Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga - Stage III- Great Sailing!
(Hamburg, Germany)- The third event in the highly popular Deutsche
Segel-Bundesliga took place in the heart of Hamburg, on the famously
beautiful Alster Lake, from August 30th to September 1st. This regatta
format was different than the "all fleet" racing in the first two
events, instead it pitted J/70s in a match-race format with "club
against club" duels in a double-elimination/ repechage ladder to
determine the final champion.
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All
eighteen sailing clubs that have been participating sent their best
sailors; many sent their match-race experts to Hamburg, including former
Olympic medalists, Olympians, and German National Sailing Team
members. After an intensive schedule of 153 races, 17 for each club,
the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) team comprised of Carsten
Kemmling, Felix Oehme, and Florian Weser posted 15 wins in 17 races to
take the match-race win! The three day event saw a wide range of
conditions, but mostly flat water with very shifty winds ranging up to
18 kts and a combination of sun and rain on occasion!
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After
the first day of racing the Flensburg Sailing Club was leading after
the race director managed to pull off 48 races on a day of bright
sunshine and winds up to twelve knots! With five wins in six races, the
team from Flensburg Sailing Club that included skipper Lennart
Brieseneck-Pudenz, Nils Carstensen, Jan and Philipp Frigge Linstädt
found themselves at the top of the standings. At this time, NRV was in
second with four wins in five races followed by the Bavarian Yacht Club
and Yacht Club Berlin Grunau.

On
the second day, the North German sailing clubs sitting at the top of
the standings felt particularly comfortable. The host NRV held a
razor-thin lead over the Schwerin YC. Lurking behind were four teams all
tied on points with 18 pts each. The duels between the neighboring
clubs would be decided on the final day! The top six teams were only
separated by two points. As in Travemünde, it could hardly be a more
exciting finale! Behind NRV and Schwerin YC was a four-way tie between
YC Berlin-Grunau, the YC Württemberg, the Flensburg Sailing Club and the
Chiemsee Yacht Club.
In the end, it was clear "local knowledge" of Hamburg's Alster Lake
would play a key role in NRV's win, providing them a clear advantage for
the final races on the last day. With years of experience in match
racing the NRV team skippered by Carsten Kemmling posted 15 wins in 17
races. "We have worked great as a team and were able to exploit the wind
shifts perfectly," said Kemmling.
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Finishing
second behind the NRV was perhaps the surprise performance of the
regatta, with the Chiemsee Yacht Club (CYC) led by the two brothers
Leopold and Moritz Müller. Just behind them was YC Berlin-Grunau (YCGB)
led by skipper Stefan Meister and tactician Gunnar Bahr. "We are always
pleased when we sail into the top three - we did it again", said Bahr!
After the first three events, the YCBG and NRV are tied with 50 pts each
leading the overall Bundes-Liga standings. Tied for third are
Bayerischer YC and Wurttembergischer YC with 44 pts each and in fifth
all alone is Chiemsee YC with 41 pts.

The
next exciting regatta on the J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga circuit
will be held from 27 to 29 September 2013 at Württemberg Yacht Club.
Here are sailing video highlights of the J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga match-racing:
Day 1-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5qtd7zqjwE
Day 2-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyZKlCmAuqg
Day 3-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u974BNOD0H8
For
more Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga J/70 sailing information