Bundesliga: Kick-off for the third league season

The starting shots for the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga have been fired and the first two regattas have been completed. A little more wind would have been nice, but the opening regatta was repeatedly slowed down by the light breeze on the beautiful Lake Starnberg. Of the 90 planned races in both leagues, only 36 could be held with plenty of water from above; the 18 first division teams only completed seven instead of the planned 15 races with difficulty. They didn't even manage to complete the seventh. The teams that missed it received a credit equal to the average number of points sailed up to that point. In the 2nd Bundesliga, six rounds were completed in this mathematical way in accordance with the regulations.

The 2014 German runners-up got off to the best start in the league: the team from the German Touring Yacht Club led by skipper Julian Stückl coped well with the tricky conditions on their home turf. Crew member and Olympic participant Patrick Follmann said: "We got into the regatta very well. Our manoeuvres were smooth. But the good preparation also got us a long way here. Fantastic - it doesn't get any better than this!" Helmsman Michael Ilgenstein led the team from Flensburger Segel-Club to second place ahead of Christian Soyka's team from Seglervereinigung Itzehoe. The trio also took the lead in the standings in this order. Michael Ilgenstein said: "We prepared very intensively for light wind regattas and did well. We spent many weekends training with other clubs on the Alster. The league level has improved significantly overall."

The defending champions from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein with helmsman Carsten Kemmling had a less than ideal start to the season in seventh place. Last season's championship bronze medallists from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club sailed to ninth place with skipper Malte Kamrath.

The first regatta of the 2nd German Sailing League, which was held at the same time and in the same sailing area, was won by the Hamburg Sailing Club with helmswoman Silke Hahlbrock ahead of the Lindau Sailing Club and the Langenargen Yacht Club, who also lead the second league table in this order. Silke Hahlbrock said: "Things went pretty perfectly for us this weekend. We started with a very light crew. And, as it has now turned out, that was the right decision. We are happy!"

For the first division teams, a total of seven regattas are on the programme this season up to the final and the club championship celebration from 29 to 31 October in Hamburg. The two-league teams will sail five regattas.