An Australian saves the world championship

A total of 35 athletes from the USA, Australia and Europe will be sailing at the 135th Travemünde Week until July 27 for the World Championship title and in the team competition for the New York Canoe Club Challenge Trophy, probably the second oldest trophy in sailing. The first day of the World Championships got off to a bumpy start for the class and brought a lot of broken material.

The origins of the IC class date back to the 1860s. Back then, the Scottish travel writer John MacGregor fitted his kayak with a rig, paddled and sailed his “Rob Roy” across the rivers and lakes of Europe. MacGregor later founded the world’s first canoeing club and is regarded as the forefather of canoeing. The idea of the sailing canoe spilled over from Europe to the USA. The American Canoe Association was founded on Lake George in New York State in 1880.

Canadians also came to the events, and the events for touring canoeists became competitions in which the athletes had to prove themselves in paddling and sailing. These first competitions eventually led to a national competition for the New York Canoe Club Challenge Trophy in 1886. The sailors competed against each other in sailing canoes. The rules stipulated that a new competition for this trophy was to be sailed in the country of the defending champion against a challenger nation.

The USA was able to defend the cup until 1914, when it went to England. Since then, it has gone back and forth between England and the USA. Sweden (1974) and Australia (2008) have only managed to lift the trophy once each. Germany has never been able to secure the silver “jug”. In Travemünde, however, the coveted trophy is within reach for the Germans. “I see a certain chance that the Germans will secure the Cup,” hopes World Championship participant Peter Ullmann (Zwischenahn), who has been loyal to the International Canoe class for 38 years.

Ullmann has already achieved one second and two fourth places at IC World Championships. His goal at the World Championships in Travemünde is to “be among the front runners”. On the first day of racing, Ullmann, like many of his competitors, had to put up with some breakage due to the wind. The mast on his boat was damaged and had to be replaced. Getting the boat back on track for the races was the task for many of the World Championship participants in the afternoon, as a number of them suffered damage after the first start attempt.

“Having fun tinkering is an advantage in this class,” Peter Ullmann had already said the day before with regard to the construction class and the associated individual design options for the boat. The regulations stipulate certain dimensions, such as hull width and length, mast height, a minimum weight of 50 kilograms without sails, the length of the outrigger and a sail area of ten square meters. Outside of these regulations, the so-called box rule, active participants can undertake individual conversions. Anyone who likes to build their International Canoe is therefore in the right place in the class and had a clear advantage after today.

“Four to five forces of wind are ideal for our class, so that you can glide nicely. It gets difficult from six force winds. But the worst thing is actually a calm. Then it quickly becomes a balancing act,” says Ullmann, describing the boat’s behavior in different wind conditions. Foils have been used on the rudder for some time so that the boat pitches less in the waves. Ullmann also has one and is curious to see how well it works and whether the technology will catch on in the long term. Even after many years, he is still impressed by the speed of the boats. The handling is complex, even for experienced IC sailors. A lot of training is required. “But once you’ve sailed an International Canoe, you won’t sail anything else. Although even as a long-time IC sailor, you can still go for a swim when sailing. Getting wet is part and parcel of the boat class,” says Ullmann.

The Trophy is now held as part of the World Championship. The trophy will be awarded for the 30th time in its 138-year history off Travemünde. The British are the defending champions for the race, the challenger has yet to be determined. All nations represented in the International Canoe have the chance to recommend themselves for the duel with Great Britain in a team ranking on the first days of the World Championships, provided at least three starters from the nation are entered. When the Cup is sailed, three boats will start the regatta over a maximum of three races. Only the winner scores points. And the team with two points wins. The New York Canoe Club Challenge Trophy will be sailed close to shore on the Media Race Course during Travemünde Week so that the races can be seen by spectators.

Travemünder Woche Regatta und Festival
Geoffrey Carne ist der einzige Teilnehmer aus Downunder und sorgt dafür, dass drei Kontinente zur WM in Travemünde vertreten sind. Foto: Katrin Heidemann

The fact that a class-compliant World Championship in the International Canoe class will be held at all as part of the 135th Travemünde Week is thanks to one man: Geoffrey Carne (Jervis Bay Sailing Club) from Australia. Thanks to his participation, the required number of continents has been reached.

For the Australian from Jervis Bay, which is around two hours’ drive south of Sydney on the coast, it is his first time in Germany. He and his wife would have liked to have traveled through Europe a little before or after the World Cup, but due to their jobs they only had a week’s time for sightseeing beforehand. The couple made efficient use of the few days they had. “We visited Berlin, Hamburg and Copenhagen for a few days each. We really enjoyed that,” he says.

For the world championship, the Australian has borrowed a boat called “Donnerwetter”. He brought his own sails and boom with him from Down Under. “At home, I sail a boat of the latest design. Here I’m competing with a combination of my own equipment and a borrowed boat. With my IC, I would see myself in the top five at the World Championships. With the rental boat, I’ll be happy if I finish in the top half of the field,” explains Carne, who has been sailing International Canoe for 16 years.

He only hopes that the weather could be a little better. At the moment, it reminds him a lot of the Australian winter. With a grin, he adds: “When it was 26 degrees yesterday, everyone else thought it was far too hot, and I thought: it’s okay, but not exactly summery.” What he likes about the International Canoe class is the direct proximity to the water, which is significantly greater than with other dinghies due to the boat design. “I originally come from windsurfing. Sailing in the IC feels very similar, I think. You have a lot of contact with the water. Even the best International Canoe sailor falls in sometimes,” says Carne.