With an exciting last regatta day, the German sea sailors have completed their preparations for the World Championship in three weeks' time in the Netherlands at Kieler Woche. The teams have prepared themselves in the best possible way. At the Baltic Pre-Worlds on the Alpha course, two sister ships in particular showed their performance potential in the two classes at Kieler Woche.
While the "Halbtrocken 4.0" dominated the second-placed runner-up "Tutima" with skipper Kirsten Harmstorf-Schönwitz, Torsten Bastiansen's "Sydbank" and Max Gurgel's "X-Day" in the large yacht group, the Italia 9.98 "OneSpirit" and "Immac Fram" set the tone for the small boats. In the single class of the ClubSwan 50, the crew from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein in Hamburg with Hendrik Brandis was unstoppable with seven wins in seven races.
Michael Berghorn's crew on the "Halbtrocken 4.0" from the Kieler Yacht-Club and their pursuers fought a series of close duels. In the end, Berghorn had a clear 10-point lead on paper over the next two yachts, but in reality there were some thrilling battles on the course. "They were tough opponents, the best we could have had. The result list looks clearer than the races were. It was good preparation for the World Championships," said Berghorn.
The "Tutima" crew was initially unlucky when they approached a gate in the seventh race - clearly in the lead. Kirsten Harmstorf-Schönwitz explains: "There was a dinghy there - but still without the 'M' flag, which indicates a substitute course mark. So for us, the dinghy was not considered a course mark. So we rounded the other buoy to port in accordance with the sailing instructions." However, "M" was displayed for the following boats. "We then turned round and rounded again," explains the skipper. The "Tutima" crew later submitted a request for compensation for the incident, which was granted. As a result, the women's team moved up to second place. "We are completely satisfied with our KiWo performance," said the Hamburg native, "the crew fought without end for three days and we always sailed cleanly across the course in 20 knots and more. In this respect, we are well prepared for the World Championship."
The German teams and Berghorn are optimistic about the highlight of the season: "We've become increasingly well-rehearsed over the course of the series. That gives us a broad base for the World Championships." The team is also well prepared for the tidal waters off Scheveningen thanks to its participation in the North Sea Week at Whitsun. Nevertheless, Berghorn wants to bring another "local" on board during the actual World Championship preparations in order to better sound out the pitfalls of the area. "The long-distance regatta will certainly be exciting."
Kai Mares from the "Immac Fram" agrees. "The offshore regatta is a crucial part of the World Cup. We will take a few days beforehand to explore the pitfalls." There was a small setback for Mares and crew off Kiel at the end, as the "Immac Fram" veered off course on the last day. "We started the day well with a win. Fourth place in the second race was okay. Unfortunately, we then had damage to the spinnaker pole in the last race, which we had to repair on the cross. That certainly cost us performance." Seventh place at the end meant second place overall. "The competition was good, so second place is not bad either. The important thing is that the performance is right," said Mares, who congratulated Gordon Nickel, skipper of the "OneSpirit", on his victory on the jetty.
JOCHEN SCHÜMANN ON BOARD IN ADVANCE
All in all, winners and losers, training partners for this season, hugged and high-fived each other. Gordon Nickel took a deep breath: "There was a lot going on on the track today. In the second race, we went down on our noses after a patent jibe, but quickly got back up again. We had a good start in the third race and were able to do our thing with high boat speed." The German sailors now want to take this feeling with them to the World Championships. "It's hard to say what will come of it. The field in our group is too big for that." In the run-up to the up-and-down races, Germany's most successful sailor Jochen Schümann had trained the Nickel crew directly on board, but had left the boat for the races. "I had the feeling that we then sailed a little more freely. With Jochen on board, you could feel the nervousness in the crew," says Nickel.
Those responsible for sea sailing in Germany had somewhat mixed feelings about the yacht fields at Kiel Week. While the small yachts had a good field at the start, there was a lack of mass among the large yachts. "That was disappointing," said Berghorn. Wolfgang Schäfer, Chairman of the DSV Sailing Committee, sees one main reason for this: "The good teams are too far away, so the teams from the second tier are migrating to ORC clubs." Bertil Balser, Chairman of the Sailing Regatta Association, therefore sees a need for action: "In recent years, a lot has been let slip in various areas. We now have to work through this. But of course it's difficult to get everyone under one roof with the long coastline in Germany - from Greifswald to Helgoland. I think Kiel Week was a good step in this direction."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
