The fifth X Yachts Ostsee Cup
13th August on a wet Friday evening with a buffet dinner and welcome speech by Lars Jeppesen from X-Yachts Denmark, and Christoph Barth from X-Yachts Germany. More than 40 X-Yachts had gathered to join the event.

Totally new marina facilities
The event was held at the brand new Baltic Bay marina situated in Laboe close to Kiel. Using the Baltic Bay venue meant that X-Yachts Germany succeeded in fulfilling participants’ wishes, including the exclusive use of one bridge by all competing boats. On shore a marquis provided a central meeting point from breakfast to evening entertainment. All signs of rain had disappeared by the time the bleary-eyed sailors greeted one another over the breakfast table on Saturday morning. The sunshine fitted reflected beautifully the spirit of comradeship and friendly rivalry among the competitors. The X-Yachts Ostsee Cup is all about the enjoyment of taking part, clearly illustrated by the great chit chat among old friends and acquaintances before the racing got underway.

Sunshine, water battle and no wind
While the sun ensured a pleasant day on the water for all, the wind did not allow for particularly dramatic racing. The drama was more in the form of water balloons and catapult fire – mostly from the Extasy crew - the new X-43 of Thomas Brügge. The cruising class finished the first race with the last breeze and after a couple of hours waiting at sea, all participants were called in for the first round of drinks on shore. Only one windward-leeward race was completed that day.

On Saturday, a grill evening was on offer, accompanied by a lively jazz band which assisted in the buzzing atmosphere. Dinner was followed by prize giving which also provided a photographic slide show of the day on the water. The socializing continued until late into the evening, with everyone savouring a vivid sunset behind 42 X-Yachts on one bridge. The usual traffic of industrial ships and impressive cruise liners making their way in and out of Kiel completed the fascinating backdrop.

The wind gave challenge
Weather on Sunday was a discussion topic; only at breakfast there was a force 5 westerly wind blowing across the Kieler fjord. Everyone was getting ready for some serious action on the water, making sure they had the right clothes, and undertaking last minute equipment checks. After the relaxed day on Saturday, many were looking forward to the more challenging conditions on offer on Sunday.

The conditions proved to be very challenging indeed both for people and equipment. Alice (IMX 45) suffered a broken spinnaker boom. A few ripped sails and other minor disasters occurred - Dick Fanning from the X-43 Fanatix, Ireland had to wave goodbye to his favourite sailor cap as it floated off behind our boat. It was a pity that the sea conditions prohibited photographs to be taken as we had some action-packed moments on the race course. A head-to-head spinnaker run between the 3 X-43s, (Huppes X, Ecstasy and Fanatix) was so close that the crew could exchange cheeky comments from boat to boat.

As is traditional for Sunday, one long distance race was the order of the day, but due to the strong winds most were back in the harbour before 3pm, enabling early departures for those with a long journey ahead of them. Many stayed around through till prize giving at 4.30pm to support the deserved winners picking up the prize for their efforts over the 2 days.

Once again the X-Yachts Baltic Cup proved to be a relaxed, enjoyable affair for all involved.

Siobhan & Torsten Bastiansen