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Tim Kröger, a veteran of the Nord Stream Race, is taking on his fourth Baltic offshore. The German sailing legend is moored at Sonwik Marina, Flensburg where he is overseeing the final preparations on board Swan 60, Spirit of Europe. This is a familiar race boat for Tim as himself and his crew annually race her across the Baltic Sea.

Tim is especially proud that his crew have returned year on year to compete in this challenging race, “80% of the crew including myself are still the same since our first Nord Stream Race together in 2012. We all come back together every year for the race as we enjoy it and the configuration of the team. We have all gone off and sailed different regattas over the last 12 months but it is reassuring to return to familiar territory with the team each year”.

Spirit of Europe need to take into account some new competition this year, not only do they have the Spanish 22 year old hot shot skippering Petite Flamme but they also have fellow German sailor Joachim Brünner helming SGM. Interestingly the two German yachtsmen have never actually raced against each other before but Tim is not underestimating Joachim as a serious competitor, especially as offshore is one of Joachim’s main strengths.

“Joachim comes from the offshore section of the NRV and therefore is a solid sailor, the biggest difference between us is that Joachim has not raced a Swan 60 before. So there will be a big learning curve for him in the next couple of days and to learn while you race is very hard”.

Tim Kröger is using his last hours onshore to prepare himself and his team properly focusing on sails and weather in order to iron out all the details to survive 800nm. At the moment the weather is looking favourable for all the teams with moderate to light airs forecast, but the situation is changing quickly and all sailors must be on their guard for renowned Baltic winds.