The Legends Race has led former participant yachts on the course from Gothenburg to The Hague parallel to the last spectacular stage in the Volvo Ocean Race. This resulted not only in a kind of exciting and attractive class reunion for boats and crews old and new, who were successful decades ago in the race around the world, but also an exciting race and a lot of fun for the crews at sea and in the Volvo-Ocean- Race destination port The Hague. The Legends Race was and is a really good idea! Oli Schmidt-Rybandt, speed sailing partner and skipper of the "Glashäger" reports on his experiences.
The view into the port of the "Ospa" (ex- "SEB") and the "Glashäger" (ex- "illbruck")
By Oli Schmidt-Rybandt
Again and again I mumble to myself: "Oh man, what have we lived through?" The legends' race as part of the last stage of the current Volvo Ocen Race was kind of a must. Since we keep three of these legends in a species-appropriate manner, we of course have to be there when it comes to the real sausage again. Two boats from the fleet are reported. "Ospa" (formerly "SEB") with skipper Otto Timm and the "Glashäger" (formerly "Illbruck") below me.
Reunion with the yachts that once shaped the Whitbread Round the World Race and the Volvo Ocean Race
For the legends, too, things got down to business in the North Sea
The fact that the finish line finally corresponds to the order in the race around the world at that time is like a stroke of luck and anything but planned. The competition proves to be stubborn.
The way there was tough. Harder than feared. With 35 to 40 knots of wind, the North Sea is uncomfortable. Waves seven meters high are measured from the drilling platforms. We get it from the side. The boats slide at monkey speed along the wandering mountains without names. The water that comes over first affects the view. Later it makes it impossible, even later, standing at the helm, you can't breathe in front of the overflowing water. We don't have ski masks with us. Foolishness. We knew that sometimes they do an invaluable service. Now it has to go without it. We're not in the South Ocean. Sometimes only the boat under my feet tells me how the next wave should be taken by means of the heel angle. It works amazingly well. Illbruck always remains under control. Although the effort on the wheel is considerable, the flow on the rudder blade never stops. It actually starts to get used to it.
"Flyer" was also part of the party
We are traveling with a group of guests. A Polish club has booked "Glashäger / illbruck". The men have different levels of sailing skills, lots of team spirit and an amazingly low failure rate due to seasickness. Club skipper Jaroslav / Jarik does not give anything away. He lets his crew work on the grinders to the limit of exhaustion in order to pump the boat with the mainsail at every wave. So we fly there and only now and then does someone from the guard stick his head out of the companionway to let the food go through his head again. The constant flow of water lets the vomit hardly touch the cockpit floor. Immediately it was washed away and seconds later it found itself in the wake. Skipper colleague Otto Timm on "Osp / SEB" has to struggle with more failures and drives one more reef. So the racing sister remains a little behind.
It's a short ride. We come from the Skagerrak to the North Sea early in the morning, and in the evening we have the Dutch coast on port side. The work with the sails begins in the waning wind. The reef goes out, a staysail is added. Then the reacher 1 replaces the jib. We change from d to the small, flat asymmetrical spi and when the never-ending traffic separation areas on port offer a slip through, we fall away, switch to the big top runner and jibe straight away. 'AssAbloy' is almost within shouting distance in the Kielwaser. A neck duel begins. For each maneuver, the staysail and spinnaker boom go away, only to be put back on the other side immediately afterwards. We get another mile ahead and defend it with further changes of sails until the finish. Illbruck has won her race again and we wonder what you've just experienced?
After a reliable job in the port: "Ospa" and "Glashäger"