The receding low pressure gave the sea sailors strong gusts of well over 20 knots during their medium-distance regatta from Travemünde to Grömitz, making for challenging sailing. The first boat to cross the finish line on the 40 nautical mile course was the "Big Easy III" of Thomas Weidemann (Kiel) after a sailing time of around six and a half hours. The fastest boat on the course for smaller yachts (32 nautical miles) was the "Sisqua" of Armin Balser (Frankfurt). In addition, the match racers started their German championships, and Finns, 505s, Trias and 18-footers took to the course for their ranking list regattas.
In contrast, red and white were the dominant colours on the second day of the regatta. This was because the reply pennant, signalling a postponement of the start, dangled from almost all of the race committee's signal masts in the light wind. Only the sea-going yachts were able to be sent onto the course on time for the second part of their medium-distance regatta. But they also suffered from the weak wind and laboured over a shortened course of 21 nautical miles. Thomas Weidemann's "Big Easy III" once again proved to be the fastest yacht in this game of nerves. In addition, only the match racers managed a few races. Without any further races, however, the 505 sailors Andreas Jungclaus/Thomas Tschentscher (Hamburg) were able to celebrate as the first winners of the TW 2012 in the dinghy category, as their class ended its TW appearance today, Sunday. In the absence of the absolute top 505 sailors, who are currently sailing their World Championships off La Rochelle/France, Jungclaus/Tschentscher dominated the fast two-man dinghies with three victories in three races.
According to the organisers, around 350,000 spectators came to Travemünde on the first weekend.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
