Gorch Fock wins regatta in North America
The German navy’s sail training ship won the legendary Five Sister Trophy race from New York to Boston.
Boston/Berlin (dpa) – Gorch Fock wins regatta in North America: the German navy’s sail training ship won the first race against its identical sister ships in 50 years. After around 7.5 hours, the military tall ship was the first to arrive in the Five Sister Trophy regatta.
“My crew accomplished this,” said Commander Elmar Bornkessel. He added that “this victory shows what can be achieved through seamanship, discipline and a shared goal”.
The around 60 nautical miles (approx. 111 kilometres) long race course from New York to Boston covers the challenging sea area around Cape Cod. The German crew arrived 38 minutes before the Eagle (USA), an hour before the Sagres (Portugal) and two hours before the Mircea (Romania).
Just like its three remaining active sister ships, the Gorch Fock was in New York on the occasion of the USA celebrating 250 years of independence.
The vessels that were built by Blohm+Voss competed against one another for the second time. The first race was held 50 years ago, when the USA celebrated its 200th Independence Day.
