The strongest mixed sailing crews at Kiel Week so far have come from Great Britain. After the second day of the Sailing Grand Slam in the Olympic mixed classes on Thursday, Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris lead the 470 even more than John Gimson and Anna Burnet in the Nacra 17. The German hopes rest on Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr from Lausanne and Röthenbach, who are only two points behind the podium in the 470. After the passage of a low-pressure system, which had caused some stormy conditions at the beginning of the week, the athletes initially had to prove themselves in a light easterly breeze. The outstanding 470 duo from England obviously mastered this just as well as the fresh to strong winds the day before.
British dominance in the 470
The performance of Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris on the first two 470 days of Kieler Woche was impeccable. The British team took four wins on the day. "The clean slate always looks easier on paper afterwards than it was on the water," said the helmsman, not wanting to portray himself as unbeatable. Nevertheless, Theresa Löffler showered him with praise: "The British sail extremely cleanly and flawlessly on the course." The student was also satisfied with her own performance, especially as the start with eleventh and sixth place was "quite a struggle." A third and fourth place were "a good starting position for the podium as the Kiel Week goal."
Behind the British leaders are two Portuguese teams, Beatriz Gago/Rudolfo Pires and Diogo Costa/Carolina Joao. Surprisingly, the newly crowned world champions Jordi Xammar Hernandez and Marta Cardona Alcántara are only in seventh place, just ahead of Malte Winkel and Paula Schütze from Kiel and Schwerin.
Nacra 17: Olympic silver medallist in front
As expected, the Olympic silver medallists John Gimson and Anna Burnet were mostly at the front of the Nacra 17 field. However, four out of a possible six wins on the day mean they are only three points ahead of France's Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz. Both top teams have already pulled away from their Australian rivals. Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown are third ahead of Ruben Booth and Rita Booth Ferrando. The only Germans, Josh Berktold and Zoe Coers, are struggling and are in the red in the intermediate standings.
Other boat classes started
On Thursday afternoon, nine international boat classes started the second part of Kiel Week. Serial winner Heiko Kröger from Ammersbek set his sights on his 15th Kieler Woche gold with a win on the opening day. However, Christoph Trömer from Homeburg countered and drew level.
In the OK dinghy, André Budzien from Schwerin was also immediately a top favourite, but was ousted from the top spot by the Swede Niklas Edler in the second race. His compatriot Viktor Elfving shone at the start of the ILCA 4.
