Sailing Grand Slam: Mistral rodeo and strong German duos in "angry" conditions

Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort remain top at the halfway point of the French Sailing Grand Slam. The helmsman from the Württembergischer Yacht-Club and his foresailor from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club enjoyed the power-play conditions on the 470 mixed course. They proved their class at the Semaine Olympique Française on their 470 "Sunny" with their second race win of the week.

Sailing Grand Slam: Diesch/Markfort dominant

With a total of just seven points on their series account, Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort, the leading duo after a total of five races, have already pulled well clear of their pursuers Jordí Xammar/Marta Cardona (Spain, 18 points) and Matisse Pacaud/Lucie de Gennes (France, 19 points). The other 470 mixed team mates from the German Sailing Team have fallen behind somewhat.

Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segel-Club Breitbrunn-Chiemsee) were in twelfth place in the middle of the week. Theres Dahnke/Paco Melzer (Plauer Wassersportverein/Potsdamer Yacht-Club) will start the three races scheduled on Thursday in fourteenth place after a cancellation. Malte Winkel and Paula Amelie Schütze (Schweriner Yacht-Club/Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) were in 16th place on Wednesday evening.

Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort felt in their element in the strong winds. Anna Markfort said: "We went out on the water at 1 pm and there was already a lot of pressure. But everything was still easy to sail. Well, what do you mean easy: the wave actually made it difficult because it was very short and steep here in the bay. Which is why it was much easier to sail closer to land in flat water, even with more wind. It was a bit more challenging in our starting area and at the gate buoys, but absolutely doable. That's why the race committee made a good decision to send us out."

Capsizes on all lanes

A look at the classification showed how well Diesch/Markfort are continuing to do in the Sailing Grand Slam. Smiling, the Berlin native said: "Yes, we sailed quite well, and our speed was okay. We had already pulled away a bit at the windward mark, had a small duel with the French team, but then they capsized in a gybe on the first downwind. So we were able to get ahead really well."

However, the highly motivated German front runners were not granted a second race, as Anna Markfort reported: "After we finished the first race with quite a good gap, we were naturally ready for a second race. It had only just started to be fun. But then our coach Steve told us relatively quickly that the race committee was sending us in. We didn't quite understand it at the time because the conditions hadn't changed for us with around 22 knots, and of course significantly more in gusts. On average, it was perfectly sailable."

However, when sailing in, it became clearer why the 470 fleet had been sent in. Anna Markfort explained: "There was a lot more pressure, so even a 470 doesn't really go forwards, it just sits up. So unfortunately we only had one race back to the harbour. But still with a very good result. We are very satisfied."

Sailing Grand Slam: GER-49s well in the race

The German 49er men also came through the day well at the French classic of the Sailing Grand Slam. Richard Schultheis/Fabian Rieger (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) and the Olympic eleventh-placed Jakob Meggendorfer/Andreas Spranger (Bayerischer Yacht-Club) were tied in fifth and sixth place with 28 points after a total of six races on Wednesday evening. Both GER crews were only eight points behind the front runners Hernan Umpierre and Fernando Diz from Urguay.

In the 49ers, the yellow qualification group in particular was brutally hit by winds of more than 30 knots in the last race on Wednesday. The Austrians Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger achieved a remarkable race win. Only a handful of boats made it to the finish without capsizing in this last race of the day. Many did not even reach the line.

The blue qualification group with Schultheis/Rieger and Meggendorfer/Spranger were slightly better off. Andreas Spranger said: "It wasn't quite as windy for us. The first two races were relatively moderate. In the third race it was quite angry. But more like 25 knots. Unfortunately, the other group only had a race in when we were already finished. Then the Tramontana came through well. Then they had to change course and had two more races in 25 to 30 knots. That was pretty infuriating."

Medal race already in sight

Fabian Rieger said on Wednesday at the French Sailing Grand Slam: "The other group had it a bit wilder at the end today because they had no wind at the beginning. For us, the wind came in a little earlier and then steadily increased. We then had a lot of wind in the last race. Most of them didn't get round the course properly. Maybe half of us were able to finish the race."

Rieger's positive conclusion: "We did well even in the windy race, got through without capsizing and with good boat handling." The German FX sailors returned to the harbour with mixed results. The best crews from the German Sailing Team after three days were Sophie Steinlein/Catherine Bartelheimer (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) and Katharina Schwachhofer/Elena Stoltze (Württembergischer Yacht-Club) in eighth and ninth place. Click here for all the intermediate results of the Sailing Grand Slam off Hyéres.

The best in the series will continue their races on Thursday in the gold fleets. The decisions in the kitesurfing and windsurfing disciplines will be made on Friday. All other medal races will take place on 26 April.

A portrait of Olympians - the organisers of the French Sailing Grand Slam continue their series with the 470 crew Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort and the French Nacra 17 duo Tim Mourniac and Aloïse Retornaz: