2016 Chronicle #3 - Surendorf Cup

Surendorf Cup

The Surendorf Cup regatta was a surprise for us. It shows how strong F-18 racing is in Europe. We were expecting 6-8 boats but there were 19 that raced right off-shore from a cozy beach catamaran club including everyone who finished in front of us at Kiel Week except for the Sach brothers (1st place finishers).

On Saturday we had the worst rainy day while sailing that I have experienced in Northern Europe. The first race was started in light air (8 – 12 kts). We had a great start and quickly worked our way into second place behind Finn & Meryl (the second place finishers at Kiel week). The rest of the three lap race we were defending our position and managed to hold off two challenges.

For the second race the wind increased dramatically to 15-18 kts and we struggled more finishing 8th. In the third race shortly after rounding the first weather mark our spinnaker tack line sheathing parted so it would not auto cleat any more. Therefore, Matt had to manually hold the tack line and the spinnaker sheet for the entire downwind leg. He did this for all three downwind legs. Our goal was just to finish the race since some boats had capsized and dropped out. We managed to beat two non-capsized boats and finished 14th. We then went to the beach because we had to get to the marine store for more line before they closed so we could sail on Sunday. This is why the last race was scored DNC and became our one dropped result.

For Sunday there were only two races scheduled. The wind was now from the west blowing 17 – 20 kts with a good chop but no rain! In the first race we managed a 7th though we still experienced spinnaker tack line problems. In the final race we had a terrible start but were able to work our way through the fleet in the stongest wind of the weekend into 6th place. Matt and I were happy that we had significantly improved in our upwind boat speed in the heavy wind based on tips we received from the locals. Our down wind speed had been good both days. Overall we finished in 9th place and were awarded an F18 shot glass. If you are interested full race results are posted at: http://www.raceoffice.org/results/Surendorf_Cup_2016/Formula-18

Right next to the Catamaran Sailing Club is a small German Naval facility. We had to be careful coming into the beach because there were still underwater obstacles remaining from World War II.

We were a hit with the locals when we presented the club with an MBYC burgee and they presented us with theirs in return. They immediately hung the MBYC burgee on their wall and stated that we will always be remembered as the boat that had traveled the furthest to race at their club!

Hanging of the MBYC Burgee at the Surendorf Catamaran Club

Traveling Intermission

We needed a few repairs and improvements to the boat so took it to the German Nacra dealer north of Hamburg. He needed the boat for two days so Matt and I took a side trip to visit Berlin. Matt was awed by the city.

Then after picking up the boat we drove south to Dusseldorf, Germany and spent a full day there touring and visiti ng Andreas Hammer. We visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site which is a shutdown coal mine and coking plant which was very interesting for us all.

Next Event – F-18 European Championships, Brest France, July 8 - 12

We have just arrived in Brest, France (evening of July 2nd) after two days of driving through Northern France. We were delayed an hour and half due to security checks at the French border from Belgium; a precaution due to the Paris terrorist bombings.

We will have five days to practice in Brest and go through the boat weigh-in process before the start of the regatta on July 8. We know of two boats that raced at Kiel Week who will also be here early so we look forward to practicing with them.

Matt pointing at the F18 European Championship Participant Flags in Brest, France

Brest is known for being a windy venue with large waves and a lot of current due to the extreme tide range (~14 feet). It should be an interesting place to sail and it will be good to get some practice in.

We are expecting 50 – 70 F-18s from 14 different countries so there should be only one fleet for the racing (no gold and silver fleets).

Regatta results and photos should be available at: http://www.f18-international.org/f18-europeans-2016-france/

Stay tuned for the next Chronicle after the European Championships are complete.

Steve and Matt