Offshore Challenge 2023
A look back at our autumn regatta
- Route: BIOGRAD - DUBROVNIK - BIOGRAD
From October 14th to 20th, 2023, the race took place in two stages over 140 nautical miles from Biograd to Dubrovnik and back. 41 crews from 14 nations participated. Apart from the start and finish, there were no course restrictions, gates, or buoys for the 270 sailors. Consequently, the choice of routes was diverse, initially dividing the field into three main directions. Some chose the path between Zirije and Kakan, others between Kakan and Kaprije, and some sailed outside of Zirije.
The wind and weather forecast for the first race was ideal, with up to 30 knots of Bora to Dubrovnik. Starting with a light south wind in Biograd, the northeast wind set in as planned at the height of Murter, but it was unforeseeable that the wind would not adhere to the forecast and reach a strength of 70 knots.
The challenge for crew and boat
At the onset of darkness, there was occasional lightning, but since no thunderstorm front was forecasted, the sudden onset of strong winds caught the yachts completely by surprise. Particularly the leading yachts from the ORC group with Spi or Gennaker, which had chosen a course between Hvar and the Pakleni Islands, were in serious trouble when they encountered a weather cell within seconds with a strength of 70 knots.
The yachts sailing in the Hvar Channel had to reef and stow sails under extreme conditions to keep their yachts under control. Due to lack of leeway, one yacht even ran aground here, and the crews sailing outside the Pakleni Islands also faced difficulties, as the thunderstorm cell was not visible due to the lack of weather warnings and darkness. Many yachts got sheets, lines, or even sails under the ship and into the propeller while stowing them.
Injured crew members had to be taken to the hospital but were discharged the next day. It was a borderline experience for many, a real challenge that demanded a lot from the teams until Dubrovnik.
True to its name, the Offshore Challenge 2023 became a real challenge that demanded everything from both the crews and the material.
After the storm front passed, the Bora resumed with a good 35 knots. With heavily damaged sails, the crews fought their way towards the Korcula Channel. Due to another thunderstorm front, the wind turned south, and the already exhausted crews had to tack into the Korcula Channel. Yachts that rounded Korcula outside encountered the thunderstorm front and had to battle high waves. At the height of Mljet, the Bora resumed and demanded everything from the already heavily battered crews once again. The Bora held until just before Dubrovnik and again had an enormous strength of 40 knots.
Due to significant sail damage, many yachts could only sail with heavily reefed foresails when the wind subsided just before entering Dubrovnik, requiring a laborious setting of spinnaker or gennaker. As if that wasn't enough, just before the finish line, the wind turned into a strong Bora again, and the crews had to mobilize their last reserves to adapt the yachts to the wind conditions before reaching the finish in Dubrovnik tired.
Sightseeing in Dubrovnik - Recovery after a strenuous race
After a warm welcome by the Pitter team and a small refreshment, the participants were first in need of rest and sleep. However, the Pitter service team on site found no rest. All technical defects and sail damage had to be repaired so that the crews could also start the return journey. Especially for the yachts that had encountered the thunderstorm cell off Hvar, there was a lot of sail damage. Some teams, including very good teams from fast yachts, announced that they would not participate in the 2nd race due to extremely strong Jugo with gusts of up to 50 knots being forecasted.
The time in Dubrovnik was used for recovery and sightseeing. In an organized program, participants could take part in guided city tours, and there were excursion boats that took participants around the city's fortress walls, from the marina to the old town for the award ceremony. The ceremony took place in a festive, beautiful historical setting at the famous Plaza Lu7ea, on the steps of the St. Blasius Church, built in the Venetian Baroque style.
The second stage of the Offshore Challenge
At noon the next day, the regatta started again. The race management responded proactively to the weather situation in Dubrovnik. Since little wind was forecasted there, the starting point was moved to Korcula, closer to the finish. This tactically smart relocation of the starting point was intended to prevent participants from being directly hit by bad weather conditions on their return journey. The start was at Korcula on a broad reach with moderate wind from the southwest.
After about 3-4 hours, the wind turned to Jugo and increased in strength, allowing beautiful sailing with gennaker and spi. However, when the south wind and swell became too strong, the sails had to be stowed again. This affected the yachts sailing outside the Pakleni Islands earlier, but shortly before midnight at the height of Rogoznica, even the leading boats had to stow spi and gennaker.
The Jugo had increased in strength with high waves, making the sails uncontrollable. The crews sailed towards Biograd on different routes. Off Murter, the wind showed peaks of up to 40 knots, demonstrating its power once more before subsiding as the first boats crossed the finish line off Biograd around 07:00 AM. The boats further back in the field had more wind, but the race management's plan worked, and the entire fleet reached the finish safely and without major damage due to the shortened race.
The crews were greeted with a sweet treat from the Pitter team. There were Fritulje, a delicious Croatian specialty, and of course Pelinkovac, to toast to a strenuous but successful regatta.
Proud teams at the award ceremony
After all crews had arrived, the award ceremony took place the next day at noon, accompanied by a rich brunch with first-class Croatian dishes. The Offshore Challenge is a great challenge for sporty ambitious sailors with sufficient sailing experience and seamanship, as well as strong nerves, because the fight against empty batteries, especially at night, should not be underestimated by the skipper and crew, said our boss Klaus Pitter, who always sails himself as the organizer and won the ORC group with Spi with his long-standing crew.
In the ORC yachts without Spi, Walther Frank from Germany won ahead of Walter Krendl, the best Austrian in second place. In the BAVARIA Cruiser 46, Andreas Neumann (see picture below) took first place. In the BAVARIA Cruiser 41 group, Mark Bis (AUT) came second, behind Pervuskins Sergejs from Latvia, who took first place. All in all, the Offshore Challenge 2023 was a successful event with happy participants.
All results and pictures of the Offshore Challenge 2023
