The North German Regatta Club has won the fifth and penultimate top-flight event at the Potsdam Yacht Club on Lake Wannsee. With 35 points, Tobias Schadewaldt, Leon Passlack, Miklas Schaper and Bjarne Stegelmann relegated the teams from the Berlin Yacht Club (38 points) and the Joersfelder Sailing Club (43 points) to second and third place respectively. They were followed by the Bavarian Yacht Club (46 points) and the Mühlenberg Sailing Club (47 points).
The penultimate Bundesliga weekend: eventful, intense, spectacular
The long league weekend initially greeted the first and second division teams on Lake Wannsee with very gusty and shifting winds. On the first day, sailing continued into the evening, even in light winds. Saturday offered excellent sailing conditions with a gusty south-westerly wind of up to 20 knots. This led to some spectacular scenes, particularly on the downwind legs. On Sunday, the conditions remained gusty and were even more challenging.
It remained a nail-biter right up until the final day, which saw the two top teams from the NRV and the BYC start on level points. It was also a special day for the experienced NRV helmsman Tobias Schadewaldt: the Wilhelmshaven-based 49er sailor, who finished eleventh at the 2012 Olympics, celebrated his 42nd birthday in the capital and was treated to a sporting victory party.
"It’s my birthday today – and one of my presents was the incredibly tight start this morning, which we then went on to win." Tobias Schadewaldt
With their victory at the event in Berlin, the Hamburg team have put themselves in a strong position heading into the Bundesliga final, with just one event remaining: the NRV leads the 1st Division by a commanding 11 points. They are followed by the Joersfelder Sailing Club (24 points), the Mühlenberger Sailing Club (27 points), the Munich Yacht Club (34 points) and the Überlingen Sailing and Motorboat Club (39 points).
Will NRV win Bundesliga season 14 as well?
For the league leaders, the objective for the final weekend of the season at Seglerhaus am Wannsee is clear. Tobias Schadewaldt said: “The final will take place at VSaW in four weeks’ time. We have now extended our lead to 13 points, are looking forward to the final – and have no intention of relinquishing the lead.”
A look at the all-time best performers in the German Sailing Bundesliga shows that the record-holding champions won their titles almost as if following a pattern: they won in their first year in the league 2013 and again the very next year. They won in 2017 and the following year 2018. Only the 2020 title was not followed by a second championship the following year. 2022 and 2023 The NRV pulled off two more spectacular victories in a row.
Even now, everything suggests that they could successfully defend the championship trophy they won in 2025 this year. A 13-point lead is a significant advantage in the 14th season of the 1st Sailing Bundesliga, in which 18 teams are competing against one another. The chasing pack would have to sail exceptionally well on 15 and 17 October, whilst the NRV would have to make a serious slip-up, if the Hamburg team are to the title defence is still to be contested.
An exciting build-up to the Second Division final
With the gap between them now significantly narrower, the second-division teams have entered the home straight. Here, at the Potsdam Yacht Club on Lake Wannsee, the Warnemünde Academic Sailing Club won ahead of the Flensburg Sailing Club, the Ville Sailing Club, the Berlin Sailing Association 1903 and the Lübeck Yacht Club. This has created a highly tense situation in the league table.
Here, the Segel-Club Ville (20 points) leads ahead of the Lübeck Yacht Club (21 points), the Konstanz Yacht Club (21 points), the Flensburg Sailing Club (23 points), the Seglerhaus am Wannsee Club (25 points) and the Regatta-Segler-Neuruppin Club (26 points). The situation: With just one league weekend remaining, only three points separate the top four clubs! The Seglerhaus am Wannsee Club, which finished the match day in twelfth place on its home waters, has dropped from first to fifth place, but is hosting the league final itself.
Click here for the results of the top-flight teams from the penultimate league weekend at Wannsee. Click on the ‘Season’ button to view the league table before the final. Click here for the Wannsee results for the second-tier teams.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter