First Boat Home: Patrik Heinrichs Wins the Green Course

Patrik Heinrichs has won the reduced 66 NM Green Course with his Esse 850 Jynx, crossing the finish line in Nyborg at 02:38:22.

And what a performance.

Heinrichs sailed the race singlehanded, yet managed to keep the whole doublehanded fleet behind him.

Even more remarkable is the boat he did it in. At just 8.5 metres, Jynx is a compact performance boat that was essentially designed for sailing on the Swiss lakes. He was neck to neck with the 8 foot longer Beneteau First 36 when skipper Jan Hansen retired from racing. Tonight, the Esse 850 has once again proved more than capable of handling the challenges of the Great Belt with wind gusting up to 30 knots and a strong current running south.

Jan Hansen and Patrik Heinrichs were neck to neck until an an hour after rounding Agersø where Hansen retired from racing.

The fleet faced tough conditions on the way north, with 12–14 m/s mean wind on the upwind leg from Agersø towards Romsø. Several boats retired, including pre-race favourites Jan B. Hansen aboard The Beast and Kasper Wedersøe and Thomas Bro aboard The Hulk. Heinrichs, however, kept Jynx moving. And the original prediction of a finish around 01:00 turned out to be remarkably close. A small boat. One sailor. A big night at sea.

Patrick Heinrichs is the first boat home on the Green Course.

The rest of the fleet in expected back in Nyborg before dawn.