With moderate wind and current, the first sighting week for the Red Bull Youth America's Cup came to an end yesterday, with the German team consistently continuing its upward trend. The rare northerly wind and the low tide on the race course at the Southampton Shoal off Richmond meant well for the STG/NRV sailors. Led by skipper Philipp Buhl, the recent STG Award winner, and helmsman Erik Heil, they left nothing to be desired with two race wins and a second place.
In the unofficial points list, STG/NRV finished the series together with the New Zealanders on 16 points, with the most race wins of all participants, totalling five. They were followed by the stronger Danes, who had travelled as underdogs with a small team without a coach, and the Austrians, who had 18 points and three race wins each. The Australians' collapse came as a surprise, as they dominated the first day but faltered towards the end, leaving them just one place ahead of the South Africans with 19 points.
For dinghy sailors, as most of them are, communication and coordination on an AC45 catamaran with a wing rig was a learning process, which Buhl describes as follows: "There was more stress at the beginning, there were still uncertainties. But in the end, everyone knew exactly what they had to do and could rely on each other." The starts went better, Heil found his voice to count in the manoeuvres and the whole sailing crew bonded. "On the first day of the race, our heads were still too much in the boat and we made a few mistakes, but that got better with each day. We discussed a lot and analysed (the experiences)," said Team Director Markus Koy, taking stock. "We don't know at this point whether we've progressed, but we presented a good picture both on the water and on land."
The organisers previously announced that the overall impression of the participants will be assessed, which will be made up of 60 percent on-water results and 20 percent each of "team spirit" and concrete future plans up to the actual competition, which will also take place on San Francisco Bay from 1 to 4 September. A lot will also depend on how the other candidates, who will be invited to the viewing next week, perform. These teams represent Argentina, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland.
The decision on which teams will ultimately be invited to the Youth America's Cup will be made on 25 February.
