Half-time in the exciting relegation to the 1st German Sailing League: since Saturday morning, six clubs have been battling it out on Hamburg's Outer Alster for the last three places for the 2015 premier league season. At the start, the leading sailing and motorboat club Überlingen (SMCÜ, 27 points) with skipper Tino Mittelmeier, the Düsseldorfer Yacht-Club (DYC, 25 points) with Jan-Philipp Hofmann and the Chiemsee Yacht Club (CYC, 22 points) with helmsman Leopold Fricke put themselves in the best position.
The local heroes around helmsman Mac Gurgel from the Hamburger Segel-Club (HSC, 18 points) had imagined a better starting position than fourth place before the remaining seven wadden races. After their victory in the YACHT Championship of Champions a fortnight ago against many German Olympic sailors, they were among the favourites in the battle for first division status. Now they will have to attack on Sunday if they still want to achieve their declared goal of first division membership. The same applies to the Potsdamer Yacht Club (PYC, 16 points) with Laser Radial European Champion Svenja Weger at the helm and the Bayerischer Yacht-Club (BYC) with Ilja Wolf's crew, who did not score more than eleven points in the eight races. Both the PYC and the BYC had already increased their risk in the eighth and final race of the day and each caught an early start during the brisk start.
The relegation will continue on Sunday from 10am on the Alster. After a total of 15 races, the last starting opportunity at 3 p.m. will decide which three clubs will join the 15 first division teams already determined in the stern waters of the two-time German champions from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and which three clubs will start in the 2nd Sailing Bundesliga next year.
Click here for the crew list of the relegation teams:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
