Philipp Buhl and Justin Barth are the champions of the 44th Championship of Champions. The Laser world champion and his foresailor, Ilca-7 team-mate and WG friend Justin Barth, won the championship summit on Hamburg's Outer Alster in a last-minute final sprint. "We were the lucky ones," summarised Philipp Buhl in the evening after a rainy and very wet weekend in Hamburg. Nevertheless, it made the 67 sailors happy.
Championship of champions: sporting fun with VX Ones
23 German champions from a wide range of classes or podium sailors at World Championships and European Championships attended the 44th edition of the German autumn classic at the Hamburg Sailing Club showed up. For the first time, the season finale, once organised on pirates but also on J/70s, B Ones and RS Venture Connects, was held on VX One keel skiffs. The boats were very well received by the participants in the championship of champions. Here is an older YACHT test that introduces the boats.
The sporting pleasure of the champions was made possible the highly committed VX One Class Association with its chairwoman Iris Kamml and private owners from all over Germany who had made their boats available for the championship weekend. "It was really great what the VX One class association did here. They provided, built and repaired the boats. How committed they were!" Silke Basedow was not the only one to bow to the XL commitment at this championship of champions.
The top sailor from Hamburg summarised: "It was cold, wet, exhausting - great!" Philipp Buhl was also delighted: "The fact that people like the VX One owners still exist in this day and age is amazing! The volunteer work here was also amazing. Our thanks go to the organisers and the people who shuttled us, who sat on the motorboats for two days and froze their fingers off."
A big compliment for the boats and the event in general. It's cool that the championship of champions has been organised 44 times!" Philipp Buhl
It was the sporty boats in particular that had lured the 35-year-old German Ilca 7 champion and three-time Olympic participant back to the championship of champions on the Outer Alster after a long break. Like only one other team in the field, Buhl tackled the task in a duo with Justin Barth instead of a triple like the majority of the crews.
"Bärliner" confident in the main round
"We did find our way into it, but being two people wasn't always an advantage in the wind. On the downwind, however, it was...", said the helmsman, who sails for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and the Segelclub Alpsee-Immenstadt. Philipp Buhl and Justin Barth finished the main round of the championship in fourth place.
The J/70 champions Maximilian Nickel, Laurenz Odenbreit and Charlotte Graffunder from the Berlin Yacht Club put in the most commanding performance over seven main round flights. With six victories (one of them in the form of an average score due to the cancellation of the last fleet race in stormy Sunday conditions) and a second place, the "Bärliners" entered the final as dominant frontrunners.
The co-favourites from Hamburg, Silke Basedow, Juliane Zepp and Maren Hahlbrock, also reached the decisive heat. The HSC trio, who also compete for the Wir sind Wir - Inclusion in Sailing association, reached the final heat in third place behind the Pirate European Championship runners-up Stefan, Nils and Cora Theuerkauf. Philipp Buhl and Justin Barth "only" qualified for the deciding race in fourth place. Although the duo had also sailed to three victories in seven races, they had to let a few feathers fly on Sunday morning on the final course.
The accounts are settled at the end
Justin Barth said: "On Saturday it went better and better for us with decreasing winds in the afternoon. In more wind on Sunday we also had a bit more respect when sailing the gennaker than the other teams. That cost us a bit here and there at the leeward mark, which made the races a bit more difficult for us."
Silke Basedow realised early on what the Ilca duo were very good at, among other things: "You just have to hang right on the cross..." The old adage also applied to this championship of champions: the final judgement is made at the finish. In the decisive race, the crews ahead of Buhl and Barth in the classification focussed on each other.
The Ilca duo got away well from the start line and reached the windward mark in third position. "Then we were a bit lucky to be the only ones to get a huge gust, so we had what felt like half a leg's lead at the bottom of the gate." This intermediate sprint was enough to win the race - and the event.
Close title decision: top three tied on points
Because the pursuers then finished in such a way that the points taken from the main round and the points earned in the final resulted in a tie for the top three, Philipp Buhl and Justin Barth won the 44th Championship of Champions as team "Overpowered" ahead of the "Bärliners" and the women's trio around Silke Basedew.
The deciding factor was the performance in the final. Justin Barth said with regard to the overall performance of the three Posium crews: "I think the Berliners only came first and deserved to win. The same goes for Silke, who took a few more points from us on Sunday."
It was a great stroke of luck that it turned out exactly like this for us in the final. But of course we're delighted." Justin Barth
Like other participants, Justin Barth brought a VX One back to its owner from the local Berlin Yacht Club the evening after the final. The 24-year-old Berliner, who lives in Kiel, said: "The organisation of the VX One class was so impressive. There is nothing in return for their commitment. And the boats were really cool! It was like being on the Laser. Especially when we didn't have a gennaker hoisted, we were planing flat out in the strong gusts."
Agile racers with a high fun factor
The choice of VX One boats proved to be a complete success at this championship of champions. The agile racers were good boats with a high fun factor for the diverse field with very different challengers from dinghy and keelboat classes. Philipp Buhl said: "A big compliment for the boats and the organisers. We had the most unpleasant weather, but the most pleasant weekend. I also liked the family atmosphere."
The 35-year-old top sailor has fond memories of his experience with the VX Ones: "We were really happy when we shot over the downwind layline, then had to really sharpen up and the car shot off." Philipp Buhl also has a suggestion for future final races at the Championship of Champions: "Maybe you can tune it up by making the final with three races and elimination, if there's time."
The relaxed atmosphere among the sailors on the water and ashore this weekend in Hamburg's "dirty weather" also ensured a cheerful atmosphere. Under the confident race management of Tina Buch and her team, the hosts around HSC Vice President Wolf-Dieter Jahn mastered the championship weekend perfectly. Chief Umpire Manuel Hünsch said: "The weather was really exhausting, but we managed almost 7 flights and the final. There was relatively little work from the umpire's point of view."
