470 World Championship: A dream start and two false starts - German co-favourites with light and shade

Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort opened the 470 Mixed World Championship in the bay of Palma in impressive form. With places 3, 1 and 5, they were not only the best German crew on day one, but also the most successful overall. On Tuesday evening, it was only the already effective stringer that ensured that two Japanese crews initially led the intermediate classification ahead of the German crew.

Diesch/Markfort secure first race win for the German Sailing Team

The runners-up in the European Championships and 2023 Kieler Woche winners also claimed their first race win in their successful start. The duo from the Württembergischer Yacht-Club and the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club put in a strong performance overall in rather light winds of around six to nine knots, which also freshened up to twelve knots in gusts.

Above all, it was important not to get annoyed about mistakes for too long, but to keep sailing attentively" (Anna Markfort)

Anna Markfort's initial assessment: "The conditions were very, very challenging. We had good boat speed over the range and were always able to adapt well to the constantly changing conditions. Above all, it was important not to get annoyed about mistakes for too long, but to keep sailing attentively. Of course, it feels great to come out of the first qualifying day with three top 5 results. However, the week is still long, so of course we can't rest on our laurels."

After returning to the harbour, Anna Markfort also recalled her words before the first start: "This morning I said that adapting or dying was on the agenda today. Fortunately, we adapted more than we died. The last race was quite a struggle. We sailed past the gate marks because we couldn't get our spinnaker down and lost five boats. But we caught them back up and gained some more back, so not too bad. After the wait this morning, it was really nice to sail three races."

With "Sunny" to success

Diesch and Markfort always have a song for the day. On this first day of the World Cup, their choice was the disco hit "Sunny" by Boney M. from 1976. After rain in the morning and sun at the start of the World Cup, the first line of the song couldn't have been better suited to today's weather on Mallorca: "Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain ..." Sunny" is also the name of the boat in which Diesch and Markfort are taking part in the World Championships.

The second-best German crew after day one were Theres Dahnke and Matti Cipra from the Plauer Wassersportverein. They were followed by Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segelclub Breitenbrunn Chiemsee), who were in 25th place after three rounds. The two other co-favourite German 470 mixed crews were only in 31st and 39th place. It was a false start for the 2022 World Champions Luise Wanser/Philipp Autenrieth (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Bayerischer Yacht-Club) and the married and sailing couple Malte Winkel/Anastasiya Winkel (NRV/Schweriner Yacht-Club).

Blown away by the World Cup winds

Helmswoman Luise Wanser said after the three qualifying races with places 19, 11 and 13: "It was pretty crazy out there today, 'loco', as the Spanish would say. We finished fifth at the windward mark in our first race. That was our worst race in the end. In the second race, we finished second to last at the first windward mark. And that was our best race. That describes the day pretty well."

Luise Wanser described the sailing conditions as almost unpredictable: "It was super shifty. The wind came straight from Palma. There were so many 'Yeah, yeah, yeah' moments. And then two seconds later 'No, no, no' - so shifty, so gusty. It was very, very hard. But I think tomorrow will be a slightly different game. We'll have a slightly different wind direction tomorrow, a bit further to the right. Then it won't come over the mountains, but around the mountains. That will make the wind even more different. And there will definitely be more wind. I think that will be quite exciting. And really cold, 10 degrees. I think tomorrow will be a new day with new luck and new skills."

Malte Winkel confirmed Luise Wanser's assessment: "The conditions were super tricky today. We weren't rewarded at all for the things we did. I'll get up tomorrow with the other foot. I think that will be enough. We're always a bit late for the regattas. That's why we're taking it half as hard. Of course we would have liked something different, but the series is still long. Tomorrow we'll start with two solid races and then see what else we can do."

One World Cup, many challenges

There is a lot at stake for the best 470 sailors from the German Sailing Team off Mallorca. They are not only fighting for World Championship medals and top placings, but also for just one 470 Olympic ticket for the German Sailing Team in their three-part national elimination series that started with the World Championship. The two following elimination regattas are the Spanish classic Trofeo Princesa Sofía in April and the European Championship in Cannes at the beginning of May. The World Championship ends on 3 February with the medal final. The qualifying round ends on Wednesday with two more fleet races before the World Championship field is divided into gold and silver groups for the main round.

Click here for the results of the 470 Mixed World Championship in the Bay of Palma.

The highlights from the first day of the 470 Mixed World Championship: