NRV Leading German J/70 Sailing League

 

(Berlin, Germany)- Over the past two weekends, the eighteen teams that are participating in the 2020 Deutscher Segel-Bundesliga have been fortunate enough to have great sailing over their three-day events.  The third event in the series was sailed on Berlin's Wansee Lake, while the fourth event was sailed off Kiel on the Baltic Sea. Two very different event sites (a tactical shifty, puffy lake versus an open bay with steadier breezes) produced two very different winners. Here are the reports below. 


BERLIN:
In the last race of the regatta, the VSaW (Verein Seglerhaus am Wansee) clinched a victory for the fifth time over the weekend and thus achieved the overall victory at the same time. "It's a great sense of achievement to show your performance in the area where you always train and to see that the work pays off," said VsaW skipper Popken. “We didn't look at the score and started the last race super relaxed - for me this is the best strategy not to get nervous and to keep a clear head.” 

The third event of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing in a matched fleet of 12 J/70s day brought a few leaps in position in the season table. The ONE Kiel team, which started as leader of the table and favorite in the event, only finished 15th after winning the first two events of the year. As a result, they slipped down to third place and giving the overall lead to the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein Hamburg from. The Segel un Motorboot Club Überlingen holds its own in second place overall. 


KIEL:
The competition for the 2020 championship title in Kiel-Schilksee entered the final phase before the big season finale in Hamburg. For the second time this season, the 36 clubs from the 1st and 2nd league competed in front of Kiel. The Baltic sailing club, the Kiel sailing association and TSV Schilksee hosted the regatta.

The four-time German champions, the Norddeutsche Regatta Verein (NRV), made a spectacular comeback on the last match day in Berlin on the Wannsee and took the lead in the overall standings.

Anke Lukosch, Project Manager of the German J/70 Sailing League, gave an outlook on the thrilling duels on the Baltic Sea, “many clubs are currently very close together, so the pressure is high. Even small mistakes can mean valuable positions in the table. In Kiel, it will be decided who will lead the table and thus from pole position to the season finale."

In the end, winning the Kiel event was Munchner Yacht-Club from Munich, followed by the ONE Kiel Team resurrecting themselves after a disastrous Berlin event. Taking third was by far the most consistent team in the league, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV). 


As a result, the NRV team continued to solidify their lead in the overall standings, sitting with 15 pts at the top of the leaderboard. By virtue of their strong performance in Kiel, the early series leaders- ONE Kiel Team- have also solidified their position in second place.  There are two teams tied for third at 27 pts each after four events, Wassersport-Verein Hemelingen and Chiemsee Yacht Club. Just one point back in fifth place is Segel-und Motorboot Club Uberlingen. 

There will be plenty of fireworks in the finally taking place on Hamburg's Alster Lake in October with the championship trophy on the line. With just four points separating the two leaders, every race will count. And, behind them will be an all-out battle for the bronze step on the podium between three, if not, four teams (including Berliner YC).  For more German J/70 Sailing League informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Munchner YC Tops German J/70 Youth Sailing League

(Berlin, Germany)- The second round of the German J/70 Youth Sailing League took place on the Wannsee lake in Berlin. Despite summer holidays all over Germany, there were 20 passionately enthusiastic youth teams on the starting line, happily hosted by the Berlin Yacht Club.

The sailors were fortunate that forecasts for 8 to 15 kt winds from the west provided the best sailing conditions they could expect on the Wannsee for two days.  As a result, it made for great sailing on Saturday but Sunday’s had to be canceled since the wind died and turned the lake in a complete “glass out”.

Winning the abbreviated event was the Munchner YC with a 1-2-1-1 for 5 pts.  Second was the Bayerischer YC 2 team with a 1-1-4-1 for 7 pts. Then, third was the One Kiel Team with a 2-5-2-1 with 10 pts. Sailing photo credits- Lars Wehrmann.  Follow the German J/70 Youth Sailing League on Facebook here.   For more German J/70 Youth Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

DTYC Wins Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga IV

(Berlin, Germany)- The Deutscher Touring YC won the fourth round of the German Bundesliga sailing in Berlin and takes the overall lead in the 1st League. The Lindauer Segler Club was just one point behind the leaders from Tutzing.

The fourth act of the DSBL in Berlin demanded the best performance from the sailors; they faced difficult conditions with little wind, very streaky puffs and long waiting times between races. The reigning DSBL champions from Tutzing, the Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (DTYC) adapted best to the conditions on the Wannsee and secured a big win, thanks to their consistent performance, steely nerves and tremendous patience.

"We had to fight hard here in Berlin with very difficult conditions. We had the best of luck and are very happy that we won here. If you want to be champion, you have to come with all your best tactics and crew work to win such crazy weather conditions. We are very pleased," said Julian Stückl, skipper of the DTYC team. Sebastian Bühler, Jonas Vogt and Luis Tarabochia completed the crew from Tutzing. The Lindauer Segler Club and the Bayerischer Yacht-Club ended up finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the Berlin event.

Prior to the regatta, Anke Butzmann, the team manager of the organizing club- Verein Seglerhaus am Wansee- offered her remarkably prescient insights regarding the event and its ultimate outcome:

- Anke, how do you assess the current DSBL leaderboard situation?
"The equality at the top of the Bundesliga reflects the concentration of highly talent teams that are sailing at nearly world-class levels.  We are very happy that we are at the forefront of this, but also know very well that it will not be easy to keep this position and to defend it to the final in Hamburg. Our goal for the home event is, of course, to get on the podium. The team is strong with the crew of Malte Kamrath, Jens Steinborn and Julian Bergemann- all three sailors have been very successful already in Starnberg. Ulrike Schümann, who has extensive experience, will be joining them to call tactics. The Lindauer Segler-Club with their same team from Starnberg and, thus, should be a contender for the podium in Berlin. The Deutscher YC with Farr 30 World Champion Julian Stückl on the helm will be formidable- it’s no wonder DTYC won last year!  It is a big competition for us, but something that gives us inspiration- it’s fun and motivating!”

- Has VSaM team had the chance to train together?
“Yes.  Last weekend, we trained together with the other Berlin League teams from BYC, YCBG, KaR, SV03 and PYC. The training is always very effective; especially due to the large number of sailing league clubs in Berlin.  These training regattas have quite the same feeling as an actual DSBL League event."

- Is there a home advantage on the Wannsee?
“We do not believe there is any direct home advantage on the Wannsee- the wind on the Wannsee is too unpredictable.  Steel nerves mean the strongest teams will be at the front and we are committed to belonging up there with the best. Our main sponsor, Dr. Dirk Pramann, is also onsite and will help motivate us with his enthusiasm! And - the VSaW Segel-Bundesliga team is a large team (25 sailors)- almost all of our sailors will be present for three days! We have the support of a large fan club!"

In the end, Anke’s perspective was quite accurate.  Light winds, streaks, and tough competition meant the best teams would rise to the top in the rankings.  While DTYC prevailed, VSaW could only manage three 1sts in their eight races sailed, finishing off the podium in sixth overall- a disappointing outcome for a top team.   Watch this Berlin Act IV DSBL sailing video summary.   For more Deutsche Segel-bundesliga sailing information

Deutscher Touring YC Wins Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga

(Hamburg, Germany)- It was a thrilling finale for the seventh act of the German Sailing League in Hamburg as the outcome also determined the overall DSBL Champion!  The favored team from the Bavarian town of Tutzing- the Deutscher Touring YC- became the 2015 German Champion by virtue of sailing consistently and staying out of trouble! The Berlin Yacht Club and the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively, and qualify with DTYC for the SAILING Champions League 2016.

The finale of the German Premiere Sailing League in Hamburg shows the persistent, impressive performance of the sailing teams during the season: the “Deutscher Touring Yacht Club” (DTYC) kept everything under control on the last day of racing and defended its top position from the beginning until the end of the event.  As a result, they had every reason to be celebrating like mad men (and women) on the podium, enjoying the traditional “champagne shower” for champions!

“We achieved much more than our original goal for this season, which was the top five. The success was due to our persistent performance. This is how you get the title. Finally we made it“, said skipper Julian Stückl.  Julian and their DTYC crew of Patrick Follmann, Phil Blinn and Luis Tarabochia were awarded with the much sought-after silver trophy by Robbe & Berking.

After the prize giving at the hosting club, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, the new German Champion- Deutscher Touring YC- was also awarded the “Yacht Club of the Year” at the 2015 Sailor Awards for the German Sailing Federation!  An amazing “double” to achieve at the pinnacle of sailing in Germany.

There are interesting insights and trends as to how DTYC won the overall championship and what makes the German Sailing League such a popular event (any sailing league, for that matter).  For starters, there were 36 teams participating in 2015, 52 clubs of various types sailed the qualifying events (beach clubs, sailing clubs, yacht clubs, community sailing programs, paper yacht clubs, etc).  In total, 384 sailors participated for the year, 215 in the 1st league and 170 in the 2nd league).  The teams sailed in 7 events (Tutzing, Kiel, Warnemunde, Travemunde, Berlin, Uberlingen, & Hamburg) and the host clubs/ PRO’s managed to run 83 races (about 15 minutes each) across a broad range of conditions- drifting to 25 kts of breeze, shifty & streaky to steady and easy.  The format is proving very attractive to the “millennial” generation (those in their late teens to early thirties).  The average age of the champions (Deutscher Touring YC) was 23.6 years old and they were one of the youngest teams! But, in general, the average age is a touch higher, late twenties/early thirties.  Plus, women also LOVE the format; it’s easy, approachable, friendly and social (you’re only on the water for 30 to 45 minutes).  31 women sailed in the events, so women constituted 8% of the participants.  There was three times that amount of women on-shore providing support and volunteering.

How did DTYC win? Pretty simple, the same strategy used in college sailing in America!  The DTYC winners averaged 4th place in each regatta, out of 18 teams!  And, in 83 races, they averaged 2.82 in a fleet of six boats, e.g. just better than an average of a 3rd per race won the entire series!  That’s a remarkably “modest average” and shows the level of hot, friendly competition between the clubs.

Here is how the outcome of the final regatta determined the ultimate German Sailing League Champions.  DTYC finished the last event of the year in 3rd place with 33 pts for a 2.54 average, which was enough to clinch the win for the overall title. The Berliner YC won in Hamburg with a great performance- 28 pts in 13 races for a 2.15 average, not bad for a bunch of lake sailors!  They were followed by the Munich Yacht Club in 2nd place only two points back, the one 5th place in Race 11 hurting their chances for the regatta win.  The only club with a realistic mathematical chance of winning overall was Berliner YC; they did what they had to do, which was, win the last event.  However, DTYC would’ve had to finish 9th place or worse to throw away their series lead; which, understandably, they were most determined to avoid at all costs.  Nevertheless, that possibility was in the cards since they had posted regatta finishes of 7th in Travemunde and 8th in Uberlingen.

The hosts for the Hamburg event, Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, were determined to put on a good show and fun sailing event.  However, despite the beautiful weather, cool and sunny, there was no wind for the first day of sailing on Thursday.  By 1600 hours, the NRV’s PRO had to cancel racing for the day, as it was a perfect “glass out”.  For all who had been working all day in the shade, on park benches or inside the club, it was time to enjoy the gorgeous sunset and dive into delicious beer and beer-soaked sausages cooked on the “barbie”.  The party on the club’s waterfront was a memorable one for many sailors enjoying the camaraderie and celebration of the end of the sailing season.

The second day began the same way as the first day ended- no wind and lots of waiting time. But, the long faces of the sailors didn’t last long.  Soon, it was time to saddle-up and get out on the water. A total of 18 races (6 per team) were sailed in rapid-fire succession.  At the end of the day, the leader was the Berliner YC. They are followed by Düsseldorf YC and Seglervereinigung Itzehoe.

The wind started light, but very streaky and slowly built on the grey on grey day on the normally beautiful Alster Lake.  The level of anxiety was high as each race was shifting the regatta and overall rankings quite dramatically- the benefit of having SAP Sports Sailing database displaying not just mark-by-mark results per race, it was also showing regatta and overall series positions changing in “real-time”, too!  Ouch!  Many of the sailing coaches could be seen pacing anxiously or sitting in subdued moods based on their position at each mark!  Talk about tension!

"Precise timing at the start, tight, tight races, pure adrenaline! That's the league. As the pulse races higher before the starting gun, it continues to stay really high around every mark,” said Johannes Polgar from Norddeutscher Regatta Club. "Our goal is to be the Champion of the SAILING Champions League, it’s not so easy,” he said with a wry smile.

In their bid to win the overall DSBL, Berliner YC had one helluva day.  They performed like clockwork, posting a 1-1-1-2-5-1 to lead their friends from Tutzing (DTYC) who had ended the day in 5th place with a record of 1-4-3-3-2-3.  That meant DTYC’s lead had shrunk to 8 pts, giving Berliner YC a shot at the overall win after one day of sailing!

On the last day, blessed with reasonable sailing conditions, the NRV PRO and regatta team managed to run another 21 races (7 per team) to complete the 2015 DSBL season.  DTYC stayed out of trouble by posting a scoreline of 2-5-1-1-3-4-1 to close out the series with 33 pts to take a third in the regatta and clinch the overall title.  Conversely, their Berliner YC friends stumbled a bit, but not enough to lose the regatta with their 1-4-3-4-1-3-1 tally to win with 28 pts and secure the silver position overall.  Munich YC had a brilliant last day, posting by far the best record (1-4-1-1-5-1-1) to take 2nd in the regatta and 5th for the series.

The third season of the National German Sailing League would again not have been possible without the support of its partners. A big “Thank You” to AUDI, BAY, Vattenfall, Mittelmann’s Werft, North Sails, Bavaria, VODAFONE (new for Hamburg), as well as SAP for the live results & broadcasting!   Enjoy this DSBL Hamburg Finale sailing video on YouTube   For more Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information

Thrilling Finale for Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga

(Hamburg, Germany)- Showdown forming for Division I finals in Hamburg!

The fourth event for the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga’s (DSBL) Second League took place in Uberlingen, Germany from the 25th to 27th of September.  The excitement was immense because it was the final event for the DSBL Division II. The ranking was so tight, that every point was relevant – more than ever. At the end, the Bayerischer YC (BYC) won the weekend. The team with Philipp Hibler, Andreas Plettner, Poldi Lindner and Andreas Achterberg took the lead in Überlingen, followed by the Lindauer Segler-Club and the Lübecker Yacht-Club. The three clubs also took the podium places in the overall ranking and will move up into the “Premier DSBL League” for 2016.

“It was a tricky event. A bit of everything. The team is experienced and so we could adapt very well. That was probably our success. We look forward to be back in the 1st League,” commented the happy helmsman, Philipp Hibler from Bayerischer YC.

In the lower portion of the fleet, six clubs (ranked 13th to 18th) will have to go into the qualifier races (9th to 11th October) to continue for next year. These six clubs were the best out of 58 clubs at the Qualifier in Flensburg and will be part of the 2nd German Sailing League in 2016: Schaumburg-Lippischer Seglerverein, Duisburger Yacht-Club, Segel-Club Ville, Schlei-Segel-Club, Seglergemeinschaft Lohheider See and Seglervereinigung 1903 Berlin.

In the 1st German Sailing League (the so-called “Premiere League”), it was also a neck-and-neck race. At the end of the day, again a local hero demonstrated their ability to get in front of the fleet. The Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen (SMCÜ) with Steffen Hessberger, Alexander Gaiser, Christian Zittlau and Hendrik Schaal sailed remarkably well, performing consistently over the weekend to take the top of the podium.

“We are very happy to have won at home. Finally, Lake Constance provided great sailing conditions, plenty of wind and big, choppy waves! It was a great event”, said Steffen Hessberger, the jubilant helmsman from SMCU.

The Münchner YC finished second overall in Überlingen.  They were closely followed by the Berlin crew from the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee.

The Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club from Tutzing missed the moment and could not bring home the early victory for the overall Championship. They finished in eighth place and remain within reach for their competitors (an 11 pts lead only!). So, it will prove to be a thrilling finale from the 29th to 31st of October in Hamburg! Based on the outcomes in Uberlingen, it will be a big showdown and fight to the finish for the Champion’s title in the DSBL!   Sailing Photo Credits- Sven Jürgensen.  For more Deutsche Segel Bundesliga sailing information

A collection of 2015 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing videos:

• Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga- sailing video channel on YouTube
• 2015 Segel-Bundesliga Overview
• Uberlingen- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSO4pUkHmvw
• Kiel Sailing Playlist
• Kiel Highlights- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOUWNN9S_ms
• Warnemunde Sailing Playlist
• Warnemunde Highlights- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoIHd0u9jmg
• Travemunde Sailing Playlist
• Travemunde Highlights- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca5KM3gFPMU
• Berlin Sailing Playlist
• Berlin Highlights- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m_47s_5tfM

Flensburger Förde Woche Fun Sailing for 70s & 80s

(Glucksburg, Germany)- The Flensburger Forde Week in Germany has always been a popular end of summer finale on the Baltic Sea.  This year it featured for the first time the J/70 class along with all the others, like the J/80s, ORC and several other one-design classes.  The regatta was sailed from September 12th to 13th.  The J/70s and J/80s each sailed five races; Saturday four races with winds between 12 to 20 kts.  Then, on Sunday only one race because of so very little winds.

For the J/70s, their inaugural participation had eight boats sailing, all very good teams.  The field included Bjorn Beilken, a 4th place finisher in the J/80 Worlds.  The racing was very, very close amongst the top five teams.

After five races over the weekend of sailing, it was Christian Soyka’s team (Ole Stucker, Tim Kramer, Moritz Burmester) from SV Itzehoe that won with a steady 2-2-5-1-4 record for a total of 9 pts net to win the cliff-hanging tie-breaker.  Losing that exchange was Gorden Nickel’s crew (Nils-Mathes Fiege, Nils Merten Farber, Nick Sclomka) from Segler-Vereeniging Wister who, unfortunately, took a DNF in the last race.  Taking third place was Erik Schlaaff and crew (Tom Piesker, Steffen Naumann, Robert Kolsch) from YC Berlin Grunau, coming on strong in the end with a 5-3-1-6-1 record for 10 pts net to win the third place tiebreaker!  Losing that match was Bjorn Beilken’s team on GER 862.  Sitting by themselves in 5th position was Marwin Outzen with just 13 pts net from Flensburger SC.  Top women’s skipper was Theresa Blumroth also from FSC in 7th place with her crew of Km Hedffedl, Antonia Hoch-Bauer, Theresa Blumroth and Rebecca Dehler.

Simultaneous, the J/80s were sailing their German Open Nationals with a fleet of seventeen boats.  Again, another highly competitive fleet like their J/70 brothers.  Nevertheless, after sailing the J/22, J/24 and J/80 Worlds, Martin Menzner was quite ready to finally win a regatta.  This time, he succeeded, taking the German Nationals with nearly a race to spare- piling up an impressive scoreline of 1-1-2-1-2-6-1 for 8 pts net.  His crew of Frank Lichte, Mika Rolfs from Sweden’s KSSS and Nils Beltermann were an enormous factor in their dominating performance.

Never able to overcome that hail of bullets was Hauke Kruss (with crew of Ole Sartori, Jens Tschentscher and Mattias Wallentin), having to work hard to remain in the silver on the podium with an erratic, roller-coaster tally of 2-7-3-8-1-1-2 for 16 pts net.  Third position was Martin Christiansen’s team (Henrike Rolf, Andreas Hengstmann, Ullrich Tesch) with 23 pts net.  Fritz Wassner’s crew (Paula Schaelke, Max Kleinsorg, Thore Petersen) took 4th place over the top Danish team of skippered by Johnny Jensen from Sonderborg YC.  Sailing photo credits- Sven Jurgensen   For more Flensburger Forde Woche sailing information

J/24 Worlds Preview

(Boltenhagen, Germany)- Next week, the German J/24 teams, their families and friends are looking forward to sailing and partying with all J/24 sailors in Boltenhagen on the Baltic coast, one of the top sailing areas in Germany! Boltenhagen’s attractive location in Mecklenburg-Vorpommerania allows spectator-friendly inshore racing, with stable winds and free from commercial shipping lanes.

From 28th August to 4th September, the fifty-five boats from 14 countries (Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Peru, Sweden, USA) will be based in the purpose-built Boltenhagen Marina located within the exclusive ‘Weiße Wiek’ holiday village which offers a modern yet relaxed atmosphere. Racing will be organized by the Norddeutscher Regattaverein, one of Germany’s oldest yacht clubs, that has many years of experience in staging international events such as Kiel week and countless One-Design Championships. The town of Boltenhagen is close to the venue and grew from a fishing village into a picturesque seaside resort in the early 19th century.

The fleet has great representation across the board from the major J/24 fleets in Europe as well as teams coming from South America, North America and Far East Asia.  The host country is fielding the largest contingent of boats, with 23 on the starting line.  Most of their top teams are present, including Peer Kock on UK SAILMAKERS GISCHTH & GLUT, Lars Gibbe’s HANSA PROJEKT, Jan Kahler’s UNITED 5, John Huhn’s HUNGRIGER WOLF, Frank Schonfeldt’s HENK, Tobias Feuerherdt’s TEAM ROTOMAN, Manfred Konig’s VITESSE, and Frithjof Schade’s JJONE.

The next largest contingent are their friends from across The Channel, the seven boats participating from Great Britain.  Leading that contingent is likely to be Ian Southworth’s IL RICCIO, a past J/24 European Champion.  They will be joined by Jim Anderson’s BOOMERANG, Andrew Taylor’s hot crew on HITCH-HIKER, Roger Morris’ JOLLY ROGER, David Cooper’s JAWBREAKER and Quinton Hall’s JUJU.

Not surprisingly, the very active J/24 fleet in Italy is sending five boats that include top contenders like Pietro Diamanti’s JAMAICA and Marc Arata’s Italian Navy crew on a “hash tagged” boat called #WEAREINPUGLIA!  Amazingly, the Japanese contingent are showing up with four teams that includes Fumiya Kato on LULL & HACHI, Kazuki Kumagai on DABOHAZE, Hiraoki Matsuyama on GYOSYU and Tokuma Takesue on GEKKO.

For the other countries sending between 1 to 3 teams, notably absent is the current J/24 World Champion- Will Welles from Newport, RI.  In his place will be two very fast, highly competitive teams- Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTICS from Rochester, New York and Travis Odenbach’s DR FEELGOOD from North Carolina.  Other top contenders should be Sweden’s Per-Hakan Persson on FRONT RUNNER, Peru’s Javier Arribas Harten skippering JJ-ONE, The Netherland’s Dirk Olyslagers on JOOL, the top Hungarian teams- Mike Schmolling on EL NINO and Mate Kakas on ZULU, the top Greek crew- Dimitris Altsiadis on EVNIKI, France’s Francois de Herce on MAJIC, 5-time World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil skippering BRUSCHETTA, and Rodrigo Benedetto’s Argentinean crew on THOMSON REUTERS.

Top women’s teams vying for the Top Women Skipper include Germany’s Stephanie Kopcke on VEGA RAGAZZA and Corina Thiermann’s AVALANCHA; Sophie Pearson’s British crew on JELI from Parkstone YC; and Liselotte Sjoberg’s Swedish team on FOR FUN BLUE.

For you armchair sailors and tacticians, you can follow the fleet with TracTrac. Every boat will sail the races with a GPS-tracker on board so spectators worldwide can follow the racing live as soon as the starting gun fires! Also, the competitors will be able to analyze afterwards where they made gains or losses.  All features like replay, position lists at mark roundings and boat-to-boat comparisons will be online. See the live-tracking here.   For more J/24 World Championship sailing information

The Road to the Little J

(Berlin, Germany)- Enjoy this heart-warming story of how the J/70 GRÜN Sailing Team came to be for a closely-knit group of friends since childhood.  It’s called, “The Road to the Little J”.

“Everything began in dinghies when we were kids ... regattas at local and district level from Opti’s up to 420’s.  Most of our team members already sailed against each other, then later on, together as a team. After schools and studies were completed, well all went to work at various places.  But, we all wanted to sail intensively again.  Somehow.  Somewhere. On some kind of boat that we could all sail on.

We decided we would start with a One-Tonner.  Call us crazy, but we did.  For several years we sailed our 40 foot One-Ton boat.  However, we soon realized that rating system sailing was not really our thing.  In fact, we didn’t like it at all, too many games played by all the owners and rules-makers.

There had to be a one-design boat we could sail instead. Soon, the choice fell to getting a Platu 25.  We trial sailed it in November 2003 in Berlin and, without further ado, we also bought one!

It was a very ambitious boat for us.  More importantly, it was somewhat sensible and we could move it from regatta to regatta.  We sailed better and better over the years and were among the top three in the Platu 25 rankings for the past five years.  Not bad for a bunch of amateurs.

In 10 years of racing the Platu 25, we have gained a lot of experience during Worlds, Europeans and as well at local and foreign class regattas. Our crew is still completely the same, only the place of residences have changed for some. So, we have to travel to the events starting from Ulm, Rostock, Berlin and Hamburg, which means a considerable logistic effort, and also makes training with the core crew almost impossible.

Also, the selection of our boat has changed.  We followed with great interest the development of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga and the J/70 - amazing to watch the growth of the J/70 class and the enthusiastic participation of German yacht clubs and sailing clubs in the Bundesliga.  So, instead of accepting ever lower number of entries, we decided to sell the Platu 25 and to buy a J/70!!

That was the right decision!! Thanks to Bo Teichmann from Mittelmann’s Werft, we could purchase a J/70 from the 2014 Bundesliga series.

Our sponsors were also very convinced by this idea.  Thankfully, we could continue to count on the support of our long-term sponsorship partners. As a result, we could start well-prepared in our first season sailing the J/70s.

Starting in February 2015, we sailed for the first time on GER468 at the Primo Cup in Monaco. For us, it was also our entire crew’s introduction to a boat with an asymmetric spinnaker!!

Thirty-two boats on the starting line!  Wow, this rarely happened in the last few years on the Platu 25, really rare!  At the end of the Primo Cup, after sailing the J/70 for the first time we had a good ending- 11th place!  Sailing the J/70 is fun, plus it’s a very nice boat!  Great competition, too!

The balance of our 2015 sailing season has a busy schedule- MaiOR, Lake Wannsee Race, Kiel Week and J/70 Challenge.  These will be followed by the European Championship at Yacht Club Monaco in October. And then, also still more training sessions are planned.  Much to learn yet!

Our GRÜN Sailing Team GER 468 is comprised of the following crew: Jens Ahlgrimm, Carsten Wernecke, Mathias Gedrange and Stephan Mölle.  We look forward to seeing all of you on the race track soon! Perhaps, tip a few good pints of German beer with you as well!  Here’s our website- http://www.gruensailing.de”

Kieler Woche Loved By Big Fleets of J/70s, J/80s, J/24s

(Kiel, Germany)- Sun, wind and waves: The first day of the 133rd Kieler Woche offered everything to make a sailor happy. As a result, “the first day in the office” for the sailors could be finished quickly. All planned races were done in less than three hours.

“That was a good start in all aspects", said Dirk Ramhorst, the Regatta Chairman for Kieler Woche! “The only problem now is that expectations are high!  After this day, it can only get worse!” He would have loved to let the sailors sail even more, but he had to stick to the framework.  Ramhorst’s team was most fortunate, after three days of racing, the race directors had most of the races sailed for all fleets.

It’s not a trivial task managing the one of the world’s largest sailing events.  The week-long event took place from June 20th to the 28th for 1,500+ sailboats and over 5,000 sailors.

Three J classes were featured at Kieler Woche- the J/24, J/70 and J/80.  For the J/80s, the event was considered the J/80 “Pre-Worlds”, as they will be sailing the J/80 Worlds at the same venue from July 6th to 10th.  Thirty-three J/80s sailed in the regatta and the fleet enjoyed the diverse sailing conditions.  Demonstrating why he is considered one of Germany’s top sailors, local Kieler YC member Martin Menzner sailed a very strong series to win the J/80 Pre-Worlds.  Menzner’s crew on PIKE included Frank Lichte, Mika Rolfs, Carsten Hopp managed to post a 2-3-1-2-1-2 record for 8 pts net.  Taking second only 3 pts back was Germany’s Bjorn Beilken with a 1-2-2-4-2-5 tally for 11 pts net.  Third place went to Sven Vagt’s team on BOOTSWERFT WINKLER, they were closing fast and nearly pulled off an upset after winning three races in their scoreline of 4-1-5-1-6-1 for 12 pts net.

The J/70s were sailing the first German Open National Championship.  It was a great event with 31 boats and marked a fantastic start for the J/70 class in Germany.  Several notable sailors from Germany were participating in the fleet, including Christian Soyka- 7x X-99 World Champion; Karol Jablonski- World Match Race Cup Champion and DN Iceboat World Champion from Poland who was sailing on Pit Finis boat from Dusseldorf YC; Karsten Kemmling from Norddeutscher Regattaverein- a top German match racer; Christian Soyka- another X-99 World Champion and 505 World Champion; and Felix Oehme- a winner of the Barcelona World Race in IMOCA 60s.

In the end, it was Spain’s Olympic Medallist Hugo Rocha on NEW TERRITORIES that won the J/70 class in his first major regatta with a 3-4-2-1-6-4 record for 14 pts net.  It was a closely fought regatta for the top five with positions changing every day like a “snakes & ladders” board game.  Leading the fleet after the first four races was Germany’s Hubert Merkelbach, with a 1-1-4-4 score sheet. However, the last two races proved his undoing as a quick 13-9 meant he had posted two, not one, toss race.  Merkelbach finished second overall with 19 pts.  German star Claas Lehmann on TRE MAKRELLER was caught in a five-way battle for the bronze position on the podium.  Ultimately, Lehmann sailed a 2-10-11-3-18-5 tally to finish with 31 pts net.  Only one point back in fourth place was Sweden’s top J/70 team, Oscar Lundqvist on THE PURE CIRCLE with a 5-2-1-7-17-18 record for 32 pts net.  Fifth was finally taken by a tie-breaker between Phillipp Kadelbach and Phillipp Bruns with 33 pts each, the tie-break going to Kadelbach’s team.

The thirty-four J/24s were the largest offshore one-design class at Kieler Woche.  Teams were participating from Germany, Monaco, Sweden, The Netherlands, Hungary and Great Britain.  Skipper Ian Southworth on IL RICCIO with crew of Andy McLelland, David “Sid” Howlett, Simon Philbrick, and Julia Scott managed to show the fleet what it takes to win in very tight J/24 fleets.  Posting three wins in ten races, Southworth’s crew were able to sit out the last race so that the German teams Karsunke and Schonfeldt could duel for the 2 & 3 positions on the podium.  After winning two races themselves, Frank Schonfeldt’s HENK (with crew of Finn Moller, Till Krueger and Thorsten Sperl) took the silver with a sixth in the last race to win a tie-breaker on 39 pts. Stefan Karsunke’s SULLBERG (with crew of Tim Habekost, Carsten Kerschies, Christian Carstens and Malte Gibbe) lost that tie-breaker to take the bronze. Holding on to fourth place was Peer Kock and fifth was Jan Kahler.

Top women’s team in 13th place overall was Stephanie Kopcke’s VEGA RAGAZZA, sailing with her crew consisting of Ann-Katrin Brugge, Silke Basedow, Amelie Panuschka, Nelle-Marie Bock and Insa-Kristin Horsch from Muhlenberger Segel-Club.  For more Kiel Week sailing information

J/80 Worlds Preview

(Kiel, Germany)- Host of the J/80 Worlds 2015 is the Kieler Yacht-Club, which annually conducts the famous Kieler Woche together with three other clubs.  Apart from the top-notch infrastructure for large sailing events ashore, KYC is expecting ideal wind and weather conditions in July and will offer a professional race management team and a first-class international jury.

The Olympic Sailing Center Kiel-Schilksee is the base for the fifty-six J/80s from eight countries that are returning to Kiel Fjord.  The regatta will take place from the 4th to 10th of July, with racing starting on Monday the 6th and final races on Friday, July 10th.

For German sailing champion Martin Menzner from Stein/Laboe, the J/80 Worlds at his doorstep will be a welcome opportunity to race in a big international fleet, “National events generally draw between 20 and 30 boats, so the J/80 Worlds will be a quite different dimension.“

Menzner is looking forward to the regatta, “I’m sure that Spanish top teams, who have been dominating the scene over the last few years, will not miss out on the worlds,” he says. “Things may go well for us if conditions are right. But to be honest – we’d be more than happy with a top ten finish like in Copenhagen in 2011. The international level is quite demanding and the top teams happen to be that bit quicker in decisive situations and more adaptable to varying conditions.“

In addition to Menzner’s crew on PIKE, twenty-four German teams will be vying for both German and World’s honors.  Amongst the top local boats are Bjorn Beilken’s PROCEDES DIVA, Andreas Rose’s TRUE GRIT, Sven Vagt’s BOOTSWERFT WINKLER, and Pit Finis’ DRALION (with ISAF Match Race champion Karol Jablonski from Poland as tactician).

As anticipated, the next largest contingent is from France.  Their fleet has been working hard to get everyone up to speed and their performances at recent major events indicate they are ready for sailing in the Kieler Fjord waters, much like their beloved Bay of Biscay.  Most of the leading Coupe de France teams will be on the starting line, including Salomon Matthieu’s CHARIOT PLUS- VANNES UTILITAIRES, Eric Brezellec’s COURRIER JUNIOR, Maxime Mesnil’s CO-PILOTES, and Bertrand Martin’s CHARLY.

Though only three Spanish teams are participating in Kiel, all three are champions of one form or another- such as Spanish National Champions or World Champions or European Champions.  Those teams include Javier Chacartegui’s HM-HOTELS, Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON-MOVISTAR and Rayco Tabares Alvarez’s HOTEL PRINCESS YAIZA from the Canary Islands.

Similarly, the teams from Great Britain number four, but include tough competitors like Jon Powell’s BETTY and Mike Eames’ JALFREZI.

The Danish fleet has seven teams making the trek from Copenhagen, including Flemming Djernaes’ BLUE WATER SHIPPING and Niels Ferrup’s SUR AQUA.

Sending one or more teams are Italy’s Massimo Rama on JENIALE AKEWUELE; Netherland’s Pip de Vries on LED2LEASE; Sweden’s Mikael Andersson on TEAM VALLAGRUPPEN and Lars Gellerhed’s MK-PRODUKTER.   J/80 Worlds Facebook page.   For more J/80 World Championship sailing information

J/80 Worlds Update

(Kiel, Germany)- The German J/80 class is expecting a sizable and competitive fleet to compete in the World Championship off Kiel from 4th through 10th July. While German and Danish teams have already filed their entries, the number of teams from the South of Europe continues to rise.  Furthermore, the patronage for the up-coming J/80 World Championship has been taken over by the President of Schleswig-Holstein, Torsten Albig, himself a member of Kieler Yacht-Club.

“The J/80 class is developing very differently in the various countries. It all depends on class membership structures”, says Andreas Rose, President of the German Class Association. “The Bremen and Kiel fleets, in particular, have seen substantial developments.  Newcomers are always welcome to learn from the class leaders regards technique and sail trim. Joint training sessions like “Go4Speed” is offered by the German Sailing Association— this particular program make teams work together to increase their performances – and social evenings prove just how well this approach works.”

It remains to be seen who will get the title this summer, as there are no clear favourites. With a view to the entries so far, Rose is expecting perfectly prepared teams, especially the teams from France and Spain that sail throughout the winter season. There may also be surprises in store from the Great Britain teams, and Denmark, too, has grown a strong fleet over the past couple of years.

On shore, the sailors will be able to enjoy an extraordinary variety of drinks and food near the Sailors Lounge (Vaasa hall).  Plus, the RWE baker’s shop will send out lovely smelling wafts of freshly baked waffles: The RWE conglomerate is the second largest electricity and gas supplier in Germany and is a sponsor of the J/80 World Championship. In addition, the J/80 World Championship organizers are grateful for additional sponsors such as HELLY-HANSEN, Sailmakers Faber + Münker, and Pantaenius Insurance.

The J/80 Worlds will start on Saturday, 4th July with registration and measurement and races commence on Monday through Friday, with up to three races being scheduled each day.

As the J/80 Worlds’ media partner, the “Segler-Zeitung“ (SZ) magazine will issue daily reports on races and current rankings after providing extensive coverage in the lead-up to the event.  For more J/80 World Championship sailing information

JUST IN TIME Winners @ Wannsee Woche

(Berlin, Germany)- As the first major J/70 regatta of the season hosted by Potsdamer YC on the Wannsee in Berlin, it was the team of JUST IN TIME skippered by Gordon Nickel (including Sebastian Rocke, Fiege Nils-Mathes, Nils Merten Farber) that took the thirteen boat fleet overall honors.  As they say in America, they were first to “punch out” on the time-clock after a weekend of long hard work!

The event had two days of racing with six total races- three each on Saturday and Sunday.  Both days were just about spectacularly perfect— 8 to 18 kts of breeze, some of the best sailing conditions anyone could imagine for the middle of Berlin’s beautiful lake (one of the coolest cities in the middle of Europe!)

For the first day of sailing, the crew of DUFTe skippered by Frank-Uwe Fuchs was the runaway leader with a 1-7-1 tally.  Tied for second were Nickel’s JUST IN TIME team with a 6-6-2 and Maxmilian Nickel’s team on JUKEBOX with a 4-3-5.

The second day of sailing brought more good breezes, more sun and even shiftier, puffier breezes!  In the end, it was Nickel’s JUST IN TIME crew that closed out the regatta with a strong series of races and won with a scorecard of 6-6-2-2-2-1 for 13 pts net.

In what seems to be a rather normal scenario for incredibly close J/70 one-design racing, the next two boats on the podium ended up tied on points for second overall.  Winning the tie-breaker with a record of 1-7-1-5-6-4 for 17 pts net was Fuchs’ DUFTe from Yacht Club Berlin Grünau.  Third was Max Nickel’s Berliner Yacht Club team sitting on a 4-3-5-1-4-5 record on the same 17 pts net (note- they were the only team in the top three to score all top five finishes).

Also of note was the family team aboard QUICKLY BEE- GER 728; Jürgen Freiheit sailed with his wife Birgit Freiheit and their son Oliver Freiheit and his girl-friend Martje Uecker.  After just taking delivery of their boat, this was their first major J/70 regatta and they managed a 3rd in their first race and a first in their 5th race of the regatta!  Perhaps more good news from this family effort in the near future!  For more Germany J/70 sailing information