(Kiel, Germany)- It was a thoroughly enjoyable event for everyone during
the second Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga event sailed in J/70s over the
weekend of June 5 to 7 in Kiel, Germany. There was lots of drama and
anxiety going into the last race, but in the end, it was Chiemsee Yacht
Club (CYC) team that won, thereby securing valuable points en route to
the overall Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga championship. Not far behind them
on points was the powerful VSaW (Verein Seglerhaus Am Wansee) team and
in a surprise third place finish was Kieler Yacht Club (KYC).It was a stressful, but fun-filled three days of sailing for the teams with lots of action and some fabulous days of sailing with the magnificent backdrop of the Kiel waterfront. It was a neck-and-neck race at its best. On all three days the 18 clubs exchanged places overall, moving up and down like a roller-coaster; no one could feel confident about their positions because the teams were so closely matched on speed and tactics; after 45 total races it was proving to be fairly tiring for some teams!
"Our recipe was the consistency. We drove defensively and tried to make as few mistakes as possible. That worked for us. We are very happy and satisfied with the team performance," said a very pleased Chiemsee YC helmsman- Leopold Fricke.
A
surprising third place were the local heroes of Kiel YC. "We have not
started so well, so we had to work our way from behind all the time. The
team did a sensational job and so we have been fighting hard to get the
last place on the podium. We are happy about our "small home win," said
Oliver Schwall, helmsman of Kiel YC.For the first day of racing, it was clear the weather Gods were smiling on Friday. Glorious weather for both the sailors and spectators along the Kiel waterfront. Fantastic sunshine and smiling faces, the spectators on the promenade followed the exciting race just below them. At the end of the day, the Deutscher Touring YC (DTYC) was the initial regatta leaders followed by the VSaW team and Chiemsee YC.
After 1410 hrs, the “Color Line” ferry had cleared the way for the first six J/70 teams to sail the first race starting at 1430 hours. With a solid 10 kts breeze, the PRO managed to knock out eleven good races. In those conditions, it was the DTYC crew from Tutzing that sailed like madmen, only settling for three 1st places for the day! The DTYC team was led by helmsman Maximilian Weiss and his crew of Patrick Follmann, Luis Tarabochia and Jonas Vogt.
For
the second day, what can you say?? It was an all around perfect day for
all those who came to sail on Kiel’s Inner Fjord. Whether as a league
sailor or as a spectator, Kiel gave all it could possibly offer. At the
end of the day, VSaW team was now at the top of the charts; closely
followed by their well-known competition- Flensburger Segel-Club (FSC).
Sitting in third was DTYC."Nice and gusty winds and big waves.” That could be heard today more than once along the waterfront, a result of puffs in excess of 25 kts at times during the course of the day’s racing. In such perfect conditions, the 18 first division clubs sailed another 19 races on Saturday. What stood out for all the club teams was the simple fact that those teams who practiced hard early in the season had an advantage over those who didn’t. In particular, boat-handling mistakes and boatspeed errors saw teams go from first to last in one maneuver! Even top German Olympic and World Champion sailor Jochen Schümann, skippering for YC Berlin-Grunau, was impressed by the overall performance of the top teams. Schuman’s YCBG team could only manage an 11th after sailing the 15 races overall.
In
the end, CYC took the lead on the last day with a consistent 2-1-2-5 to
win with just 41 pts. VSaW hung tough to secure second by only 1 pt
over Kieler YC. Fourth was DTYC having a slow last day and in fifth was
the best performance so far in the Segel-Bundesliga for
Segelkameradschaft Wappen von Bremen.As a result of the finishes in Act II of the DSBL, the overall leader based on a tie-breaker on 5 pts is Chiemsee YC, edging out DTYC. Sitting in third is Flensburger Segel-club with 8 pts. Fourth is VSaW with 11 pts and fifth is Seglervereinigung Itzhoe with 13 pts.
Sven Jurgensen of German J/Dealer Mittelmanns Werft was out on the photo boat for the event. Sven commented, “We had some VIP’s on our photo boat today (see photo above). For the first start we are on our rib with: Dr. Frank Nägele- member of the government “Schleswig Holstein”; Dr. Katrin Adelkofer of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga GmbH; famous German sailor Jochen Schümann skippering the Yacht Club Berlin Grünau
(YCBG) boat; and Henning Mittelmann from Mittelmanns Werft.” Watch J/70 Segel-Bundesliga Kiel sailing highlights video here. Watch J/70 Kiel Sailing impressions video here. For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-BundesligaJ/70 Segel-Bundesliga Sailing- Live Video Recording
- Day 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ico7VYOkLDs
- Day 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No3SqSnBHv0
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