Can "Hanseatic Lloyd", "patent3" and "no limts" still be stopped? Conclusion of the German Open of the X-35, X-99, X-79, J/80, J24 and sports boat classes and interim results of the International German Sailing Championships.
The German Open series at the 96th Flensburg Fjord Week ended with five German and one Danish title winner after three perfect days of sailing. "We already had all six German Opens under our belts on Saturday with five races and one strike, but we are delighted that the wind came up again at the end," said Head of Organisation Claus Otto Hansen, who managed the races together with Hans-Joachim Andresen. While the six German Open winners were able to celebrate their titles on Sunday, the decision in the 10th International German Sailing Championship (IDM) will not be made until the night from Thursday to Friday in the long-distance race (start 6 pm/length: 80 nm), which is scored 1.5 times and cannot be cancelled.
With a commanding lead of seven points, the "HLL Hanseatic Lloyd" (Christian Plump/Bremen) with four-time European and two-time world champion Markus Wieser as tactician on board will set off on the decisive long haul on Thursday. Wieser, who is spending Monday to Wednesday with his family on Mallorca, will be flown in again. After the long haul, the Munich native will then travel back to the Mediterranean on Friday for the TP 52 regatta and two other events before returning to Germany for the Dragon IDM in Berlin on 2 October. "It's a bit tight at the moment," says the jetsetter Wieser, who also travelled from the Dragon Gold Cup in Brittany (albeit with the World Championship title in his luggage) just in time for the Flensburg opener.
The "Hanseatic Lloyd" mission is likely to remain one of the exceptional sailor's rare appearances on the IMS scene. "I don't believe in IMS sailing, I believe in standardised classes," says Wieser, who of course still wants to crown his foray into the IMS scene on the Baltic Sea with the IDM title. So far, he has managed to keep "Transit Express" (Nils Springer/Arnis) and the two-time German champion and defending champion "L+M Hispaniola" (Horst Mann/Kiel) at bay.
In the IMS II class, the "patent3" (Jürgen Klinghardt/Bremen), which took third place at the World Championship as part of the Rolex Baltic Week, is just ahead. Following victories at the Maior, Flensburg Spring Week, Kiel Week (Kiel Cup, Senate Prize, Kaiser Cup) and third place at the World Championship, the Bremen-Lübeck mix also looks set to take the IDM title. "We have an experienced crew and have probably done the right thing," said a delighted Jürgen Klinghardt. With Jörg Waschek (experienced Bénéteau and X-382 sailor) at the tiller and Bernd Deier (once tactician for Dirk Manno), Klinghardt has two regulars on board. Without "Vihuela" (this year with Jan Hinrichs) and "Static Electric" (Heiko Paesler/Bremen), two strong competitors are missing in Flensburg, but "CG Mer" (Oliver Leu/Heilgenhafen) just one point behind, "Westwind" (Peter Süselbeck/Oberhausen) and "Chaos quarante" (Thomas Nielsen/Eckernförde) can make life difficult for "patent 3". "However, we have a huge weak wind problem," says Kai von Berg, helmsman of the "Westwind", narrowing down his own chances ahead of the decisive long-distance race. Overall, the IMS II class is developing into a problem class that has to fight hard for its championship status.
In the IMS III/IV class, the reigning German champion "no limits" (Lars&Sven Christensen/Flensburg) has been in the lead since the first day. "It looks good," admitted the reserved Lars Christensen. The third German title would round off the farewell to the X-332. The victory in the Flensburg Sparkassen Cup (most successful IMS yacht on the second day of racing) at least provided a reason to celebrate at the halfway point. Which type of boat will follow has not yet been decided. The Christensen brothers want to sell their X-Yacht first and then enter the market again. It is unlikely to be the X-35, which is currently in high demand. "That's in a different league financially," says Lars Christensen.
With four points ahead of the "Chinnok" (Friedrichsen/Flensburg), seven ahead of the "Cala Ventinove" (Wenzel/Bremen) and even 18.5 points ahead of the reigning world champion "Froschkönig" (Amlong/Schwedeneck), the Flensburg team will start the long haul on Thursday. Like almost all regattas in the IMS III/IV class over the past two years, these four will decide the title between themselves. Only the world champion no longer expects a turnaround in his favour. "The chances are small. And I've never sailed as badly as here, at least not in the last 15 years," says Amlong.
In the X-35, the Danes around helmsman Peter Bolvig were in a class of their own. The newly crowned world championship bronze medallist relegated Dirk Manno, who finished sixth in the world championship, to second place. "I can live with second place, but the aggressive sailing was too much," said Manno, criticising the toughness of his fellow competitors. A long night of protests was the result on Saturday. Around 20 protests are said to have been lodged by ten participants. Not much has changed in the rankings as a result. The Lübeck "Robinson" (Timo Jacobs) came third, equal on points with the "Excitement" of Christian Dreyer (Kiel). Despite the tough pace during the race, the crews from Flensburg and Kiel decided to train together in winter. "We are planning training weekends into December. That's why the Kiel and Lübeck crews are staying here and spending the winter in the Sonwik," says Toms Ross, who was naturally not satisfied with his performance off Flensburg. But there is still time before the big goal (the 2006 World Championships off Kiel). The 1984 Starboat silver medallist, Achim Griese, can also imagine more frequent appearances in the X-35. After an unsuccessful start, Griese found better and better contact with the X-Yacht and ended up in fifth place.
Christian Soyka's "Immac Baltic Bay" (Itzehoe) was unstoppable in the X-99. After the X-boats left the IDM and dropped out of the IMS II classification, Soyka was the only one to make his mark. However, a total of nine yachts at the German Open was not the number of participants that the class had hoped for.
In the X-79, Bernd Zeiger successfully fought off the Danish superiority with the "Sextanten". The 2004 German Open winner off Neustadt has already secured the Kiel Week victory this year and now also the German Open title. "We had the right wind conditions off Flensburg for the first time," says Zeiger, who has also brought a Dane on board for the German Open in Thomas Ebler (36). "You can't win against all the Danes without a Dane on board," Zeiger flattered about the Danish phalanx in the X-79 class. "With 3rd and 1st place on the final day and "Jobdk" always behind us, everything was clear," said Zeiger.
In the J24 class - the strongest field with 28 starters - New Zealander Greg Wilcox steered the "Rotoman" to the title. The 2002 OK dinghy world champion has seamlessly integrated himself into the successful "Rotoman" team. Despite a misfire in the fifth race (21st place and a string), it was enough for overall victory. Long-time rivals Stefan Karsunke (Hamburg), Manfred König (Hamburg), Peer Kock (Hamburg) and Jan Kähler (Kiel) followed in second place. "In the fifth race, we were just laughing at ourselves. We chose the wrong side once and got stuck in a lousy wind hole," said the "Rotoman" crew and Philip Nann, taking the slip with humour. They could afford it.
The Kiel fleet dominated the German Open in the J/80 category. In the end, Martin Menzner and his "Pike" came out on top. "We went into the last race level on points and crossed the finish line so close together that neither of us knew who had won. But they had already drunk the beer together once, said Peter Hecht, helmsman of the "Needles and Pins" (Uli Münker/Kiel/KYC). "Männersache" (Hans-Ulrich Kriegel) rounded off the absolute Kiel success. Jürgen Waldheim, who has just been elected as the new 505 president, finished in seventh place. "I try to be active in two classes, even though time is naturally running out," said Waldheim, who competes for Potsdam and Laboe.
At the German Open for sports boats, Christof Becker and his "Si!" (Esse 850) missed the title, which Jörn Petry secured with his Melges 24 "Haiopei", by one point. The Melges has established itself as a standardised class throughout Europe, only in Germany is the more expensive trunk boat class struggling, so the Melges sailed with the sports boats off Flensburg. "It's nice to see so many different boats competing against each other. They are all speed freaks and that brings them together. It's great sailing," says Manfred Schreiber, taking a positive view of the mix. The man from Schleswig came third with his "Bull-y-hoo (Bull 7000), even though he "didn't understand the wind" on the final day, according to Schreiber. Becker had seen his Esse 850 in a small photo in a trade magazine and immediately fell in love with it. Together with his wife Claudia, he demonstrated his mastery of the boat off Flensburg.
On Thursday, 19 Swans will also take part in the 12th Swan Baltic Sea Challenge. "It's tremendous that 19 swans are starting in Flensburg despite the Rolex Swan Week off Sardinia," said organisation manager Claus-Otto Hansen, delighted at the popularity of the elegant yachts, which will start the long-distance race on Thursday after the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
And so it goes on:
Flensburg Fjord Week:
Thursday, 14 Sept., 9 a.m.: Swan-Förde-Cup
Friday, 15 Sept., 1.30 pm: 17111-Transit-Logist-Cup
Saturday, 16 Sept., 10 a.m.: Flensburger Pilsener Cup
Blue and Blue-Yellow Ribbon of the Flensburg Fjord.
IDM:
Thursday, 14 Sept, long distance (approx. 80 nm), start: 6 pm.
Saturday, 16 Sept., award ceremony at 6 pm.
12th Swan Baltic Sea Challenge: 13 to 16 Sept.
Wednesday, 13 Sept., 9 a.m.: Long distance
Friday, 15 Sept, 1.30 p.m. middle distance
Saturday, 16 Sept., 1.30 p.m. middle distance
Results of the 96th Flensburg Fjord Week
International German Sailing Championship
(Intermediate result after the seven short races)
Class IMS I:
"Hanseatic Lloyd" (Christian Plump, Bremen/Evento 46/Kieler Yacht-Club) 7 points, 2. "Transit Express" (Nils Springer, Claus-Willy Schmidt, Arnis/Luffe 43/Arnisser Segel-Club) 14, 3. "L+M Hispaniola" (Horst Mann, Kiel/Evento 42/Yacht-Club Strande) 15, 4. "Unique" (Dr Bernd Kriegel, Kiel/J/V 49/Kieler Yacht-Club) 29, 5. "Huppes X" (Philipp Rotermund, Meggen, Ulrich Huber (Switzerland)/X-43/Flensburger Segel-Club) 29, 6. "Sixty 4" (Alv Gundlach, Rendsburg/IMX-40/Kieler Yacht-Club)31.
IMS II:
"patent3" (Jürgen Klinghardt, Bremen/X-332 Sport/NRVerein, LYC) 11 points, 2. "CG Mer" (Oliver Leu, Heiligenhafen/X-37/Orthmühler Regatta Club) 12, 3. "Westwind" (Peter Süselbeck, Oberhausen/GrandSoleil37BC/YC Gode Wind)17, 4. "Chaos quarante" (Thomas Nielsen, Eckernförde/Dufour 40 Spezial/SC Eckernförde) 22, 5. "JuxBox" (Jan Meincke, Kiel/X-382/Möltenorter Seglerkameradschaft , Deutscher Hochseesportverband HANSA) 29, 6. "Varuna Xpress" (Kai Haupthoff, Fahrdorf/X-332 Sport/Segelclub Eckernförde) 35.
IMS III:
1. "No Limits" (Sven Christensen, Lars & Sven Christensen, Harrislee/X-332/Segel-Sport Flensburg Harrislee) 8 points, 2. "Chinook" (Johann Friedrichsen, Flensburg/X-332/Flensborg Yacht Club) 12, 3. "Cala..Ventinove" (Uwe Wenzel, Bremen/Dehler 29/Wassersportverein Aumund) 15, 4. "Froschkönig" (Detlef Amlong, Schwedeneck/Optima 101/106/Sportvereinigung Friedrichsort ) 26.50, 5. "Mandus Helmholt" (Jörg Inselmann, Bremen/DEHLER 34/Segelclub "Weserstrand") 37, 6. "Caelestia" (Olaf Höhn, Lütjenburg/Sun Fast 32 I/Hohwachter Yacht-Club) 39.
German Open (final results)
Seven races with one string
X-35:
1st "Plan B" (Peter Bolvig/DEN) 12 points, 2nd "Mann O Mann" (Dirk Manno/SVF/Flensburg) 16, 3rd "Robinson" (Tim Jacobs/LYC/Lübeck) 24, 4th "ExcitemenT" (Christian Dreyer/FSC/Flensburg) 24, 5th "Celox" (Andreßen/FSC/Flensburg) 29, 6th "Irresistible 3" (Kunio Yamada/JPN) 33.
X-99:
1. "Immac Baltic Bay" (Christian Soyka/SVI/Itzehoe) 10 points, 2. "Staerekassen" (Henrik Staersholm/DEN) 14, 3. "ex&hopp" (Michael Schulz/GYC/Greifswald) 17, 4."Tina Troi X" (Dr Gorch Stegen/WVM/Mönkeberg) 20, 5. "Fix wie Nix" (Martin Christiansen/YCS/Strande) 27, 6. "Just for Sail" (Olaf Bohl/YCS/Strande) 33.
X-79:
1. "Sextanten" (Bernd Zeiger/Kiel/WSCW) 11 points, 2. "Cirkeline" (Morten Reinhold/DEN) 20, 3. "Jobdk" (Thomas Sörensen/DEN) 21, 4. "MaMas petit" (Mathias Siemens/Helgoland) 24, 5. "elvström-sobstad.dk" (Lars Nordbjerg/DEN) 26, 6. "Ferun" (Lutz Boguhn/Flensburg/FSC) 35.
J24:
1. "Rotoman" (Greg Wilcox/Hamburg/BSC) 16 points, 2. "Max Bahr" (Stefan Karsunke/Hamburg/BSC) 19, 3. "Vitesse" (Manfred König/Hamburg) 21, 4. "Bay-Bee" (Peer Kock/Hamburg/MSC) 27, 5. "United 5" (Jan Kähler/Kiel/ASC) 31, 6. "HeRo" (Johannes Hauptmann (Berlin) 46.
J/80:
"Pike" (Martin Menzer/Volker Breust/ Kiel/KYC) 9, 2nd "Needles and Pins" (Peter Hecht/Ulrich Münker/Kiel/KYC) 10, 3rd "Männersache" (Hans-Ulrich Kringel (Kiel/SYC) 22, 4th "Unicorn" (Bernd Blombach/Kiel/ASC) 23, 5th "Galaxie" (Andreas Michelsen/Eckernförde) 37, 6th "True Grit" (Dr Andreas Rose/Kiel) 37.
Sports boat:
1. "Haiopei" (Jörn Petra/FSC/Flensburg) 10 points, 2. "Si!" (Christof Becker/KYC/Kiel) 11, 3. "Bully-y-hoo" (Manfred C. Schreiber (SSC/Schleswig) 15, 4 "Pflaumenkomplott" (Claus-Peter Duus/FSC/Flensburg) 26, 5. "Black Perl" (Bernhard Kämpf/Berlin/Brenta 24) 30.50, 6. "Gansta of Luv" (Robert Jacobsen/GYC/Gelting) 33.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
