(Travemunde, Germany)- Travemünde Week was a week of championships, and
it also featured the J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga (18 – 22 July). The
SAP Media Race Course at the mouth of the river offered a spectacular
program for the sailors from all eighteen clubs participating in the
event. The waterfront festival and regatta is so enormous and has such broad appeal to Europeans that even German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered her perspectives on this popular summer destination event: “Travemünde is considered to be the jewel in the crown of the city of Lübeck. Indeed, Travemünde offers no less than an ideal backdrop to an international maritime sporting festival. The Travemünder Week – which originally came about as a result of a contest between two merchants over a bottle of wine – has long been a major event that attracts around one million visitors each year. No wonder so many come – a very special regatta week awaits them. Some 2,000 yachtswomen and men from 30 nations come together to pit their skills against each other in various competitions.
Whether
you’re looking for a sporting event or a festival with a programme of
activities suitable for all the family – the Travemünder Week has
something for everyone. This also applies to Travemünde itself,
considering the wonderful opportunity to showcase the town as a coastal
resort rich in tradition and an important ferry port.As patron, I am pleased to see that the Travemünder Week is already into its 125th year. I would like to congratulate the organizers on this remarkable anniversary. My special thanks go to the Lübeck Yacht Club and the numerous helpers who are ensuring that the Travemünder Week runs smoothly. All that remains is for me to wish all yachtsmen and women and sailing enthusiasts from near and far an unforgettable Travemünder Week jubilee!”
The kick-off for the next event of the Bundesliga in Travemünde could not have been more perfect: fantastic sailing conditions with sun, summer, beach and wind with nine races completed - three for each club. After taking three firsts in winds approaching 25 kts and 6 foot waves, the Flensburg Sailing Club team were comfortably in the lead (FSC’s crew were Sven Koch, Alexander Erichsen, Hans Henning Hoeft and Morten Massmann). They were followed by four clubs who tied: the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, YC Berlin-Grunau, the VS Am Wannsee and the Deutscher Touring YC.
The
second day of sailing was phenomenal, winds around 20 kts, sunny, big
waves and perfect conditions. After ten races, the Flensburg SC was
still in the lead and just one point back tied for second were
Norddeutscher RV and the Deutscher Touring YC. At this point, a total
of 30 races had been sailed, ten for each club. Said Kathrin Kadel
Bach, a team member of VS am Wannsee, “everything hurts, today was
really exhausting. All clubs are fighting for every point, because it
matters in the end."After the final set of three races on the last day, it was Norddeutscher RV that took over the lead with a strong showing on the last day. Taking second in Travemunde was Flensburger SC and ending up third despite a great, effort on the last day was Deutscher Touring YC.
For sailing fans, sailors and spectators, they were completely thrilled with the live broadcast of SAP and the highly exciting race taking place on the waterfront.
Second
placed Flensburg SC led to the penultimate race and lost to the
favorites from Hamburg by a whisker. "We had it in our hands today.
Unfortunately, we made a stupid error in the penultimate race itself,"
says Morten Massmann (his crew was Sven Koch, Alexander Erichsen and
Hans Henning Hoeft). Despite giving up first place, FSC made a big jump
from 8th to 4th place in the overall Bundesliga season series."There is still a long way to the title. We did not expect to have a win here in Travemünde. The competition was really strong," said helmsman Johannes Polgar (his crew was Klaas Höpcke, Florian Spalteholz and Niklas Meyerinck).
Besides the two northern clubs, the Deutscher Touring YC from Lake Starnberg that finished third is now standing in second place in the overall season standings. "The Bundesliga is really intense. Even during the breaks between races, it’s hard to relax, because we are still thing of the last race. And now it's back on the water and we get going again. Real madness," says Max Weiss, skipper of DTYC.
After the top three (NRV, FSC and DTYC), the balance of the top five at Travemunde includes Wurttemberg YC in 4th and VS am Wansee in 5th.
At this stage of the series, behind NRV in 1st and DTYC in 2nd, the series is quite close for the top five. Third is VS am Wansee with 31 pts, just one point back from 2nd. Fourth is Flensburg SC with just 28 pts and fifth is Wurttemberg YC with 27 pts. Each regatta is producing a juggling of the standings, thus putting a premium on strong, conservative racing to avoid an unnecessary bad race.
Here are YouTube J/70 Bundesliga sailing video summaries:
Day 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVTZkNo-lyo
Day 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ9q249n-IU
Day 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo0Icxxq01E
For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information
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