Silverrudder Challenge

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silverrudder Challenge: Start in Svendborg: Keelboat Large

Silverrudder Challenge is an annual one-handed regatta the around the island of Funen in Denmark in the temporal proximity to the autumn - day and night are equally long sailed. This regatta event is the largest one-handed regatta in the world in terms of the number of participants. The start and finish of the Silverrudder Challenge is the port city of Svendborg , located on Svendborg Sound in the south of the island of Funen in Denmark.

history

Silverrudder Challenge was invented by Morten Brandt Rasmussen, the former chief editor and project developer of the Danish sailing magazine BådNyt.

He developed the idea of ​​a one-handed regatta for amateur sailors at the beginning of autumn, comparable to a marathon and an Ironman triathlon, but for sailors and at the same time with very simple rules.

At the first regatta in 2012, 15 boats entered but only 12 Danish sailors took part. The race was titled: SølvRoret - Havets Jernmand (German: Silberruder - Eisenmänner der See). In the following year 2013, 100 skippers had already registered and 86 started off Svendborg in an anti-clockwise direction around Funen.

In 2014 the regatta was renamed the Silverrudder Challenge of the Sea . 200 sailors had reported and 187 appeared at the start line. Half of the participants were not Danes. Eight different nationalities were present and for the first time the winners in three boat classes did not come from Denmark.

In 2015, the race was fully booked with 330 participants three months before the start. New records were set in five out of seven boat classes and only three of the records were still held by Danish sailors. The remaining five Silverrudder Challenge trophies went to sailors from Germany.

The silver rudder in 2018 is considered to be the toughest race to date. With wind strengths of 6 to 7 Beaufort from west, in gusts of up to 8 (35 knots) with expected heavy shower gusts and possibly thunderstorms, only 150 skippers of 450 registered yachts started on the clockwise course around Funen. A waning wind was forecast for the evening. The original plan was to sail counterclockwise, but this has been changed so that the Kreuz was not up against heavy seas north of Funen, but south between the smaller islands, where you could possibly find shelter and where there are ports to call at if necessary. After the start, a countercurrent of 3 to 4 knots in addition to the storm had to be overcome in the narrow Svendborg Sound. Numerous yachts got problems from stranding, broken masts and tattered sails and had to give up the race. After the end of the regatta, a discussion began as to whether a one-hand race under these conditions would be justifiable in future.

regulate

The reasons why the Danes were able to establish the largest international solo regatta in the world within a short period of time are due to the fact that there are hardly any or very simple rules, there is no measurement of the boats, the course is very challenging and fair entry fees are charged (currently 1000 Danish kroner, approx. 135 euros), which includes the harbor dues for one week of lay time before and after the race in Svendborg.

A kind of "minimizing the rules to the essentials" has a large share in the success of the Silver Rudder. There are no buoys around Funen that you have to pass on port or starboard, you only have to cross a start and finish line and circle the island in between. A red or green flag on the starting ship indicates whether the island must be left on port (red) or starboard (green), i. H. Go around the island counterclockwise or clockwise.

A rather roughly outlined route specification invites you to play out certain boat advantages. The smaller boats with shallow drafts are likely to take one or the other shortcut through shallower waters. The large yachts with the higher speed potential also have disadvantages. Yachts with masts higher than the clearance of the West Bridge in the Great Belt should take the longer route under the East Bridge.

Prices and boat classes

There is no survey for the regatta. The yachts are divided into classes depending on the length and shape of the hull (mono- and multi-hull). A Silverrudder Challenge Trophy is awarded in each boat class. The winner keeps the trophy until the winning time is beaten in his class. Every year before the start, however, the trophy must be given to the organizer.

Seven prizes will be awarded. Each of the categories listed below will receive a trophy. All measurements in feet (1 foot = 0.3048 meters) length over all (LÜA) according to the World Sailing definition.

Hull shape class from (feet) to (feet)
Keelboat mini 18th 25th
Keelboat small 25.01 30.00
Keelboat medium 30.01 35.00
Keelboat large 35.01 40
Keelboat extra large over 40.01
Multihull small 18.00 28.00
Multihull large over 28.01

Silverrudder Challenge Records

Boat class Skipper country Boat type Boat name sailed time Record year
Keelboat mini Morten Bogacki GermanyGermany Germany Pogo2 Mojo 23 h 06 m 18 s 2015
Keelboat small Franz Schollmayer GermanyGermany Germany Eat 850 Firlefranz 20 h 23 m 14 s 2015
Medium keelboat Wolfram Heibeck GermanyGermany Germany Open 32 Black Maggy 19 h 18 m 03 s 2015
Keelboat large Andreas Rohde GermanyGermany Germany JPK 38 Ratzfatz3 19 h 02 m 16 s 2015
Keelboat extra large Pål Stiansen DenmarkDenmark Denmark Xp-44 Born to Run 19 h 09 m 59 s 2018
Multihull small Bastiansen is different DenmarkDenmark Denmark 28 Dragonfly 16 h 24 m 58 s 2015
Multihull boat large Jan Andersen DenmarkDenmark Denmark Black Marlin Black Marlin 15 h 01 m 05 s 2019

Change of ownership

In 2015, the regatta developed into a popular event for recreational and regatta sailors thanks to media coverage by the German sailing magazine Yacht and the British magazine Yachting World . The attention of shipyards and recreational boat designers was also aroused.

The Danish water sports magazine Bådnyt , which owned the event, switched the owner of JSL Publications to Nordjyske Medier , a news agency based in Aalborg in northern Jutland .

After a loss of 10 million dan. Kronen in the magazine area decided the owner Per Lyngby and the editor-in-chief of Nordjyske Medier Turid Fennefoss Nielsen to focus on the production of Bådnyt as a print edition and to part with Silverrudder Challenge of the Sea . In January 2016, Nordjyske Medier gave the event away to the local sailing club Svendborg Amtørsejlklub , which had also acted as a logistical partner in the previous editions of the race. The demand for starting places was very high due to the reporting and all 400 starting places could be allocated within three weeks in February 2016.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tonny Schnoor and Kristian Østerby Jepsen: Havets ironman: Verdens største solosejlads sejler fra Svendborg. In: Danmark Radio (DR). September 17, 2015, accessed October 1, 2019 (Danish).
  2. ↑ Jochen Rieker: Silverrudder 2014: When the wind is weaker than the will. In: Yacht . September 22, 2014, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  3. ^ Silver Rudder race: solo challenge - Yachting World. In: Yachting World . December 7, 2015, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Jochen Rieker: Silver Rudder Race: Solo race around Funen with a registration record. In: Yacht. April 18, 2013, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Jochen Rieker: Silverrudder 2014: When the wind is weaker than the will. In: Yacht . September 22, 2014, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Jochen Rieker: Silverrudder 2015 : Record numbers, record times - and breakage. In: Yacht . September 21, 2015, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Wassersportverein Heidelberg West: Silverrudder 2018 report by Dietrich , accessed on 24 October 2019
  8. ↑ Jochen Rieker: Silverrudder 2018: Demolition Derby in the Danish South Seas. In: Yacht. September 22, 2018, accessed October 24, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Silverrudder, com: Record Holders , accessed October 23, 2019
  10. ↑ Jochen Rieker: Silverrudder Challenge 2016 secured. In: Yacht . January 22, 2016, accessed October 22, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Lars Bolle: Silverrudder Challenge 2016 Registration record: The bag is closed. In: Yacht . March 1, 2016, accessed October 22, 2019 .