Offshore Racing Season Kicks Off at MAIOR 2025 in Kiel!
30 April 2025 - Kiel, Germany - The Baltic offshore racing season gets underway this weekend with MAIOR – the Mai Offshore Regatta – held annually in early May in the Strander Bucht near Kiel. From May 2–4, 35 teams from Germany, Denmark, and Sweden will line up to battle for early-season glory under the ORC rating rule.
With a mix of seasoned champions, new high-performance boats, and international crews, the stage is set for three exciting days of competition. Racing starts at 11:00 each day from Friday to Sunday, with the final prize-giving set for Sunday, May 4, around 15:00.
Among the headline stories this year:
🔹 World premiere for the new XR 41 FormulaX – making its racing debut under the leadership of Jesper Radich, match racing world champion and America’s Cup veteran, now at the helm of the new X-Yachts Racing Team. FormulaX will go head-to-head with its sistership eXciteR, skippered by ORC European Champion 2022 Jens Kuphal. Two identical boats – one clear goal: victory on the Stollergrund.
🔹 Danish powerhouse DIXI 4 returns – After taking third place last year, skipper Erik Stannow and his X-41 are aiming higher this time. The battle between DIXI 4 and the two XR 41s promises intense racing in ORC A.
🔹 LUFT is back with a mission – After finishing near the bottom at MAIOR 2024, the X-55 now returns to Kiel fresh off a victory at the Midsummer Sail 2024. Skipper Carl Urban and his team are out to prove they can deliver results on shorter courses too.
🔹 Stony VIII defends its title – The ITALIA 11.98 from Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub, skippered by Steen Toftebjerg, dominated last year. Will anyone challenge the Danish team this time?
🔹 Ginkgo is hungry for redemption – The Humphreys 39 placed sixth in 2024 after a strong podium finish the year before. The crew is back and looking to return to form in 2025.
🔹 Double duty for Sydbank in ORC C&D – The defending champions in their X-35 are back with skipper Torsten Bastiansen aiming to repeat last year’s triumph. Are they beatable this year?
Follow the action as top teams from Northern Europe clash in Kiel for one of the season’s first major offshore racing tests.
