Bundesliga: The champions are back

They are back: after two average league performances, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein has returned to the fight for the club crown with a convincing victory off Warnemünde. On the warmest weekend of the year, the Hamburg team with helmsman Johannes Polgar started the series cautiously at first, but then took advantage of the fantastically beautiful sailing Monday with an outstanding performance and secured the first victory for their club in the third Bundesliga season. "My team simply sailed sensationally," praised the skipper, "today was the perfect end to the day and it was great fun - with the wind and the waves." The award went to Niklas von Meyerinck, Florian Weser and Miklas Meyer. As a quartet, the four of them sailed to the top spot on the podium for the first time after a long dry spell.

The Württembergische Yacht-Club took second place in the third league encounter, while the Deutsche Touring Yacht-Club took the lead in the table in third place. The Chiemsee Yacht Club lost its lead after falling to 17th place in Warnemünde, slipping to fifth place in the table. Flensburger Segel-Club is in second place in the table after three regattas.

The second joint weekend of the first and second division teams also served as an opportunity for the 36 club teams to meet each other on land, as there were long waiting times on the first two days, but the final day made up for this. And the sailors from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club, who were relegated from the 1st Bundesliga only last year and have set themselves nothing less than direct promotion as their goal for the season, also took advantage of this. Off Warnemünde, they scored ideal points as regatta winners. The crew with helmsman Philipp Hibler, Andreas Plettner, Andreas Achterberg and Leopold Lindner sailed to seven victories and two second places. "We were perfectly harmonised as a team, and that may have been the deciding factor," said skipper Plettner. With the victory, the Bavarians moved up to seventh place in the second league table. Second place ahead of Warnemünde was secured by the Entdecker- und Seefahrerfördervereinigung from Hamburg ahead of the new league leaders from Lake Constance: the Lindauer Segler-Club.

The next double date for first and second division teams is just two weeks away: At the start of the Travemünde Week, the 36 clubs will meet on the Baltic Sea from 18 to 20 July for another clash.