With or without a gennaker? These and many other questions are occupying Germany's best sailors as they make their final preparations for the 44th edition of the Championship of Champions next weekend. For the first time, the popular season finale with title winners and top players from a wide range of boat classes will be sailed on VX Ones. The one-design class, which has been active since 2014, stands for sailing with an agile boat at top speeds of 24 knots.
Championship of champions: autumn summit in Hamburg
With a low overall weight, the 80-kilogram centreboard ensures a good righting moment. "I've never sailed these boats before, but they seem to get going quite well downwind," enthused three-time Olympian and Ilca 7 world champion Philipp Buhl, who initially signed up for the cheerful autumn summit in Hamburg with team-mates Justin Barth and Julian Hoffmann.
The first version of the sporty keel skiff sailing fun associated with VX Ones was already tested by YACHT in 2016. Now the helmsmen can enjoy the boat with either two or three crew members at the Championship of Champions. The 24 registered skippers must decide in which crew constellation the champions will compete before the on-site registration.
After the storm predicted for Friday, the forecasts for the "MdM" weekend on 25 and 26 October are moderate so far: around ten knots and rain are on the cards for Saturday. On Sunday, 14 knots in less wet conditions could bring more pressure from above. Race Officer Christina Buch and Chief Umpire Manuel Hünsch will be watching over the championship races on Hamburg's Outer Alster with their teams.
Six-man final at the 44th edition
The race office will be open from 8am on Saturday before the skipper's briefing starts at 9am. Sailing starts at 10 am. On Sunday, the skippers will meet at 8.30 a.m. before the fleet races continue. All crews should be able to take part on Saturday and Sunday and enjoy as much sport as possible on this championship weekend. The final will be contested by the six best boats after the main round.
Alongside co-favourite Philipp Buhl and his crew Many other power players are also involved, all masters of their disciplinesFor the host Hamburger Segel-Club and the association Inclusion in Sailing - Wir sind Wir, Silke Basedow, who is always strong on her home turf, will be racing with her sister Maren Hahlbrock and Juliane Zepp. Paralympics winner Jens Kroker will compete with Martin Kittsteiner and Oliver Stieglitz. Former champion and jack-of-all-trades Frank Schönfeldt from Hamburg wants to give it a go with Ole Harder.
His son Till Krüger, reigning German club champion with the Mühlenberger Segel-Club and top team of the current league season ahead of the final, is excited about the new boat class. Last year's MdM runner-up will be racing with Lynn Hafemann and Henrike Germar. Till Krüger says: "I think it will be really cool. Last year, sailing on the RS Venture Connects with a stick in your hand had its own charm. There was equal opportunity for everyone."
German club champions at the start
Previously, the champions' championship had been held on J/70 boats for many years. "We league sailors simply had too big an advantage there. Now we have proper small racing machines - and we're looking forward to it." The fact that Till Krüger is competing as a trio rather than in pairs is primarily due to the team spirit. "There are so many of us in the MSC Bundesliga team, so there should be as many of us as possible. We should get the wind in our sails. Let's see if we sail with a gennaker. That will be fun."
The championship of champions has been organised since 1980. It is characterised by the idea of determining Germany's best sailors across all classes. In the scene, the end-of-season event is also valued as a meeting place for active sailors from a wide variety of sailing holidays that otherwise have little or no overlap. Sailors from 20 different disciplines have won the title in the 44-year history of the event.
The premiere was won by Europe specialists Andreas Etten and Torsten Dmoch in 1980, who successfully defended their title a year later. The record winner is Karol Jablonski, who won six times with different foresailors on the Outer Alster. Kieler Woche record winner Wolfgang Hunger was champion of champions five times, while his regular cox Rolf "Rocky" Schmidt shone without Hunger himself as helmsman with the victory in 1991.
The Heydays of the Championship of Champions
Sailing greats such as Markus Wieser (3 wins) and Jochen Schümann (2 wins) also battled it out in the Heydays of the Championship of Champions for the cheerfully regarded but highly coveted title. Twice in 44 years, female helmsmen have prevailed in the championship: in 2007, Ulrike Schümann, who later finished fourth at the Olympics, won with Julia Bleck and Ute Höpfner, and in 2018, 470 helmswoman Theres Dahnke prevailed with Birte Winkel and Johanna Meier.
