Bundesliga: Schümann wins, the northern clubs mourn

The decision on the future first or second division of the six participating teams was only made in the twelfth and final race of the rescheduled Bundesliga relegation. In cold winter weather and good wind conditions, the teams fought a dramatic battle for one of the three remaining places in the 1st Bundesliga. Jochen Schümann and the team from Yachtclub Berlin-Grünau came through the rounds best, apart from a small hitch in between. Four race wins and 34 points in the final account were enough for a commanding relegation victory. "We remain first class and are quite satisfied," said Jochen Schümann with a smile after the long day of sailing in the evening at the Munich Yacht Club, "sailing in the 1st Bundesliga is more fun, because it's not any easier in the 2nd Bundesliga. Then I'd rather be in the 1st ..."

The places behind the "Schümännern" were more fiercely contested. The Berlin club am Rupenhorn had started the relegation miserably with 5th, 4th and 6th place. However, helmsman Malte Christophersen and his KAR crew followed this up with two wins and three second places in the following eight races. That was enough for second place in the relegation and the hoped-for first-class status. The team from the Düsseldorfer Yacht-Club had just as much of a rollercoaster ride through the results list, starting the competition in formidable fashion with 2nd, 2nd and 2nd place, but then suffering several serious setbacks. It was only in the last race and third place that the Düsseldorf team led by helmsman Jan-Philipp Hofmann managed to oust the Hamburg Sailing Club, which had been in the top half of the field for half a race with helmswoman Silke Hahlbrock, from the third relegation place. The disappointed Hanseatic team was 2.5 points short of first place in the final standings.

The crew of the Blankeneser Segel-Club with helmsman Claas Lehmann also came up just three points short. The 505 world champion and his team had made a hopeful and ideal start to the relegation with a win on the day, but after that things went downhill in small steps. Too many fourth and fifth places sealed the second-class status of the club from the Elbe. The red relegation lamp hung almost the whole day in the stern of the sailing team Das Wappen von Bremen, whose crew with helmsman Thomas Dehler was no match for the competition at this regatta. The strong final spurt with 1st, 3rd and 2nd place came too late. The kick-off for the first regattas of the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga will be on Friday in the same sailing area.