Travemünde Week: Dragon Grand Prix, World Championships, twelve-man duel
YACHT
· 25.07.2024
Switzerland's Jan Eckert let one boat too many pass and lost the dress rehearsal for the European Championships just one point behind two-time Olympian Jesper Stalheim (Sweden). Three other classes crowned their winners at the TW, while the championship classes were just starting to pick up speed in their title races.
Dragon Grand Prix
Before the final day of the Dragon Grand Prix, the team flying the Swiss flag with helmsman Jan Eckert was a strong bet to win. But then the victory slipped out of the hands of the 1992 Olympic participant. The first attempt at a race had to be cancelled due to the wind conditions. At this point, Eckert was well in the race with his crew Torvar Mirsky and Frederico Melo. And he also had everything under control at the restart. But on the last cross he had to let one competitor pass too many. 13th place in this race meant he slipped behind Jesper Stalheim. "That's a great pity. Overall victory would have been the icing on the cake. But we're still very happy with our performance, we've achieved two victories in a strong field," said Eckert and immediately looked to the future: "Hopefully we'll save the victory for the European Championships in Estonia."
The continental championships will be held in Pärnu at the beginning of August. "We don't know the area yet, but we are ready," said Eckert. "Travemünde was a good preparation with two days of champagne sailing in good wind and waves. After that, the conditions were a bit more difficult. But the race committee and the helpers managed everything well on the water and on land."
Winner Stalheim was naturally delighted with his victory: "The races yesterday and today were really close, with many changes during the races. Consistency is always the deciding factor in the end. You have to fight for every point. That was evident today." The former Laser sailor does not have the European Championship on his calendar: "Unfortunately not. I'm travelling to the Olympic Games, where I'm looking after our Swedish Ilca sailor. But I will of course be watching the Euros from afar."
Another Swedish crew led by helmsman Jan Secher finished third in the Grand Prix of Travemünde. The best German team in fourth place was the crew led by Christoph Toepfer from Hamburg.
RS Aero German Open
The Ukrainian Sofiia Naumenko won the German Open of the RS Aero. She took part in all three major German sailing weeks in 2024. She competed in the Ilca 6 class at the Kieler Woche and Warnemünder Woche, and now in the RS Aero in Travemünde. "I wanted to try something new. That's why I decided to sail RS Aero as well as Ilca 6. At the beginning, it wasn't so easy to switch to the much lighter and more unstable boat. But I'm learning more and more," reported Naumenko, who also talked about her special situation.
After the war of aggression began in her Ukrainian homeland, Naumenko initially travelled around Europe in her van, going from one sailing regatta to the next. She lived in the van at the time and trained far away from home. She and her family have now found a new home in Croatia. During the sailing season, she is still constantly on tour with her van. Every now and then she returns home for a short time, for example for national sailing championships. The sailor comes from the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, located on the river of the same name, on which Naumenko used to sail. The town is one of the very few in the central region of Ukraine where sailing is still possible. However, training there is interrupted by constant air raids.
Juliane Barthel (Osnabrück) followed at a respectful distance in second place in the unofficial German championship for the young class, leaving Marcus Walther (Darmstadt) well behind.
Dyas
There was a winner with a very special relationship to Travemünde at the Dyas. Two years ago, Arndt Fingerhut from Edersee proposed to his girlfriend on the Trave, and the two are now married. And with the sail number of his wedding day (GER 1432 for 1 April 2023), he sailed to success with his skipper Andreas Malcher. "As always, it was very nice during Travemünde Week. Sliding down the waves is just great fun with the Dyas. The boat is perfect to handle. We enjoyed the wind and waves during these days. We also enjoyed the Ballermann wind on Monday," said Fingerhut.
The winner was somewhat disappointed with the small fleet in his class off Travemünde. But the quality of the fleet was good, and with the change of courses and the different wind conditions, there was something for everyone. The other podium places went to Andreas and Alexander Romanowsky (Herrsching) and Alexander Wobetzky/Heiko Erdmann (Berlin).
Finn dinghy
André Budzien from Schwerin achieved a superior victory, albeit with one blemish. The three-time world champion in the OK dinghy showed his qualities this time in the Finn dinghy: "I like sailing both classes. This year I'm focussing more on the Finn because I want to compete in the Gold Cup in Aarhus," said Budzien. He is aiming to win a medal at the World Championships in the ex-Olympic class. "I've already been Master World Champion three times in the Finn. And since the elimination of Olympic status, we no longer have to compete against the professionals in the open class either."
The Travemünde Week was a good preparation for the Gold Cup. With five victories in the eight races, it went well. He was finally able to cancel the early start disqualification in the third race. "That happens when you start aggressively. It wasn't the first time for me. That's why I can deal with it. And if you want to win, you have to take risks."
His offensive style was finally rewarded. He took the Travemünde Week gold ahead of Bas de Waal from the Netherlands and Fabian Lemmel from Berlin.
After these decisions, other classes started the Travemünde Week. Wind from the west provided a pleasant breeze on the courses on the fifth day of the Travemünde Week regatta. However, with an oscillating direction off the Mecklenburg coast and under the steep coast of Brodten, tactical finesse was required from the crews in order to get round the course cleanly. Although the huge Opti fleet in particular was difficult to tame, all six classes eventually managed three races each.
IC Canoe WM
The conditions on the course under the cliffs were not easy, especially for the IC Canoe. The tippy skiffs are particularly sensitive to wind shifts. In order to get a full day in the books after the difficult start to the World Championships, the skiffs took to the course early in the morning and started their first race at 9.30 am. Three races were completed for the World Championship classification. In these, the Brits once again showed why they are among the top sailors in this class.
Glen Truswell sailed the series 2, 1, 1, thus consolidating his leading position. However, no preliminary decision has yet been made in the world championship race. His closest rival, the US American Michael Costello, is hot on his heels with one win and two second places. Behind him, two more Brits are lurking for their chance. Mike Fenwick and Dan Skinner have positioned themselves ahead of the best German, Ole Junge from Preetz.
Today is a rest day for the IC Canoe. For the best sailors, however, the action does not rest. For them, it's all about the New York Canoe Club Challenge Trophy. The second oldest trophy in the sailing world is a competition between nations. The British will compete against the Germans in defence of the cup. Three sailors will compete in each race. Only the winner scores a point for their country. And with the second point win, the trophy is decided.
Typhoon German Open
In addition to the IC Canoe, the Taifun sailors also competed on the Golf course. Claudius Junge from Preetz had a flawless series on this day. With three wins in a row, he leapt past Felix Mosebach (Neuruppin) and Johannes Meyer (Bremen) to take first place in the German Open rankings.
Flying Junior WM
In the second World Championship class of the Travemünde Week, the leading team put itself under pressure. Hylke Sasse/Doete Vogelaar from the Netherlands started the day with an early start disqualification. This means that they cannot afford to make any mistakes in the next two days. And the pressure situation also had an effect in the two following races. Twice they only crossed the finish line in third place. Martijn and Anna Aarts took the opportunity to catch up. They are now within three points of the leaders. A further two points back is the German team of Matthias Riffeler/Justus Rüthing.
Javelin Euro Cup
There was even a change of leadership in the Javelin Euro Cup. Christian Wirts/Thorsten Fischer (Hanover) capitalised on the slight weakness of Eddy and Neil Reid (Great Britain) and moved into first place in the overall standings with the series 1, 2, 2. Another German team, Jens and Robin Schlittenhard (Steinhude), took a podium place. And the top three have now clearly pulled away from the chasing pack.
Keel migratory bird
The Travemünde Week began on Wednesday for the Kielzugvogel class. And Wolfgang Emrich/Klaus Ebbinghaus got off to a brilliant start. Three starts, three wins - that was the result of the first day for the team from Wörthsee.
Opti IDJM
Among the youngest sailors in the Optimist class, the picture at the top of the International German Youth Championship is solidifying - and a Ukrainian is firmly established there ahead of the final day of the preliminary round. Olha Lubianska had a perfect series in the shifting winds. With three victories, she took the clear lead ahead of Lasse Kliewe from Hamburg and Paul Fiete Hickstein from Dümmer. After three more races on Thursday, the fleet of 240 starters will be divided into the gold, silver and bronze groups. Only the top 80 after tomorrow will then sail for the title.
On Thursday, Travemünde Week picks up speed once again for the second half of the regatta week. Five more classes on the dinghy courses start their regattas, and with the start of the Rund Fehmarn regatta, the yachts go on a long tour through the night from 6 pm.
Volksbank Rotspon Cup
The Wednesday of Travemünde Week is not only the centre of the regatta week, but also traditionally offers a social and sailing highlight. At the Volksbank Rotspon Cup, Lübeck's mayor competes against a political colleague. In the 19th edition of the event, however, city president Henning Schumann took the helm instead of Jan Lindenau. Lübeck's head of administration had to take a break for health reasons, but had a worthy deputy: He sailed confidently to a 2:0 victory against the challenger, MV Minister of Economic Affairs Reinhard Meyer.
As in previous years, the two historic twelve-man yachts "Sphinx" and "Trivia" were ready for the match race in "best of three" mode. They are perfect for the showdown between the politicians and have therefore been the yachts for the Volksbank Rotspon Cup for years.
Lindenau has recorded one win, one draw and two defeats in the Volksbank Rotspon Cup so far. The overall result of the traditional mayor's race has so far been ten wins for the guests, one draw and seven victories for Lübeck. Passionate sailor Henning Schumann did his utmost at the helm of the "Sphinx" to add another victory to the list and was successful. He had tactical support from Lutz Kleinfeldt, chairman of the Lübeck YC. Christian Mehrens, board member of Volksbank Lübeck, was also on board.
Reinhard Meyer was joined on the opposing yacht by former 470 sailor Birte Winkel. The former Schwerin native narrowly failed to qualify for the 2021 Olympics and now lives and works in Lübeck.
The first starting signal for the sailing duel was given slightly late in ideal conditions with a breeze from the west-north-west because the commercial shipping still had to pass. The "Sphinx" then crossed the start line just ahead of the "Trivia" and did not relinquish the lead until the finish. The "Sphinx" also won the second race after a close start between the two rivals. Obviously, the mayor's sailing skills paid off.
The defeated Reinhard Meyer was a fair loser and immediately congratulated Henning Schumann on his clear victory. For him, the appearance was a real pleasure despite the defeat: "I am delighted to have been invited. As Economics Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, I didn't manage that, I obviously had to become Economics Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania first." He sees the Travemünde Week, as well as the Day of German Unity, which is being celebrated in Schwerin this year, as good advertising platforms for the north: "Our motto is: Setting sail together. Events like the Travemünde Week are extremely important for showcasing the North."
Henning Schumann admitted after the success that a certain burden had been lifted from him: "The pressure was already there. But my crew did an excellent job and we found a good connection straight away. Jochen Frank is an excellent skipper, there was a clear command language on board." He saw the good starts as a decisive factor in the race: "From then on, we were able to control the action. The crew really brought me luck. It was a great race."
