Pantaenius Round Skagen Race
The Pantaenius Rund Skagen race , or shortly Skagen round called every two years (in even years) after the yearly to Pentecost held Nordseewoche organized.
After the North Sea Week with the many short courses around Helgoland , the aim was to offer the sailors a demanding long-distance regatta. This ocean race, traditionally started on Whit Monday, alternates annually with the Helgoland-Edinburgh regatta .
The Pantaenius Rund Skagen Race is sponsored by the Hamburg yacht insurer Pantaenius and leads over approx. 510 nautical miles from Heligoland through the North Sea and the Skagerrak around the Danish Cape Skagen through the Kattegat and the Great Belt to the finish line at the lighthouse in Kiel .
It is the most demanding German offshore regatta. The North Sea with its sometimes very rough weather conditions demand everything from the teams and the material. Foreign participants compared the race to the Sydney-Hobart regatta . In the waters around Denmark (especially in the Kattegat and the Great Belt), the skillful use of the wind conditions plays a decisive tactical role. Depending on the wind direction and the time of day, the navigator and the tactician have to decide whether to sail either very close to the coast or at a suitable distance from it, or even to anchor for a few hours.
The record for the Pantaenius Rund Skagen Race is held by the (old) yacht UCA , a 67-foot Baltic with 43 hours and 46 minutes (set up in 2000). The (new) UCA , an 85-foot maxi yacht (owner: Klaus Murmann ) only missed the record in 2004 by 3 minutes.
