Oceanracing Profisegler Bernhard Stamm

In the last edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, Stamm stormed around the planet winning four of the five legs in Class 1, gaining immense respect from fellow competitors through his fearless ability to sail on the absolute limit of endurance for an entire circumnavigation. Powering his Open 60 around the planet exacted a heavy toll and Stamm was forced to make a swift pit stop in the Falkland Islands during Leg 4 when critical canting keel problems struck shortly after rounding Cape Horn: a brief diversion that would not rob the unstoppable skipper from taking line honours at the end of the leg in Brazil. A series of intense depressions swept through the Open 60 fleet in early June 2004 during The Transat race, dismasting two of the leading boats and causing a dangerous crisis for Stamm as his keel detached completely, inverting the yacht 400 miles from the coast of Newfoundland. Through co-ordination with MRCC Halifax, the skipper was plucked from his stricken yacht by the crew of a tanker and taken to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where – within a matter of hours – Stamm boarded an ice breaking tug and began planning a salvage operation. After a three-day, mid-Atlantic search, skipper and yacht were reunited and, in typical style, Stamm volunteered to make the dangerous dive beneath the boat to cut away the mast and rigging.