Regatta news: X-99 sailors gear up for World Championship on Lake Constance

The Bregenz Sailing Club has been able to attract numerous stars from the international sailing scene for the X-99 class world championship from 3 to 10 July. Preparations are in full swing. Training is more fanatical than ever before.

Among others, Alinghi trimmer Christian Scherrer led a spring training session off Langenargen. For two days, he rushed the teams onto extremely short training courses.

The first test of strength at the Eichhorn Regatta last weekend already reflected the ambition of the crews.
crews' ambition. With a black flag set at the start, there were disqualifications for early starts and, after some wrangling over the buoys, protests. The Swiss Rolf Zwicky, also chairman of the class association and former Olympic participant, won on "vento azzurro" and impressively underlined his World Championship form.

But Flemming Fjord from Denmark, who has been world champion since 1999, will not be easy to beat on Lake Constance. The same goes for his most persistent rival and eternal runner-up, Peter Saraskin from Estonia. But on home turf, the local cracks such as Benu Seger from Bottighofen, Tino Ellegast from Constance, Uli Diem from Bregenz and Beato Barnay, who has recruited the German former world champion Henrik Kautz as tactician, also reckon they have a good chance.

George Pfurtscheller in particular, who managed to get the world number two in the match race Jesper Radich on board his "Cosit", is hoping for a win. Sailing with Reimund Böckle is North Sail maker Eckard Kaller. Christian Soyka from Kiel, who won the Swiss Championships here last year as a newcomer to the area, is also hungry. They have all upgraded with the latest sailing equipment.

The X-99 boat type was conceived 20 years ago as a single-type racer (one design) and has since been built around 600 times in accordance with strict class regulations that guarantee "equality of arms". This yacht class is therefore also authorised by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to hold officially recognised world championships.

Further information at www.bsc.or.at , www.x99.info and www.x-99.ch