PLAYING FOR SUCCESS sets new RGMC record

The SeaCart 30 PLAYING FOR SUCCESS in the Round Gotland Midwinter Challenge 2008

08 February 2008

PLAYING FOR SUCCESS sets new RGMC record

Background on the Round Gotland Midwinter Challenge
RGMC is based on the famous Scandinavian Round Gotland Race and the former Bjurfors Challenge. The RGMC is a 311 NM long offshore record challenge. The start window is open from the first of December to end of February, this is the coldest period in the Nordic region. The original Round Gotland Race is sailed in June/July, the track takes you around Gotland from east to west. The RGMC takes you directly to Visby on the west coast of Gotland (like the former Bjurfors Challenge did) and then around Cape Hoburgen back to Sandhamn via the east side of Gotska Sandön (the island north of Gotland). The Baltic Sea is well known for short steep waves and irregular cross wave systems so the challenge offer a perfect test site for boats and crews looking for a ruff training environment in preparation for later achievements. 2007 is the third year this format is used so there is quite a few classes open for records. The record is set on time in each class, multihull or monohull.

Race Report by Calle Hennix, Oceanlake Marine
The four challengers on board SeaCart 30 trimaran PLAYING FOR SUCCESS were in good spirit after a well sailed first 150 NM at an average speed near 13 knots. Less than 12 hours to reach the most southern checkpoint in the 311 NM long Round Gotland Midwinter Challenge open up the speculation lane amongst the crew. Could the dream time of 24 hours be up for grab? They didn’t realize that things were to change dramatically!

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 east side 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 home run, 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 dream time 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.

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