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Nord Stream Race 2016 ended with a resplendent victory of the German team

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The team from Germany on yacht SGM thanks to the right tactical decision snatched victory from Finns in the second stage of Nord Stream Race and became the regatta champion in the overall standings.

The finish line for Alexander Schleswig-Holstein's SGM yacht was taken at 02:58, and 20 minutes later the second boat, «Tsar Peter», on which the Helsinki Yacht Club team was competing, finished the race. Third place after another 20 minutes was taken by last season's winners, Tim Kruger's team on the yacht Spirit of Europe. Team» of Alexey Borodinov'sBattleship «was fourth, and the British crew on Petite Flamme closed the fleet standings.

During the three days of the second leg, the leader changed three times. While the Russian crew tackled the tricky navigation conditions best of all on the way from Helsinki, Team Finland's Samuli Leisti crew took the lead on the open water.

The Finns were firmly in the lead from 7 to 9 June when the fleet was caught in a dead calm off the German coast, 60 miles from the finish line.

Here the German team made a critical decision: while the leaders looked for a breeze off the coast, SGM, on the contrary, went much farther out to meet the approaching wind from the west.

After travelling slightly longer than other boats, Team Germany tackled the intensifying wind at an advantageous angle and set off in the direction of Warnemünde at maximum speed.

«The decision to go north came to us by ourselves. We knew for sure that the island of Rugen is calm, and the leaders are engaged in a struggle between themselves and do not consider our team as a serious rival, so why not implement some daring plan? » - Alexander Schleswig-Holstein commented on his team's tactics.

Based on the results of the two stages of the regatta, thanks to the third arrival in Helsinki and the victory in Warnemünde, Team Germany has been declared the winner of the fifth season of the Nord Stream Race.

Russian «Battleship», which won the first stage of the regatta, and Spirit of Europe have equal scores, so the fate of second and third place, according to the rules of the race, was decided by the best result in the second stage. Spirit of Europe in second place, with «Armadillo» taking bronze.

«The guys did very well in difficult sailing conditions, because it was very cold, wind reached 25 knots, and doldrums are also a serious test - said the skipper of the Russian team Sergey Borodinov - nevertheless, I have no complaints to the team».

The 750-mile Nord Stream Race offshore the Baltic Sea is the route of the Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany's Rostock-Warnemünde, with a stopover in Helsinki, Finland. Teams compete on Gazprom Swan 60 yachts.

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