Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner made a strong start to the test regatta before Rio de Janeiro. The 20-year-old helmsman from the Kieler Yacht-Club and his one-year-older fore-sailor took the first German victory of the day on Sunday and, with their 6th, 1st and 4th places after the first day of racing, placed themselves in third place among the world's top catamaran mixed teams behind the New Zealanders Gemma Jones/Jason Saunders and the Danes Lin Ea Cenholt Christiansen and Christian Peter Lübeck. With this nervously strong start, Kohlhoff and Werner set an important signal for Sailing Team Germany, whose veterans had made a shaky start to the series in Guanabara Bay.
Things went well for Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner not just once, but three times. The fact that the new British DSV head coach David Howlett is coaching the young, dynamic team, who earned the nickname "The German Wonder Kids" with their outstanding performances at the World Championships in Denmark a few weeks ago, is a gift for the mixed crew from Kiel. "We didn't actually have a coach for this regatta," explains Carolina Werner. "The fact that it is now David Howlett himself who is coaching us here on the water is such a great honour for us. He's a real winner. You can learn so much from his experience and his mentality. His most important message is that you always have to work hard if you want to be good. And that's what we're doing!" The Nacras sailed their first three races on the Copacabana outer course. "There wasn't as much wave as in the previous days, but still about half a metre. So it was all about getting the cart running," reported Werner. Her team also shone with outstanding starts. "We opened the race with the day's victory," said Werner with a smile, "with a starboard start ..."
Rio's Olympic sailing area presented itself from its gentle and gusty side on Sunday in seven to twelve knots. Very close to the Nacras, Laser vice world champion Philipp Buhl was able to make up ground with a sixth place after a not entirely successful start to the series, finishing the day in 13th place after the following 14th place. "That was a step forwards, and that was very important to me today," said Buhl.
Olympic fourth-placed Toni Wilhelm from Dogern has not yet found his winning streak and is in eleventh place in the field of 28 RS:S surfers after his second day of racing with 10th, 10th and 12th places. The 49er sailors Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel are in the same position after two races and 15th and eighth place respectively. The two Berliners from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein were only allowed to sail two instead of the planned three races with their fleet before the sailing day ended at around 5.30 pm as darkness fell. Ferdinand Gerz and Oliver Szymanski would have preferred Wilhelm and Heil/Plößel's eleventh place to their own. The 470 European champions opened the test regatta on Sunday in 20th and 15th place and will have to start the week in 18th place out of 22 crews. Their 470 team mates Annika Bochmann and Marlene Steinherr are 13th after their first two races. Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke were the only German team to make it into the top ten on the first day of racing for the 49erFX sailors alongside the Kiel Nacra 17 team, and are in eighth place after three races.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
