The two top German crews could not have had a more different start to the 49er World Championship: Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel, 2014 European champions, opened the world championships with a solid ninth place after the first three races. Justus Schmidt and Max Boehme, on the other hand, reigning European champions, found themselves in 32nd place on the evening of the first day of the regatta. Helmsman Schmidt also knew the reasons for the unsuccessful start: "We had expected the fleet to make a rather cautious start to the World Championships. But the opposite was the case: all hell broke loose at the start! And we couldn't get a foot in the door."
The summary shows just how demanding the first races in the area outside Buenos Aires in Argentina were.
Coach Thomas Rein saw it very similarly in the World Championship area before Buenos Aires: "Unfortunately, Justus and Max focussed too much on safety in two starts and had to fight their way forward in both races." However, they only succeeded to a limited extent. Nevertheless, the coach is convinced: "Everything is still possible - we are only four points behind the gold fleet and there are still 16 races to sail." Heil and Plößel, on the other hand, "had a very solid day", according to Thomas Rein. They can now build on this. The conditions were difficult with six to eight knots of wind and no stable pattern. Despite the tense situation, the mood in the team was excellent.
The coach was also able to observe the aggressive starts of the entire fleet of 61 boats from 27 nations on Monday. The German men will compete in their four planned races today in a correspondingly new frame of mind. For them, it's not just about medals and good World Championship placings, but also about a personal ticket to Rio in the second part of the three-part national Olympic elimination. However, the prerequisite for an Olympic start in the discipline is that one of the teams secures a place on the national starting list. Three national starting places will be awarded at these World Championships.
The German 49erFX sailors have it easier - their second elimination regatta will not take place until the 2016 World Championships in the American waters off Clearwater. Freed from Olympic necessities, the five DSV crews can concentrate fully on the World Championships. The most successful starters of the national sailing team on the first day were the two Berliners, who had already secured the Olympic starting place in the 49erFX: Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz were in eleventh place after the first four World Championship races. The World Championship ends on 21 November.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
