Four second division clubs are celebrating: they will be first class in 2018 and then compete in the 1st Bundesliga. At the showdown between the second division clubs off Glückburg, the frontrunners from Segler-Vereinigung Itzehoe with skipper Christian Soyka, Moritz Burmester, Ole Harder and Oliver Lewin defended their lead in the table with third place. Second to fourth places in the second division, along with promotion tickets, were secured by Flensburger Segel-Club with helmsman Jan Hauke Erichsen, Jan Frigge, Hans Henning Höft and Theresa Blumenroth, Akademischer Segelverein Warnemünde with Robert Remus, Willy Brandt, Philipp Schumacher and Gundram Leifert and Blankeneser Segel-Club with Tobias Feuerherdt, Marc-Daniel Mählmann, Lukas Feuerherdt and Björn Athmer. This quartet of clubs will compete in the upper echelons of league sailing in 2018.
The live broadcast of the final day of the second division clubs once again in the replay. Plus the first division clubs at their last league summit before the final in Berlin at the beginning of November
The second league dominators from Itzehoe achieved this unchallenged, not missing a beat this season at the regattas on Lake Chiemsee, Lake Constance, off Warnemünde, Travemünde and in Glücksburg and finishing no worse than fourth place. "Our goal was not to finish any of the events worse than fifth place. And we achieved that! This puts us at the top of the table and we are absolutely delighted to have been promoted back into the 1st division," said SVI helmsman Christian Soyka. The Flensburg team also impressed, even winning two of the five second league regattas, including the final ahead of Glücksburg on equal points with Bodensee-Yacht-Club Überlingen. At their home race, Nacra 17 helmsman Erichsen and his crew fought their way to victory in a strong final sprint. Like the Blankenesers, the Warnemünde team was the only one in this second league year to achieve single-digit regatta results alongside the two top teams.
These six clubs are at risk of relegation before the final in the capital: the Duisburger Yacht-Club, the Entdecker und Seefahrer Fördervereinigung, the Seglergemeinschaft Loheider See, the Segel-Club Ville, the Segler-Verein Stade and the Lübecker Segler-Verein.
Click here to go to the Final table of the second division teams for the 2017 season.
At the same time, the first division teams set the course for their final from 1 to 3 November in Berlin off Glücksburg. With the best chances of winning the title for the third time in a row, the German Touring Yacht Club will once again reach for the silver platter for the German club champion on the Wannsee. After five of six first division regattas, the Bavarians (20 points) are four points ahead of Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (24 points) and Segel- und Motorboot Club Überlingen (26 points). This trio will probably decide the podium places among themselves, as the fourth-placed Bayerischer Yacht-Club and the Berlin Yacht-Club, who are equal on points, are already 15 points behind third place in fourth and fifth place. The clubs Seglerhaus am Wannsee and Segelkameradschaft Wappen von Bremen, which are tied in sixth and seventh place, are 16 points behind the Bundesliga bronze medallists.
The VSaW team with Tim Elsner, Annika Bochmann, Max Salzwedel and Carl Naumann won the first league regatta off Glücksburg ahead of the NRV crew with Tobias Schadewaldt, Daniel Reichart, Florian Weser and Malte Päsler as well as the reigning champions from the DTYC with Maximilian Weiss, Patrick Follmann, Luis Tarabochia and Marco Tarabochia.
The fight against relegation from the 1st Bundesliga could also be dramatic. The bottom-placed Schweriner Yacht-Club (86 points) no longer have a chance of losing the red lantern. But ahead of them, a number of relegation-threatened clubs are fighting to stay in the top flight.
Click here for the current Table of the 1st Bundesliga before the final in Berlin.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
