the globe.

Boris is very experienced in extreme sailing, a strong character and very personable. These are good skills to get such a racer around the globe, which don´t any mistakes.

#TeamMalizia is sailing to success under the flag of the Yacht Club of Monaco, which was founded by Pierre Casiraghi. The youngest son of Princess Caroline von Monaco. Both guys are sailing a lot together to get a feeling for the „RoadToVendee. That´s a long way, there´s a lot to do. Not just races, there ist also a record attempt next week. They will get the best time from Marseille (FRA) to Cartagena (ESP).

BMW announced their partnership that days in Munich. They will start with support in technology and want to be a reliable partner, also in stormy times. Sounds great. For BMW as a mobility provider and car manufacturer is that a real challenge and a source of new initiatives. BMW ist active in sailing since 2002. In the noughties they invented the very successful BMW Sailing Cup, which was a very professional amateur sailing race serie. 2010 was a highlight in their sailing history. Together with ORACLE they won the America´s Cup with a stunning Trimaran. That was really a great show. Seven Years later in 2017 they lost against the unbeatable Team of New Zealand. We will see if BMW will participate at the upcoming America´s Cup Challenge in 2021. Right now we have no statement of BMW regarding a attendance.

Above that we know that HUGO BOSS also takes part at the Vendée Globe in 2021 with their skipper Alex Thomson. It remains to be seen, if Mercedes will support Alex Thomson Racing. If they do, we have an automotive battle on the oceans. stay tuned.

Palmavela – Being Part of it.

13. Mai 201713. Mai 2017Alex Beck

There are a few races around the world which are really awesome. The Palmavela Regatta in Palma is one of that legends. In 2017 I got the chance for it. Our Race-Skipper Sascha Jäger called me a few month ago and told me about his vision, getting part of the Palmavela. He found a way to get a race yacht which is based in bay of Palma. I need no second to say yes to him. I knew the boat, I read about it in the last years. She was built for racing. SIEMENS MOBILE sponsered it in their high point and JOT was the fastest yacht in the bay. That´s years ago. In the meantime Oliver Ochse does it´s trainings on that boat and we get it for the PalmaVela.

That´s a cool move, cause at least it´s a race boat, an old one and marked by the years. She´s really not a beauty and everything is kind of broken. We had a broken backstay, lots of backlash in the rudder, but the dacron sails with the impressive number ESP7000 were brilliant. We had a fast mainsail and two foresails. One for more and one for less wind and also two spinnakers. Unfortunately we destroyed one in the training. That´s a pity.

The Crew of Sascha was a brilliant mix of sailing soldiers with a highly developed sense of celebrations. We had a triad aboard:

The most smashed racer
The booziest crew
…and the best atmo&performance.

In total we had three days of training and 3 racing days. The first training day was the hardest. Evreyone has to find it´s position on the boat. We had to organise the processes and manoeuvres aboard. We really get better on the second day. The weather conditions were awesome. Plenty of sunshine and enough wind. Above that it was fascinating to see all the WALLYs on the water, which also do their training exercises.

At the 3rd day we were quite good on the water. That´s amazing, cause in the meantime we had the 2nd night in the Bierkönig, Ballermann and Mega Park. Yeah we had the Mallorca full contact programm. From the Royal Yacht Club (RCNP) to the sediment of mankind and I have to say, everything of it has it´s charm.

The first race day was coming and we were all very excited. Particulary cause of our new spinnake, which we will hoist for the very first time, cause we broke the other in the last training day. At least it´s just another Spi, therefore we managed it quite good, instead of our whole race. We don´t get the speed in the first race. Don´t know why, it was not our day. For this we were better the next two days and in total we were better than expected. We had a top speed with „JOT“ of about 14,8kn and in total we finished in the last third. Which is quite cool, cause we were the punks and the only crew which was not paid for it. If there should be a ranking for amateurs, we were first, for sure.That´s a move for underdogs. We were part of the PalmaVela. That cries for new challenges.

In total it was a lifetime experience and we had a perfect crew of different yachties.

Where to stay.

We stayed in Palma in the LAS ARENAS, which was fine for our mission. It was quite cheap and we had breakfast and dinner. Both was not delicious. We go out for dinner every evening. There are so many good restaurants and tappas bars along the coast. All of them were awesome. In the Hotel we just took the breakfast and there the basics. Eggs, Toast and Fruit. Everything else there is not constitute a recommendation. In a Nutshell, the location is quite good and very closed to PURO BEACH. The rooms are clean and OK for sleeping. We had the „all incl.“ and therefore it was cool to get a few drinks between the shower and the nightlife.

Foiling is sailing in the 3rd Dimension.

3. August 20164. Dezember 2016Alex Beck

What a stunning experience last weekend. HighTide was invited from Land Rover for their ExtremeSailingSeries in Hamburg. That´s a request I don´t need a second to say, yes for sure. The regatta is a racing series all over the world and last weekend it takes place in Hamburg. The really good thing on the event is, that the races are quite close to the spectators.

That race series is running around the world. GC32 is the type of catamaran which is used for that race. It is a foiler in form and type like the America´s Cup catamarans, just smaller. The America´s Cup racers are 45ft long and therefore bigger than the and the GC32 with it´s 32ft. The crew counts 5 very strong men and the boatspeed gets up to 30kts.

You will find much more infos about the race direct under this link, ExtremeSailingSeries. Back to Hamburg. The event started on Thursday with the press conference of the team members of the Ben Ainslie Racing Academy and on Friday till Sunday the Race was on. I arrived on Saturday at the Cruise Center in Hamburg and met the Land Rover Team there and I got my briefing for the next two days.

First of all we started with a Experience Cruise with the Defender in the Park. Word up, a Defender ride is always exciting and a good ride. That´s such a pity that the regulations will stop that fantastic offroader in the nearby future. His successor is still prepared. We will see how it will work. It would be great if there will be a evolution similar to the MINI, or the 911. Above that the black fleet which stands in the front row of the test-drive-area was impressive. I´m curious how Land Rover will realise the eMobility in the Future. From my point of view hey have to launch a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) till 2020. Time is running fast and soon Land Rover will open their innovation centre in Warwick, NAIC. I personally think that the race is on and first of all I expect a Plug-in-Hybrid (PHEV) and after that the BEV is coming. In that way all the car manufacturers will do it. The PHEVs will bridge the way from traditional powertrains to eMobility. We will see.

After we get our oilskin we went to the pier and entered the Zodiac and get out to the river Elbe to look for the Land Rover BAR Racing Machine. The first moment when I saw it was breathtaking. When I get aboard I couldn´t believe. This is once in your life. WOW.

One second later we were on course. The conditions were perfect. We had a windspeed of 10 to 13kts. and the catamaran feels really different to my cats I sailed before. It´s a funny feeling. You know it, but the movements on that foiler are so brute, so powerful, that´s awesome. Especiall when the cat is coming on his foils. The sound was outstanding. Overall the noise on that boat is unbelievable. You can hear the fractious power.

The crew under Elliot Hansen did a few downwind and upwind courses and I get a feeling when the accelaration hits the boat. The catamaran is so agile. You can feel it so direct when the change the courses or hoist up the Code Zero. It was fantastic to see how the crew handeled the Code Zero. In, out in a speed that my eyes had difficulties to follow. Above that they did the tacks and jibes in a way you can´t imagine.

After that kind of training we came back to the dock an Land Rover was a great host. I had a wonderful lunch and good entertaining. The absolut highlight was still coming. I will be part at the race. Live aboard on a GC32 Foiler in race mode. Could there something which is more exciting? Let me think about it . . . NO! My Pulse gets high. There were a few minutes left till the start. I used the time for little chats with SAP regarding the analytics and their engagement in sailing and why they do it. That was quite interesting, but that´s another story.

The time has come, racing. Unfortunately we had a bad start and we canot get back to the lead, but that was more a problem for the crew than for me. For me it was an highlight. Thank you Land Rover for that Experience.

Where to stay?

Hotels are always a sign of time. After the pure and clean look we´re getting cosy. For that trip I found a very outstanding hotel in the middle of Hamburg. A friend told me about that awesome place, named HENRI HOTEL. It´s direct in the heart of HH between the central station and the shopping street Mönckebergstraße, which is also the Metro Station for the Hotel.

The look of the hotel ist very contemporary and there is a lot to see. The furniture is a mixture between modern, classics and other creative things. In the room you really feel like home or being at a friends flat. Above that it is quite funny if you need something to eat or drink. You can just order it at the reception. The reception itself is placed in kind of living room with a bar and a fridge. You can also go down and take your drink in that common room.

HERE you will find my review on TRIPADVISOR.

SEAPOINT RACE – The Sailing Race between two Petrol Stations.

25. Juli 20164. Dezember 2016Alex Beck

In the early summer Sebastian came to me and told me about a race which could be quite easy and cool. In the beginning there was the idea to go from Helsinki to Tallinn, but cause of I don´t know the race course changed and we went into the skerry landscape in the western part of Finnland. The Idea was to go on the boat which is the only way to come to SCOLA, that wonderful restaurant in Barösund. Good idea, I will be part was my first reaction. Particularly I´ve never been in the archipelago of Helsinki. Sounds like a cool trip and for me another chance to get back on Nautor´s Swan 51 EIRA after our Atlantic Crossing in 2012.

Together with my fiancé I traveled to Helsinki and we landed there in a horrible rain shower, which gave us direct the feeling for the next days.

At the next day we had luck, the sun was shining and we had a good time in Helsinnki, which is an amazing town. Good mood, perfect style and cool guys there. EIRA herself lis lying at the dockyard of the Royal Yacht Club in Helsinki, which is on a wonderful little Island in the bay of Helsinki. It´s really a great and very historic place there. Unfortunately there was not really time to enjoy, the briefing for the race is going to take place nearby. The aligner of the regatta is the local petrol station, named SEAPOINT. Therefore the regatta is called SEAPOINT RACE. The crew around that race is pretty cool. This was to be expected cause the logo and the colours of SEAPOINT are stylish. That means the people who created it must be cool. OK, this was a little outbreak, cause I´m in marketing and tend to realize those kind of detais.

Anyway the start in the rain was, what should I say . . . wet and windy, but the mood was good on the boat within our mixed crew and we had good food from the market hall in the harbour which we picked up direct with the boat at the market hall.

The line-up of the boats was impressive, incl. the crews. Regulation that it was intended as humor was then very seriously, regarding the crews and the boats. E.g. Sebastian´s SWAN was not the only one.

The landscape between the little islands is awesome. We have to come back when the sun is shining. That must be very nice there. The Race itself was really fun. You are well adviced if you have one sailor aboard who knows that area. Don’t try it it as a charter crew with a nautical chart. Do it with a pro. Trust me ist will be easier and you will see the landscape, not just the nautical chart.

In the late afternoon we docked the boat in Barösund and yeah there was – surprise, surprise – another SEAPOINT Petrol Station, which looks even better on that cosy island between the red cottages. After that „Disney Moment“ we entered the SCOLA Restaurant. The awards ceremony was in Finnish and therefore I had difficulties to follow, but overall I got the point. Unfortunately we were none of the winners but we had a great time.

At that time I had now clue about the Finnish Sauna Culture. But before we went to the Sauna, we had a phantasic dinner. That was really outstanding. My motivation to go to the sauna was limited, but there was no way to keep up that mentality. Perhaps the alcohol did its job to change that. Nevertheless a few minutes later I saw myself walking through the Finnish wood, paddling in a boat and find myself with parts of the crew in a cosy cottage with undefined drinks in my hands. We don´t talk about the rest of that evening, but we say thank you to my fiancé and the crew, who got me back on the boat.

The way to the boat was quite long and that was good for my condition. Back in the saloon of EIRA the music was still on and yeah, funny again. The next morning was similarly hard. Good that there was a cute cafe behind the SEAPOINT Petrol Station where all the yachties got their breakfast and there was another funny story, but we don´t talk about it.

That´s it, back to Helsinki on an easy downwind course with not so much rain. The rolling sea was fine and the fresh air of the baltic sea gave us the energy back. When we came back to the Yacht Club, Nyländska Jaktklubben, I made a mistake and slipped from the dock into the harbour. The funny thing, I just got wet till the knees and my arms. The rest of the body was quite dry. OK on the other hand I was just a few seconds in the water; Sebastian lifted me up me up very quickly. Thanks at that point to you Sebastian!, cause it wasn´t so easy to get back on the dock.

All in all it was a perfect trip nearby Helsinki. If you ever have the chance for a cruise in that area, do it. It is unique and FinGuys are good guys. There is just one littel rule: don´t drink with them. You will loose.

Where to stay in Helsinki.

If I´m in any town my first look for a hotel is always the homepage of Design Hotels. That was also a good choice in Helsinki. We had there our first night, befor we get on the yacht. The hotel KLAUS K is a promise and really a good hotel. You can read my review direct HERE on Tripadvisor.

BOOT Düsseldorf / Land Rover BAR Pressekonferenz

25. Januar 201625. Januar 2016Alex Beck

Am ersten Tag der Messe gab es gleich ein Highlight. Sir Ben Ainslie gab sich die Ehre. Den Regattaseglern unter uns ist er bekannt als elffacher Weltmeister, fünffacher Olympiasegler und America´s Cup Team Member der Siegercrew 2013. Mir persönlich imponiert er, weil er eben auch wie ich ein LASER Segler ist. Aber nicht nur sportlich hat dieser Kerl etwas auf dem Kasten. Er ist zudem auch noch in ritterlichen Kreisen angesehen. Aufgrund seiner Erfolge wurde ihm der Titel Commander of the British Empire und Knight Bachelor verliehen. Dieser Titel hat nun gar nichts mit dem Casting Mist irgendwelcher Fernsehkanäle zu tun, das hier ist vielmehr die James Bond Nummer. BÄMM.

Zurück zur BOOT. Am ersten Tag also hat Land Rover zur Pressekonferenz geladen. Die Aufregung war groß, die Zuschauerreihen gefüllt wie nie auf der BOOT.

Auf der Bühne selbst gab´s keine Überraschungen. Ben Ainslie sprach über den Cup, seinen unbedingten Willen diesen wieder nach Great Britain zu bringen und freut sich hier sehr über die Zusammenarbeit mit Land Rover. Diese Zusammenarbeit fühlt sich auch wirklich gewachsen und überzeugend an. Es ist eine durch und durch Englische Kampagne. Diese Grundüberzeugung wird auch durch die mrdiale Präsenz von Prinz William und Kate auf den AC Events sichtbar. Da fällt es auch nicht in´s Gewicht, dass die Pressekonferenz einer Bootsmesse von Land Rover als Partner iniziiert wurde. Im Gegenteil es machte Sinn. Die gewohnten Fahrzeugexzesse vermischt mit Herleitungen warum alles so gut passt, gab es nicht. Alles was Marketingleiter Christian Uhrig zu Land Rover präsentierte war spannend und nicht aus dem Marketingeinerlei gefischt. Nun gut, klar gab´s auch Worte zum eben gelaunchten Evoque Cabrio. Das war aber auch ok und die Kiste ist auch wunderbar. Ein Gesicht in der Masse und ja, gerne möchte ich ihn mal fahren. Alleine dieser Reiz spricht schon dafür.

Der Grund für die Zusammenarbeit überrascht deshalb nun auch nicht sehr. Es ist eher offensichtlich und es ist gut. Es geht eben um starke Partner mit dem äußersten Willen den Cup in´s Empire zurück zu holen: #BringTheCupHome. Die technologische zusammenarbeit und der Innovationsaustausch der beiden Partner lässt Rückschlüsse auf deren Platzierung im Qualifying zu. Ich bin überzeugt, dass Land-Rover BAR mit guter Wahrscheinlichkeit im Kampf um den Pott stehen werden. Im Moment liegt Land-Rover BAR im Gesamtranking auf Platz 3. und noch sind es 6 Rennen bis zum eigentlichen Cup 2017.

Spannend am Land Rover Engagement ist dass die Engländer einen Gegenpol zu Audi setzen. Die Franken sind stark im Offshorebereich und in Verbandsklassen unterwegs, während Land Rover auf die coolen Geschichten setzt. Dazu zählen neben dem AC auch die www.ExtremeSailingSeries.com und die Land Rover BAR Academy. Letzteres gefällt mir besonders gut, da es diesen Charme der Red Bull DJ Academy hat oder deren Geschichten der Break Dancer. Das weckt Begehrlichkeit und steht mehr für Power im Gegensatz zu Verbandsarbeit.

Bin gespannt wie sich die AC Challenge entwickelt. Als nächstes zieht der AC Regattazirkus vom 21.06. bis 24.06.2016 nach Portsmouth zu einem weiteren Rennen für die Quali innerhalb der Louis Vuiton America´s Cup World Series. Wir sind gespannt und auch in 2017 wird es wieder heissen; her Majesty, there is no second.