(Hamburg, Germany)- The Alsterglocke regatta was founded in 1984 by Claus Krogmann and Robby Rottmann and has enjoyed steadily growing popularity ever since. Not only sailors, but also media outlets such as radio, television, newspapers, and the internet are enthusiastic about this event. It’s well-known throughout Germany and even beyond. Often imitated, but never equaled, it is one of the largest regularly held regattas with an impressive number of participating sailors.
Sailors are known for sitting in their boats, sailing across the water, and using the wind to build speed. They occasionally need to manually adjust their sails to create optimal conditions. However, on Hamburg’s Alster Lake and during the Alster Bell event, much more action is required.
Every year at the end of the sailing season, the Hamburg Sailing Club organizes a lively spectacle on the Alster. Around 90 boats participate annually, with over 500 sailors and 250 guests from all over Germany. Of course, not everyone is on board at the same time– each boat carries two complete crews of different classes. While a typical large boat usually has five sailors on board, the Alster Bell rule stipulates ten. After each prescribed lap around the dock, without mooring, and maintaining almost no speed, the crews must be exchanged.
Now imagine this: Ten or more boats are racing towards the jetty at once, and you can already see it about to break in two. Then, just before colliding with the quay wall, the helmsman turns the rudder, brings the boat into the wind, and reduces speed. Then the game begins:
The crew jumps overboard to thunderous applause. One after another, they jump, slide, stumble, and tumble towards the jetty, while the crew members on the jetty try to do the same in the opposite direction— to get back onto the boat.
Some land sideways, clinging to the opposite bench, getting tangled in the sheets, or ending up blindly wrapped up in the sail, and disoriented. Others slide straight into the cockpit or perform unexpected ballet moves by doing the splits between the dock and the boat. One leg desperately wants to stay on the dock, while the other is already on board, and the boat is sailing on!
At almost every Alster Bell race, there are sailors who swim after the boat, and during sudden gusts of wind, entire crews often capsize their vessels. However, the Alster Bell trophy cannot be won by swimming – it must be won by sailing!!
The numerous J/22s, J/24s, and J/70s, which are usually strong contenders for the Bell regatta, had no bearing on the outcome this year. For example, the first J/24, sailed by Frank Blohm & Christina Schober, came in tenth.
The weather conditions were moderate, with a force 10 wind gusting to 15 knots from the west and an air temperature of 15°C (60°F), typical for this time of year. A total of forty sailboats participated, including 470s, 505s, Dragons, Ynglings, and the J’s made up most of the fleet.
The top five J/Boats teams were Frank Blohm & Phillipe Graf’s J/24. Next was Dagmar Hilcken & Nicola Rodenhausen’s J/22, then the third J/Team was Louis Enking & Max Haufschild’s J/22 from the Netherlands. Fourth was Jorn Harms & Peter Langhans’s J/24, and fifth was Lasse Karstens & Tim Lasse Seeger’s J/24.
For more Alsterglocke regatta sailing informationhttps://hamburger-segel-club.de/alsterglocke/
