For most of the participating amateur crews, it is the sailing adventure of a lifetime: The two Hamburg engineers Tim Behrendt and Andreas Buchheim on "Frida" as well as the Stralsund doctors Thomas Hunfeld and Samer Shehadeh with the "Thusneld3" are in the Atlantic Passage on Saturday the amateur regatt Transquadr started. Part 1 of the challenge took the 89 boats in total to Madeir in July 2017, either from Barcelon or Lorient.
All participants at a glance
In a sporty 20 to 25 knots, part 2 of the Transquadrvor Madeir got down to business
Start scene off Madeira's coast
The two ambitious German crews opened the race from Lorient last summer and had already covered the first 1100 nautical miles. With their modern JPK 10.80, Behrendt and Buchheim had achieved a strong 15th place. The Stralsunders reached the MarinQuintdo Lorde stage port on their comparatively small JPK 960 "Thusneld3" as the penultimate, suffered setbacks in series during their ordeal, but did not give up and managed. They lost their initial midfield position with the breakage of the steering gear and the broken spinnaker pole. In addition, there was a stubborn gastrointestinal virus that had almost put the crew out of action for several days.
On the second section everything was supposed to be completely different, but in the run-up Thomas Hunfeld initially had to struggle with a persistent flu and fever. With a lot of fighting spirit, however, the doctor managed to get reasonably fit just in time for the start last Saturday. Part two of the Transquadra has been running since last Saturday, and the two German teams are again involved. "We want to reach Martinique safe and sound," Hunfeld had formulated the goal for his team with his sailing friend, tactician and fore shipman Samer Shehadeh. On Monday morning, the duo was still shown in the intermediate ranking with a speed of around 6 knots. Around noon, however, the tracker for "Thusneld3" showed only 0.1 knots of speed and took her to 49th place among the 50 boats still actively sailing. Four boats in the double-hand classification have already been eliminated.
Thomas Hunfeld and Samer Shehadeh with starting number 243 on "Thusneld3"
At the request of YACHT online, the race management told the Transquadrvi press spokeswoman on Monday morning that there had been a call from the "Thusneld3" crew. The team is doing well. However, Hunfeld and Shehadeh reported problems with their autopilot and reported that they were sailing in 15 to 18 knots of wind without a spinnaker.
The Hamburg team Behrendt & Buchheim published a clip after the first stage from Lorient to Madeird
Two long-time friends and family fathers in the race of their lives: Tim Behrendt and Andreas Buchheim on "Frida". They answer the question about the motivation for their participation as follows: "The Transquadrist is not a 'world tour', but a regatt across the Atlantic in an attractive format with moderate conditions. A perfect opportunity to test your own limits."
Things went better for Hamburg in the first two days: The "Frida" sailed towards the port of destination on Monday morning at 8.6 knots in 12th place and at that time was only around 40 nautical miles behind the French leader in the two-hand classification " Yuzu "by Olivier Monin and Aymeric Belloir, who hurried towards Martinique at a speed of almost 9 knots.
Click here for the Transquadra tracker
"Frida" before the second Transquadra start
Transquadra start off Madeira: Part two of the amateur regatt with course to Martinique has begun