Skepparen Thomas Reinke med sin tysk-svenska besättning på Seacart 30 "Playing For Sucess" satte den 8:e februari ett nytt rekord för Round Gotland Midwinter Challenge med 27 timmar 26 minuter och 39 sekunder, en förbättring med 32 minuter och 3 sekunder. Tidsfönstret för rekord är endast öppet från första december till sista februari.
This was the third challenge ever in the multihull 30 Class. The two before were launched in the middle of the night in December, a time of year when daylight is down to a few hours a day. This time the challengers calculated the start to be able to sail the final stretch in daylight. A smart move considering this is when the crew are very tired and freezing cold. Staying awake and keep your body moving in the cold feels like a much more pleasant choice than catch up on sleep because you are confident you will freeze to death or lose your teeth in the process. It’s a tough play to keep going in high speed in sub zero conditions and should be handled as an important factor at the planning stage of a challenge.
After a splendid first high speed session to the turning point at Hoburgen Reef in NW shifting to W the wind turned SW and softened. Not good for anything except that the crew get a chance to study the famous ”rauk” stones when gybing in and out of the eastside of Gotland. The 82 NM long passage took the crew from a happy fame and fortune state to a will we ever get in reach of the standing record mode.
After the final gybe outside Fårö (on the north tip of Gotland) PFS was lined up for a fast homerun, speeding along in the 16 knot territory. The crew felt that the record again was in reach when mother nature played out a new card for it’s cold and tired crew. The distance between Gotland and Gotska Sandön (island) is about 25 NM, then another 56 NM to the finish line at the gas station in Sandhamn. Closing in on Gotska Sandön the wind strength pended up and down resulting in constant sail changes. Now things became even worse for the stressed crew.
A pure clean calm in the middle of the Baltic Sea came as an unreal experience for the crew now losing any hope for a nice ending on this attempt. Minutes and hours where lost in the speed of light and with PFS only making six knots towards the Swedish coastline. With 23 NM to go the mode reached a new low water mark but as the saying goes; It’s not over until the fat lady sings.
After a lifetime of wait a cold fresh 12 knot WSW established over the hard tested boat and crew. This was their last chance to settle the record straight! So they put the pedal to the metal and with no strings attached pushed harder then ever to make it home in time. And they made it with a small margin of 32 minutes and 3 seconds, or for the record book the new record for the multihull 30 class reads: 27 hours 26 minutes and 39 seconds.
At the most wanted debriefing at the pub in at Seglarhotellet in Sandhamn the crew still feel confident that the 24 hour dreamtime for a 30 ft multihull is possible to make in slightly better conditions. So the planning is on for a new attempt next winter. This is a great challenge and a hard test on boat and crew and there are records to beat plus mono and multihull classes without established records! A chance for a direct record in your class if you are up for the challenge!
Skipper: Thomas Reinke, GER (1964), one of the owners of the Sportmohr Company. Apart from dealing Hobie Cats and Corsair Multihulls, he is also the winner of many national catamaran races.
Crew: Michael Walther, GER (1981) sails since 15 years with his older brother Thomas with different catamarans national and
international races. The last three years he competed in the Archipelago Raid in different Formula 18 catamarans. 2007 he and his brother won the German Hobie Tiger Championships and the national ranking as well.
Crew: Calle Hennix, SWE (1963) ex. Round the World and Americas Cup racer, founder of the SeaCart 30 One Design trimarans Class.
Crew: Mikael Lundh, SWE (1972) ex. Whitbread with Swedish Match and V.O.R. with Djuice, Admirals Cup Fastnet Race to name a few races he has participated in.
Standing Records 2005–2008
60 ft multihull.
Time: 17h37m25s. Name: HIQ. Boat type: ORMA 60 Trimaran. Established: 2005.12.05 – 2005.12.06
30 ft multihull.
2007–2008: Time: 27h26m39s. Name: Playing for Success. Boat type: SeaCart 30. Established: 2008.02.07 – 2008.02.08
2006–2007: Time: 27h58m42s. Name: Business 3. Boat type: SeaCart 30. Established: 2006.12.09 – 2006.12.11
2005–2006: Time: 35h58m10s. Name: AUDI. Boat type: SeaCart 30. Established: 2005.12.01 – 2005.12.02
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