Courses

The Stadtwerke Flensburg FördeSPRINT runs on Friday and Saturday on the beach just north of the rowing club. Start and finish are within walking distance of the club grounds.

One athlete from each crew lines up on the start line and waits for the familiar regatta calls — “two minutes”, then “attention – go!”. From there it is a sprint down to the boats waiting in the surf. Neutral helpers hold the boats, the singles in particular, so the athletes can get in.

Crews then slalom out to the outer buoy roughly 250 metres offshore. That buoy has to be rounded to port to keep the collision risk down. The way back to the surf is a straight run. One athlete jumps out, sprints up the beach to the buzzer — and the clock stops the moment the buzzer is hit.

Sunday’s FördeRACE starts between two buoys right off the rowing club’s jetty. From there the course heads north between the Ostseebad pier and the danger buoy, about 500 metres to the first 90° turn to starboard. A short leg east leads to a second, wider starboard turn onto a south-easterly heading. Then comes a tight starboard turn, immediately followed by a tight turn to port that carries the course south. Two more starboard turns bring crews back between the start/finish buoys — and the next lap begins.

One lap is two kilometres. Heats are raced over two laps, the final over three.

Start and penalties

The race uses a flying start. From three minutes out the time is called every minute — “three minutes”, “two minutes”, “one minute” — until the start signal sounds. From that moment the start line is open.

Crossing the line early costs a two-minute time penalty. Missing a buoy costs one minute.