Ker 51 Varuna as overall winner of Round Britain and Ireland Race

Published on August 22nd, 2014

Round Britain and Ireland from Varuna Racing on Vimeo.

Cowes, UK (August 22, 2014) – The Royal Ocean Racing Club has declared Jens Kellinghusen’s Ker 51, Varuna (GER), as the overall winner under IRC of the 1800nm Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.

Following a 21 hour postponement due to storm conditions, 28 boats started on August 11 in what would prove to be a record-setting edition. Faster crewed times were set for the outright speed record, the outright monohull record, the female monohull record, the record for monohulls 60 feet and less, and for monohulls 40 feet and less.

As the race overall winner, sponsors Sevenstar Yacht Transport have also awarded Kellinghusen with a $20,000 voucher to ship Varuna to their selected destination worldwide, which will be used to transport Varuna to Malta to take part in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the final race of the RORC Season’s Points Championship.

Although six yachts are still racing, none of them can better Varuna’s corrected time racing under IRC. Jens Kellinghusen was quick to praise his crew for their performance, Varuna has no powered winches and the tough conditions required tremendous physical exertion and long hours hiking out on the rail:

“The weather conditions really suited Varuna. Our biggest competition was with the canting keel boats, which would have preferred reaching, but the downwind conditions towards the end were ideal for us. I am so happy for the crew as they all did a great job and the boat held together in some testing conditions. I am very pleased, this is the first time we have participated and we really enjoyed the race. We already use Sevenstar for transporting Varuna, so the $20,000 from the sponsors is very much appreciated.”

Varuna’s Winning Crew:
Jens Kellinghusen, Owner, Hamburg, Germany
Tim Daase, Pit/Boat Captain, Wewelsfleth, Germany
Guenter Alajmo, Runner, Hamburg, Germany
Guillermo Altadill, Navigator, Barcelona, Spain
Luke Molloy, Trimmer, Brisbane, Australia
David Blass, Trimmer, Braunschweig, Germany
Fynn Terveer, Pit, Kiel, Germany
Jan Hilbert, Driver, Kiel Germany
Gunnar Knierim, Driver, Kiel, Germany
Peter Knight, Bow, Guernsey, UK
Christian Stoffers, Bow, Kiel, Germany
Alastair Sayers, Bow, Hobart, Tasmania

Event website – Tracking