Bundesliga: "It's snowing! There's wind!"

This was not how the league sailors had imagined their eagerly awaited season opener on Lake Chiemsee off Prien. They had to prepare their first starts and races in the snow. Fortunately, at least the wind didn't let the 180 1st and 2nd Bundesliga sailors down this weekend. But the usual goodness of some of the co-favourites did. The two-time champions from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club found themselves in the lower reaches of the first division standings at the halfway point before fighting their way back into the midfield. After 15 flights, the Berliners had managed to secure a good seventh place, while the Hamburg team was one point ahead of their Alster neighbours from Hamburger Segel-Club in tenth place.

In Bavaria, the Segel- und Motorbootclub Überlingen (SMCÜ) triumphed at the start of the season ahead of the Wassersportverein Hemelingen from Bremen with helmsman Jan Seekamp and the hosts from the Chiemsee Yacht Club (CYC) with Leopold "Poldi" Fricke at the helm. The teams from Überlingen and Prien shone with five day wins each. It was SMCÜ helmsman Tino Mittelmeier from Lake Constance who summarised the icy weather conditions before the first races briefly and dryly: "It's snowing. There is wind."

In increasingly better conditions and warming sunshine, the reigning club champions from the German Touring Yacht Club sailed to fourth place. After a total of 45 races, the red lantern of the tail light remained in the stern of the Schwerin Yacht Club. The host Chiemsee Yacht Club, whose members gave the sailors a successful sporting weekend with warm hospitality and good organisation, received a big round of applause.

The second division teams were also able to complete all 15 rounds of their races on Lake Chiemsee despite initially unfavourable winter conditions and celebrated their season opener alongside the first division teams. The Konstanzer Yacht Club was able to beat Seglervereinigung Itzehoe, which was relegated last year, and Mühlenberger Segel-Club, which lead the new second division table in this order. In places 16 to 18, Seglergemeinschaft Loheider See, Lübecker Segler-Verein and Segel-Club Ville brought up the rear in the second division relegation zone.

Go to the results here.