50 years of Soling are to be celebrated. Where better to do this than in the territory of the club whose sailors have won the most Soling medals in half a century of class history? At least 30 boats from Europe and overseas are expected to take part in the European Championships on Lake Müggelsee from 12 to 19 September. The star of the continental title fights is Jochen Schümann, who has already registered with his last Olympic crew Ingo Borkowski and Gunnar Bahr.
The Soling, designed by Norwegian Jan Linge in the 1960s, is 8.20 metres long and weighs 1035 kilograms. The sail area before the wind is 24.3 square metres, the spinnaker is a maximum of 45 square metres. The Soling was an Olympic boat class between 1972 and 2000.
No sailing club in the world can match the successes of the European Championship hosts Yachtclub Berlin-Grünau (YCBG) in this boat class. Jochen Schümann is primarily responsible for this success - but also other outstanding Soling athletes from the YCBG. Thanks to its Soling crews, the club has won four Olympic medals, twelve World Championship medals and 32 European Championship medals. In addition to three-time Olympic champion Schümann and his long-serving co-skippers Thomas Flach and Bernd Jäkel, as well as later crew members Borkowski and Bahr, Dieter Below, Roland Schwarz, Helmar Nauck, Jörg Herrmann and Wolf-Eberhard Richter and their crews have contributed to the YCBG's success in international Soling events.
Despite a long break from Soling, Jochen Schümann is the favourite for the European Championships in his home waters. Germany's most successful sailor in sporting history is returning to his roots with a total of three gold medals (including two in the Soling) and an Olympic silver medal, six World Championship and 15 European Championship medals in his luggage and is looking forward to the class reunion on the Müggelsee.
