Transat 6.50 Dominik Lenk 2011

2009 and Beyond

Posted Nov 24, 12:43 AM · 2 Comments

Solent IRC, the Rolex Fastnet and Cowes Week are just some of the events of 2009. Together with countless races in JOG, RORC and on the Mini Circuit, it has been a busy year.

As a great finishing touch to 2009, I was awarded “Young JOG Sailor of the Year” last weekend during the JOG price-giving. This trophy was first given out in 1991 to Matthew Humphries, who is still the youngest ever skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race). Thanks to Teresa Whelan of “Xarifa” for recommending me and everybody else who put in a good word…

In the Solent IRC Series we had to give the overall victory to the bigger boats, but managed to protect our class win from last year. It was extremely close and first and second place were only decided in the last minute of the last race.

In the Rolex Fastnet the top three Sigmas were only two boat-lengths away from each other after two days. The race organisers called it a “titanic battle”, which made half the boat cringe and the other half smirk. It remained a close fight all the way through the Irish Sea, but after rounding Fastnet Rock first, a set of low pressure systems did us a huge favour: 1st Sigma 38 and 4th in IRC 3a.

During Cowes Week I was “etchelling” (read: sailing on an Etchell). “Arbitrator” put in a stunning performance and was only to be seen from behind—or as they say boatspeed is the best tactic. Trailing slightly, we finished 7th, but had some very good races throughout the week.

On the Mini Transat scene, I competed in a set of extremely light wind races in Belgium. For the two other double-handed races, the French and UK Mini Fastnet, we never got off the dock. This set of short notice hiccups made me realise that the only way forward is to race and train on my own boat by 2010.

Of course this is easier said than done—I am still looking for an initial sponsor to finance the purchase of a boat by next January. Without sponsorship, I will buy an older, cheaper boat as soon as possible. This will probably be a Pogo 1 and it is not necessarily competitive against the rest of the fleet, but at least it allows me to start training.

Training is essential as it a mindset and knowing the boat that wins races—not just the boat itself. Later I can always ‘upgrade’, but at least I get out on the water from the very beginning.

That being said, I will be on the start-line in 2011—the question is just in which boat…

The highlight of next year will almost certainly be the Les Sables-Les Açores-Les Sables race—2500 nautical miles solo to the Azores and back. Before that I will finish my last semester at University and move into the mini—yes, it will be small, but it is necessary in order to save money for the boat itself.

A little closer in the future there will be another update of the site with more photos and a campaign video. I also added an email newsletter, so if you want to get updates about the campaign, feel free to subscribe.