Schollmeyer’s Esse 850 wins Vegvisir Race
21. August 2019
Franz Schollmeyer and Falko Braun scored a sensational victory with their Esse 850 yacht at the Vegvisir regatta in Denmark. With a three-hour lead to the runner-up boat, they won the mid distance race for single-handed and double-handed sailing and secured the honorary title of “First Ship Home”
“From swimmer to winner,” Yacht magazine wrote enthusiastically. “Franz Schollmeyer, who went overboard a year ago, had a fantastic comeback and scored not only in his class.” The mere fact that Schollmeyer signed up after his accident was nothing short of a sensation, the magazine continued.
The 2018 Vegvisir regatta had turned into a Hollywood-style drama for Schollmeyer and Braun. North of the island of Fehmarn, Schollmeyer fell out of the cockpit, and even though Falko Braun made several MOB maneuvers his teammate couldn’t manage to grab the boat’s rail. The search and rescue helicopter was already underway when Schollmeyer decided to swim back to the shore.
For this reason alone, this year’s success of Esse 850 “Firlefanz” was particularly rewarding. “At the end, we were pretty tired,” Schollmeyer said. “And having a three-hour lead we didn’t really feel like hoisting the gennacker anymore.” The Vegvisir race presents a unique challenge in terms of navigational skills, he added. Sailing through the unlit and flat Smaland waters at night, with drafts only two meters deep, can be a risky endeavor. “We barely managed to skid over the waters,” he said.
