Very light and turning winds determined the fourth day of the Rolex Baltic Week in Neustadt / Holstein on Tuesday. The breeze was too weak for the Kite World Championship and the Swan Race; they sailed back to port without having achieved anything. The yachts of the IMS 600 World Championship, on the other hand, spent eleven hours on the water and completed four tricky short races. From these the Norwegian "Al Cap One III" by skipper Einar Sissener emerged as the new overall leader.
It wasn't a really good day for the German crews. The IMX-40 "Moonshine" of the Hamburger Matthias Müller von Blumencron as the best local team slipped from second to fifth place after the individual ranks nine, eight, twelve and seven. But other teams didn't always get it right either. "In the top field it goes up and down like in an elevator," said Blumencron, "we made some tactical mistakes that were immediately punished." In view of the self-set goal of finishing in the top five, his team is just about on target.
Even the best yacht after the long haul, the Swedish "Imagine" by Peter Rudbäck from Stockholm had to give up and is only third. It was not only overtaken by the Norwegians, who were clearly the best of the day with series two, seven, one and two. The Italian "Movistar" of Lorenzo Bressani with the Spanish sailing idol Pedro Campos at the wheel also overtook the last race thanks to a victory of the day.
Originally started as one of the favorites, it was enough to correct results for two other German boats. Horst Mann's "L + M Hispaniola" (Kiel) improved from tenth to seventh place; Christian Plump's "Hanseatic Lloyd" from Bremen climbed from 14 to nine.
"The race day was peppered with all the finesse," reported Boris Hepp, chief surveyor of the German Sailing Association (DSV). At first there was a postponement due to the lull. Then the time limit was just undercut in the first day's race. Later the wind picked up slightly, and race director Eckart Reinke from Berlin used the day until dusk fell. Hepp: "It was particularly fought on the starting line with hooks and eyes." The world title and a Rolex wristwatch are in great demand.
The latter was allowed to wrap around the wrist of Bobby Luchte from Flensburg. The owner of the Swan 44 MKII "Moriju" won the Swan Race presented by Deutsche Bank and received a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date. Last year's winner Claus Bressler from Hamburg, who slipped his Swan 56 "Chrila" after three day wins the day before, hoped in vain for the final race. The wind let him down as well as the 72 teams of the Hanseatic Lloyd Kite World Championship. While the "swans" had already ended, the kites are supposed to sail two races today to catch up with the regatta program.
Results from the Rolex Baltic Week on Tuesday 23 August 2005
IMS 600 World Championship Overall result after six races:1. Al Cap One III, Einar Sissener (Oslo / Norway) 24.25 points; 2. Movistar, Lorenzo Bressani (Trieste / Italy) 33.75; 3. Imagine, Peter Rudbäck (Stockholm / Sweden) 36.4375; 4. Hagstroemer, GuttJohannsen (Saltsjöbaden / Sweden) 37.5; 5. Moonshine, Matthias Müller von Blumencron (Hamburg) 41, 6875; 6. Ocean Warrior, Sverre Valeur (Bergen / Norway) 45.25
Swan Race presented by Deutsche Bank Final result after four races:1. "Moriju", Bobby Luchte (Flensburg) 7, 2. "Chrila", Claus Bressler (Hamburg) 10, 3. "IvanS.", Dietrich Stahl (Hamburg) 14.