A one-point lead was enough for Tobias Schadewaldt and his crew from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein off Travemünde to secure their first league victory of the eleventh season. The Hamburg team had allowed their fiercest rivals from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club to come dangerously close once again with a fifth place in the twelfth and penultimate race before the final. But then the quartet from the Alster did not allow themselves to be knocked off course with a victory in the last race.
German Sailing League in Travemünde: Final with thunder and lightning
Jasper Wagner, Jakob Rohner, Max Salzwedel and Felix Bergemann from Berlin came second for the VSaW off Travemünde. Third place went to the team from Segel- und Motorboot Club Überlingen (SMCÜ). With a view of the darkening sky over the Baltic Sea and the last possible start at 3.30 pm, the crews and organisers had to call it a day after just 13 instead of the usual 16 rounds. Afterwards, everything had to be quickly dismantled and stowed away dry in record speed before the impending thunderstorm with heavy rain.
Nevertheless, Sailing Bundesliga Managing Director Anke Nowak's conclusion was positive: "We had a very varied weather scenario on the three match days, from calm to gusty winds to heavy rain, which was very challenging for the crews. The results of the 1st league in particular show that the experienced, well-rehearsed teams were best able to cope with these changeable conditions."
Victory as revenge for eighth place in the Champions League final
In ten years in the Bundesliga, NRV teams have already lifted the championship trophy six times. Top player Tobias Schadewaldt and the NRV league squad would love to make it a seven this year. But even with the champions, not everything always runs smoothly.
NRV helmsman Tobias Schadewaldt said: "After our unsatisfactory eighth place in the final of the Sailing Champions League in the first half of the Travemünde Week, winning the league match day was the revenge we had hoped for. Only the best of the best really compete in the Sailing Champions League, so the standard is correspondingly high and mistakes are less forgivable. In the Bundesliga, we will now consistently pursue our course with the aim of defending the title." Tobi Schadewaldt, Daniel Reichert, Florian Weser and Luisa Krüger did this very successfully on this long league weekend.
The NRV is the new leader of the 1st Bundesliga
With the victory off Travemünde, the NRV has taken the lead in the 1st German Sailing League. The team from Münchner Yacht-Club (MYC) is in second place ahead of Württembergischer Yacht-Club (WYC). Mühlenberger Segel-Club (MSC), which was still leading after the first match day on the Wannsee, dropped back to fourth place with 15th place ahead of Travemünde.
Young Bavarians surprise in the 2nd German Sailing League
The still very young team from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club (BYC) caused a surprise in the 2nd Bundesliga. With an average age of just under 23, the crew performed impressively consistently and, like the NRV team in the 1st Bundesliga, secured eight victories in 13 races. In the case of the Bavarians, these consecutive victories in a direct comparison with the Blankeneser Segel-Club, who were equal on points, were decisive for victory in the Baltic Sea region. Joersfelder Segel-Club sailed to third place here off Travemünde.
"It paid off that we were in Travemünde a few days before the match day and were able to train intensively," says BYC trimmer Moriz Forster. "We also have a very successful, well-coordinated former 420 team in our crew, which made a decisive contribution to our good performance." Helmsman Christian Lenkmann, Philip Hall, Moritz Forster and Benjamin Gleich won for the Bavarian Yacht Club ahead of the Elbe sailors Lukas Feuerherdt, Moritz Klingenberg, Svea Wrede and Aike Braje from Blankeneser Segel-Club.
Travemünde Week: Beach camp with "sea value"
The Joersfelder Segel-Club (JSC) continues to lead the table in the 2nd German Sailing League. Blankeneser Segel-Club (BSC) moved up from seventh to second place in the table. Lübecker Segler-Verein von 1885 (LSV) is in third place.
On two evenings, the beach camp of the German Sailing League also developed into a trendy meeting place for the sailors of the Travemünde Week. Together with partner Gin Sul, the league organised a party. "Everyone was delighted to meet up in such an informal setting and celebrate together. It's hard to imagine Travemünde Week without the German Sailing League and our party," says league initiator Oliver Schwall, who was behind the bar himself mixing gin and tonic.
The matches of the 1st and 2nd German Sailing League will continue on the Kiel Fjord from 18 to 20 August. The league fleet will then head for Lake Constance, where the next two Bundesliga events will be held.
