Fun, fabulous sailing @ J/70 Helga Cup

J/70 Helga Cup © Helga Cup

The eighth edition of the J/70 Helga Cup was hosted by the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein in Hamburg, Germany for an international field of sixty-one all-women's teams on the gorgeous, tree-lined Alster Lake in downtown Hamburg.

After 111 races, the ultimate winners turned out to be a mix of women sailors from sailing clubs all over Germany, known as "Die Fiven". Here's how it all unfolded over the three-day regatta.

Day 1- Friday

Sailing on Hamburg's Outer Alster remained firmly in the hands of women all weekend. Nearly 380 female sailors from eleven nations competed in the eighth edition of the Helga Cup. Sixty-one teams competed in the J/70 class. The patron of the world's largest women's regatta, organized by the North German Regatta Association, was Kristina Vogel, a former German track cyclist and two-time Olympic champion.

The starting gun was fired in almost perfect sailing conditions for the first race of the Helga Cup. The sailors completed a total of 33 races on the first day of the regatta in sunshine and moderate winds. The participants described the conditions as good, but also quite challenging. As in the previous year, Chief Inspector Julia Homburg, Head of Hamburg Police Station 31, started the opening race. "Being responsible for the starting gun at a women's regatta is a special honor. It was fun again," said Homburg after returning from the regatta field.

Two Australian teams had the longest journey to the Helga Cup, one of which was making its second trip to the women's regatta in Hamburg. "It's great to be back at the Helga Cup. The atmosphere is always great," said the four sailors from the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Perth, Western Australia. First and foremost, we want to have fun sailing at the Helga Cup. In 2024, we finished in the top half of the field. This time it would be great to be in the top third. However, we don't have that much experience in the J/70 class, because it's mostly in Sydney and Melbourne," says helmswoman Sandy Anderson.

After a long, successful day of racing, an informal pre-opening at the Hamburg Sailing Club the day before, with a social gathering of the sailing crews, was followed yesterday evening by the official opening at the Helga Cup's organizer, the North German Regatta Association. Christoph Holstein, State Councilor of the Hamburg Ministry of the Interior and Sport, highlighted women's sports and inclusion during the opening ceremony, stressing the importance of raising the profile of both topics.

Susann Beucke, who is participating in the event not only as a sailor but also as an ambassador for Hamburg Active City, where the Helga Cup is one of the top ten events, also spoke. Beucke shared her experiences in the still heavily male-dominated professional sailing scene. In this context, she emphasized the importance of the Helga Cup as an event where women can demonstrate that they, too, can compete for trophies and achieve sporting success.

Helga Cup patron Kristina Vogel also encouraged the women not to allow themselves to be limited by external factors, but to pursue their own goals and lead by example. She thanked all the female sailors for their commitment to the Helga Club.

Among the guests of honor at the opening were the newly crowned European Champions in the 49erFX class, Hannah Wille and Marla Bergmann from the Mühlenberger Sailing Club, as well as Anna Barth, tactician of the German SailGP team.

Day 2- Saturday

The Helga Cup sailors have completed two long days of racing. Both days provided exciting racing with good, at times quite challenging, sailing conditions. The sailors in the J/70 class have already completed a total of 72 races, and those in the inclusive RS Venture Connect class have completed 24. On Sunday morning, the teams will compete for a place in the final.

The J/70 field is currently dominated by the sailors from Hamburg's Team Mammazentrum, followed by the Die Fiven team from the Berlin area. Third place is held by the newly crowned European champions in the 49erFX class, Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille from the Mühlenberger Segel-Club, with their team Nordkomplott, who are competing in the Helga Cup for the first time. The two Olympic athletes have brought two other experienced sailors on board: Olympic bronze medalist Alicia Stuhlemmer (Nacra 17/Tokyo 2021) and league sailor Laura Bo Voß.

The weather continued to play into the sailors' hands on the second day of racing, once again providing them with moderate, occasionally freshening winds and midsummer temperatures. Only the oppressive heat and occasionally shifty, gusty winds posed a bit of a challenge.

Anna Barth, 49erFX sailor and tactician on the German SailGP team, described the sailing conditions as perfect Helga Cup weather. "It was a fantastic day on the water with some good gusts at midday and a great atmosphere. I'll definitely be back," said the Hamburg native. She took over the helm from professional sailor Susann Beucke for a few races on the second day of racing with Team Mammaseatas. "We're thrilled with how smoothly the handover from one helmswoman to the next went. We felt very safe with such experienced sailors at the helm," the crew members enthused.

In the evening, the participants and volunteers gathered for a meal and celebration. A raffle gave away five copies of Susann Beucke's book "Against the Wind." The following teams took home one: Pura Vida Chicas, Diversity, Ad Hoc, Good Vibes, and LilleHei. Sailing training sessions were won by the Sailing Sisters, Skyline Sisters, and the Flensburger Deerns.

A special prize went to the Hamburg Academic Sailing Club (ASV): the Spirit of Helga Cup Award. This challenge cup, awarded to teams that particularly embody the spirit of the Helga Cup and serve as role models for women's sailing, was presented for the fourth time. The ASV initially competed in the Helga Cup with just one team and, over time, has expanded women's sailing so much and successfully campaigned for a club-owned J/70 for training that four teams are already registered this year.

Day 3- Sunday

The J/70 class kept things exciting right up until the very end of the final race in extremely light conditions. The victory went to Die Fiven, a crew of women who met two years ago at the Helga Cup.

The 2025 Helga Cup qualifying races were characterized by good yet challenging sailing conditions, plenty of female power on the water, a great atmosphere on land, and exciting races.

The teams engaged in thrilling races for a place in the final until Sunday afternoon. During the qualifying races, the sailors enjoyed optimal conditions with midsummer temperatures. Gusts and wind shifts typical of the Outer Alster Lake provided a sporting challenge.

The sailors in the J/70 class finished their final heat and delivered a thrilling race in light wind conditions. Victory went to Die Fiven, a team with sailors from Brandenburg, Berlin, and Hamburg. The crew met two years ago during evening celebrations at the Helga Cup, when all of the sailors were still competing in other teams. Of the "original five," only helmswoman Helen Fischer remains. She brought Ulrike Heck and Martina Braune from the Märkischer Adler eV sailing club and Ulrike Ellmer from Hamburg into the boat. "It was our second regatta together. Three weeks ago we came second on Lake Starnberg and thought we had a chance at the Helga Cup. But we didn't expect to win. This is completely unreal; it just went amazingly well," said an enthusiastic Ulrike Ellmer. A little caution so as not to lose the good preliminary ranking and composure on board - that was the Fiven's secret recipe on the way to victory.

Team Nordkomplott, with the newly crowned European champions in the 49erFX class, Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille from the Mühlenberger Sailing Club, Olympic bronze medalist Alicia Stuhlemmer (Nacra 17/Tokyo 2021), and league sailor Laura Bo Voß, sailed to second place. The top sailors were competing in the Helga Cup for the first time and were immediately impressed. Bronze went to Team Stiftung Mammazentrum from the Hamburg Sailing Club, with helmswoman Juliane Zepp, Marion Rommel, Maren Halbrock, and Lea Beele.

The response from the sailors was once again very positive this year. Many of them have participated several times before and described the Helga Cup as a "family reunion among sailors" and a "coming home." The sailors praised the competitive spirit on the water, but especially the camaraderie and exchange on land, as well as the positive atmosphere.

A project close to her heart was participating in the Helga Cup for professional sailor Susann Beucke, who competed as helmswoman for Team Mamaseatas, a team of women with cancer. Beucke took four days off from offshore training in Brittany for the regatta. "The effort was totally worth it. It was a fantastic event with incredibly friendly women and a fantastic atmosphere. It was more about participating than winning. It's great that women with very different sailing skills can participate. I'm leaving the event inspired," said Olympian Susann Beucke.

The Helga Cup was also a very special weekend for Anna Barth, 49erFX sailor and tactician on the German SailGP team. She took over the helm from Susann Beucke for a few races and enjoyed sailing with the Mamaseatas. "The women's story touched me. Sailing with them was a lot of fun and felt as if we'd known each other forever," said Barth. She is pleased that the German SailGP team will be collaborating with "Wir sind Wir - Inclusion in Sailing eV" in the future to jointly promote inclusion in sailing. "It's a wonderful thought to make sailing possible for everyone and to share the feeling of what it's like on the water," says the sailor.

"We had good sailing conditions and were able to hold 111 races, some in Lake Garda-like conditions," said NRV Club Manager Klaus Lahme. "I would like to sincerely thank the more than 60 volunteers, our race committee, Tina Buch and Jens Hahlbrock with their teams, and the chief umpire Svenja Hünsch and her crew. They all did a fantastic job!"

Christoph Holstein, State Councillor of the Ministry of the Interior and Sport thanked the sailors for their commitment at the awards ceremony and emphasized that inclusion and women's sailing must become even more visible in society.

The eighth edition of the Helga Cup will take place from 11 to 14 June 2026 on the Outer Alster in Hamburg and at the facilities of the North German Regatta Association.

The Helga Cup 2025 was supported by: the Heinz Kettler Foundation, Eberhardt Wienholt Foundation, Active City, Von der Linden, Torqeedo, ONE, Akquinet, Meat Wholesale Market Hamburg, Salzbrenner, Pantaenius, Zhik, Peter Frisch GmbH, REWE, EWS, E Boot Hamburg.

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