Model sailing: Dutch double victory at the IDM on the Dümmer, Norbert Heinz in third place

21 starters took part in the International German Championship at Dümmer See in Lower Saxony, reports the DSV. A total of 14 races were sailed over two days with the remote-controlled miniature yachts in the RG65 class.

In the end, the winner was Harry Drenth from the Netherlands, followed by his compatriot Norbert Horsthuis. Norbert Heinz from the Wuppertal Sailing Association was next on equal points. "That was my declared goal for these title fights," said Heinz afterwards, more than satisfied according to the DSV.

Difficult conditions on the Dümmer

After a rather weak first day on the Dümmer, the experienced Europe, Laser, FD and Varianta sailor from Wuppertal, who has been active in RC sailing for around 15 years, presented himself in top form on Sunday and caught up. He also praised the International German Champion afterwards: "Harry is unbeatable at the moment."

Andreas Ebert from Seglerverein Leipzig came fourth, fifth place went to Patrick Schiller (Vereinigung der Modellyachtsegler) followed by Christian Vaes from the Netherlands.

The organisers from the Dümmer Sailing Club had prepared the event perfectly, praised Thomas Edom, one of the IDM race directors on site and chairman of the RC Sailing Committee in the DSV. However, the race committee had a lot of work to do with the extremely shifting winds ("once around 360 degrees during the first day"): The buoys and the course had to be repositioned again and again and the starting line had to be moved again and again.

RG65 small, but "challenging to sail"

With a hull length of 65 centimetres and a rig height of 1.20 metres, the RG65 boats may be the smallest of the "radio controlled" yachts, but they are "rather challenging to sail", says Thomas Edom. These "small" carbon yachts have the great advantage that they are easy to transport in bags and rucksacks. "That's why the starting fields are large, especially at international level, and so is the competition - travelling with this sports equipment is easy."

In Germany, ranking lists are organised in six RC classes. The DSV-recognised class association DKVRCS wants to increasingly offer RC sailing as a taster event in clubs in the future and thus make it better known. "The remote-controlled yachts are particularly suitable for tactics training in winter," explains chairman Thomas Edom. Because from the outside, from the jetty with the remote control in hand, the action on the water can be observed better and a tactical decision can be analysed more clearly than from the boat.

Text: DSV