The German Olympic candidates for Qingdao 2008 made an impressive start to their home match on the fjord. Roland Gäbler (Tornado), Marc Pickel (Star) and Marcus Baur (49er) sailed to the top with their crews and set course for the Kieler Woche victory.
After a start with light winds, which only allowed for a greatly reduced programme on Saturday, Jobst Richter, as chief race officer, was able to look back yesterday on an optimal sailing Sunday with south-westerly winds of around four Beaufort, despite a few rain showers. Challenging conditions with strong gusts and choppy waves demanded stamina.
The "Hotel" directly in front of Schilksee was particularly busy, where the Tornados raced three times across the course and then the 49ers took to the double trapeze. The German aces set the pace in both classes. Roland Gäbler/Gunnar Struckmann took first, second and third place in the overall Tornado rankings. Johannes Polgar was able to breathe a sigh of relief when skipper Florian Spalteholz signalled the all-clear from the Lubinus Clinic yesterday evening. "Flo" had injured his left ankle during a fast tack in the third race. "Thank God, nothing is broken. That would have been just what we needed so close to the World Championships in Portugal. We want to start tomorrow," said Polgar, "if the risk is not too great." Helge and Christian Sach moved into the position of the first Gäbler pursuers. The "old masters" from Zarnekau made people sit up and take notice with 3rd, 4th and 1st place.
Marcus Baur has come a good deal closer to his first Kieler Woche victory. Together with Hannes Baumann, the three-time European 49er champion sailed to two daily victories in the four races. The reward: nine points ahead of Christoph Sieber in the classification. One point behind the Austrian is Gabriel Wicke, who also crossed the finish line first once with Wolf Jeschonnek.
Marc Pickel and Ingo Borkowski delivered a customised performance in their new Star. They remained unbeaten in three races. In their triple, they impressed equally with their boat speed and first-class manoeuvres.
With four victories, only Polish surfer Agata Brygota "topped" the pimple record. Moana Delle from the Schilksee Olympic boarding school is her closest rival - at a decent distance.
Heiko Kröger is also laying claim to overall victory. In the 2.4mR dinghy, there are signs of a duel with Dutchman Thierry Schmitter.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
