126th Travemünder Woche 2015 - Day 6

The art of sailing is recognising the best wind. And that is true not only for the athletes themselves but also for the race directors. The timing of the starts on the Thursday of the 126th Travemuender Woche could not have been better. After the morning calm had passed, the boats headed out onto the water at midday in a compact programme around the markers. It was an unexpectedly good wind window in the second half of the Travemuender Woche. Given the weather forecast with no wind at first followed by storms, it could be bit of a gamble with the racing programme in the coming days.

Eberhard Bieberitz (Schwerin) had huge praise for the work of the race organisers: "They did a super job and designed a great course". The 62-year-old is the only German in the field of the young D-One class, a single-handed boat class with a gennaker. They are holding their Gold Cup – the unofficial world championship – off Travemünde. With ninth place after three races on the first day, Bieberitz still sees room for improvement. "I would be happy with a place in the top six." The former Finn sailor chose the D-One class since the Finns put a lot of stress on the knees and the back. Good coordination, however, is required when handling the D-One. And Nick Craig masters this perfectly. The former world champion in the O-Jolle class from the UK has already won the Gold Cup of the D-One twice. Now he is striving for the triple after two wins and a third-place finish to start off with in Travemünde.

Lisa Buddemeier/Matthias Düwel from Hamburg continue on a clear course for the world title in the Laser II class. After four race wins in a row, they allowed themselves a third-place drop result but still have a comfortable lead ahead of the family crew of Michael and Laura-Kristin Koch (Stössensee). The world championship field increased to eleven crews on the second day. This confirmed the announcement of class president Vanessa Freitag (Hamburg): "Some might arrive later as they were held up for various reasons. But even with the latecomers, the field is not as we imagined it to be for a world championship. The plan was to have 20 to 25 teams – also from the UK, the Netherlands, and the USA. But then many teams cancelled." The commitment in the class is not very high internationally but the German fleets are very active and take part in regattas often, according to the class president. "There is a great atmosphere in the Laser II. Although we sail against each other, it is not with a knife between the teeth. And we like sitting together in the evening and discussing the day." The Travemuender Woche is an event that likes to drive the two-man Laser. It is already the third world championships at the TW. "The area is great, the coordination with the organisers is easy and uncomplicated, and of course it is nice being involved in a large event", Freitag said.

The interplay of the top position in the J/22 class continues on its third day of the Marinepool Worlds. The American Christopher Doyle, who had only just taken over the top position from Martin Menzner from Kiel on Wednesday, had to vacate this position again. The Dutchman Jean-Michel Lautier and his crew are now in the lead. Doyle is second ahead of Menzner, who, just like the day before, had a meeting with the judges in the evening. "Not because I like it so much but this time we were hampered by a cruising sailor at the start of the second race ", Menzner reported, hoping for reparation from the judges. With first place at the start of the day, he had found "the key to the sail trim" but had to settle for eleventh place after several minutes of cover by the cruising yacht. The disappointment came in the evening. The request for reparation was rejected. Reiner Brockerhoff from Duisburg, who sails with a French crew, climbed to fifth place and emphasises this particular set-up: "I would like to thank my crew; we have been sailing together for years. We have a Franco-German friendship on board – better than between Merkel and Hollande."

The world championship rounds are completed by the RS Feva dominated by young sailors. The largest fleet of the TW – 162 crews at the start of the world championship – is dominated by the British teams, who aim for a clean sweep on the podium ahead of their final day tomorrow. The British masters Fin and Dan Armstrong have a clear lead ahead of Iain Bird/Jake Hardman and Jack Lewis/Lucas Marshall.

A similar picture with medal winners in Union Jacks could also appear in the Europe Cup of the IC Canoe. Robin Wood has taken the lead from his fellow countryman Gareth Caldwell. The third Brit follows behind in third place. In fifth place, Arne Stahl from Marburg is the best German. Marei Junge from Preetz could step in late in the Euro Cup. The strong wind at the start prevented her entrance: "I have to be a bit careful with my back", the 22-year-old reported, who is currently ranked 21. Her father Claudius, however, dominates the action in the German Championship of the Typhoon canoe. "The first place until now is somewhat surprising. I arrived here with a new boat that we restored ourselves and only first measured on Friday. It was therefore a surprise package and I first had to find the trim", Junge said. But he remains cautious before the final day: "With just two points ahead of second place, there is everything still to play for. And my favourite wind with five Beauforts will probably not present itself."

The best junior sailors in the Laser Radial and 4.7 classes have just one more step to the medal race ahead of them. There are seven races on the table after four days of the International German Junior Championships, after eight races the top ten will go into the competition for the title. This mode of competition is adapted to the Olympic format. As current leaders, Sören Leinert (Storkow) in the Laser Radial and Nico Naujock (Berlin) in the Laser 4.7 have the best chances to lead the fleet of ten in the medal race.

The young sailor from Hamburg jumped to the top in the ranking regattas of the Laser Standard on the second day. Leah Noel Gonseth from NRV is now ahead of his club mate Eric Malach.

The Formula 18 and the Kielzugvögel are new to the action of this year's TW. There is a tie at the top of the fast-paced F18 cats. The TW record holders Helge and Christian Sach from Zarnekau are in joint position with Finn Heeg and Merle Baars (Flensburg). Heeg/Baars had won the premiere of the German championship of the Olympic Nacra 17 class at the Travemuender Woche last year. Manfred Brändle from Duisburg is in the lead of the Kielzugvögel.

More than 350 volunteers are the pillars of the Travemuender Woche. No starting signal on the race course, no announcement on the notice board, no smiles at the coffee counter. Leave the check-in. And the Sailors' Village? A ghost town. This is how the Travemuender Woche would look like without the volunteers. Wrong, it would not even exist.

"You are the pillars of the TW!", emphasised Andrea Varner-Tümmler, chairman of the organising Lübecker Yacht-Club (LYC), who was also at the volunteers' evening of the 126th Travemuender Woche on the four-masted barque "Passat" yesterday. "This is your night, thank you so much!"

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