Dieter Schön's Maxi 72 "Momo" was honoured with the Germany Offshore Award as the best German offshore sailing yacht of 2015 on Friday evening in the large ballroom of Hamburg City Hall. The prize was presented to "Momo" tactician Markus Wieser by Hamburg State Councillor for Sport Christoph Holstein. And the Munich-born sailor did not miss the opportunity to express his charming Bavarian thanks: "We are very honoured and it is not normal for Bavarian sailors to break the dominance of the North Germans. All the other nominees were Hanseatic. That makes Dieter Schön, who comes from Rosenheim, and me as a Munich native particularly happy."
Five teams were nominated for the prize this year: the "Bank von Bremen" (SKWB, Bodo Mall), Holger Streckenbach's "Imagine", Tilmar Hansen's "Outsider", Christopher Opielok's "Rockall" and Schön's speedy Maxi. Under the direction of the Hamburg Sailing Association, a jury made up of members of Hamburg sailing clubs assessed the competitors according to a points system. The focus was not only on the placings of the German yachts in international fields, but also on the level of difficulty and standard of the regattas. Kieler Woche meteorologist Dr Meeno Schrader advised the jury as an expert. Dieter Schön's 22-strong international "Momo" team came out on top in the IRC1 classification of the 36th Rolex Middle Sea Race 2015.
More than 350 representatives of the sailing sport from ten countries met in the Elbe metropolis to be honoured. The German Offshore Award has been presented since 2008 by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Hamburg Sailing Association and the German Offshore Owners Association, which was founded in 2007, in recognition of outstanding German offshore sailing achievements. The crew of the yacht "Arxes-Tolina/BM Yachting" from the Flensburger Segel-Club was also honoured. The crew received the Hanseboot trophy for first place in the overall German ORC rankings. The trophy was presented to skipper Peter Beck Mikkelsen by Hanseboot project manager Heiko Zimmermann.
The youth also celebrated in the town hall - and were celebrated. The youth prize was the DNV GL Youth Award for the sailing club Das Wappen von Bremen. Skippered by Bodo Mall, the "Bank von Bremen" won the ocean race from Helgoland to Edinburgh. In addition to experienced players, several young people were on board for the first time in such a regatta.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
Tatjana “tati” Pokorny is the author of nine books. As a reporter for Europe's leading sailing magazine YACHT, she also works as a correspondent for the German Press Agency (DPA), the Hamburger Abendblatt and other national and international media. In summer 2024, Tatjana will be reporting from Marseille on her ninth consecutive Olympic Games. Other core topics have been the America's Cup since 1992, the Ocean Race since 1993, the Vendée Globe and other national and international regattas and their protagonists. Favorite discipline: Portraits of and interviews with sailing personalities. When she started out in sports journalism, she was still intensively involved with basketball and other sports, but sailing quickly became her main focus. The reason? The declared optimist says: “There is no other sport like it, no other sport with such interesting and intelligent personalities, no other sport so diverse, no other sport so full of energy, strength and ideas. Sailing is like a constantly refreshing declaration of love for life."
