Monday morning on the Baltic Sea off Travemünde: rain, wind and steep waves. As early as the regatta committee’s morning briefing, the conditions for the third day of racing suggested it would be a challenging day. Consequently, the red-and-white pennant was hoisted on the flagpole for all classes: a signal that the start would be postponed. As the day progressed, the wind did ease off slightly and the rain stopped. However, the swell remained a problem, pushing not only the sailors but also the organisers to their limits.
As a result, races had to be cancelled on various courses, as the crews of the start boats had no chance of mooring the boats. This affected the RS Tera and the RS 500 classes during their World and European Championships. The RS Venture Connect class headed out to Pötenitzer Wiek for their European Championships, whilst other classes managed to squeeze in a limited programme late in the day. Without any further races, the J/22s concluded their Travemünde Week with the German Open, as did the H-boats – with a new German champion. Wolf Jeschonnek (Berlin) and his crew secured gold for the first time at the J/22 German Open.
Despite the adverse weather, Olivier Weber was impressed by the events at Travemünde Week. The President of Swiss Sailing was attending TW for the first time to get an idea of how the Zurich YC operates as a co-organiser of TW on the Baltic Sea, and to make contacts. “The networking went very well. I met DSV President Mona Küppers almost every day. That will help us to work together more effectively at association level in future. The international interaction was impressive – whether in the race committee or on the jury. I also had the chance to experience at Travemünde Week just how brilliantly the combination of festival and sport can work. And the atmosphere was fantastic. Everywhere you looked, you saw beaming faces, people enjoying being there and being together,” said the 59-year-old lawyer from Bern.
Olivier Weber, President of Swiss Sailing, is delighted with the action at Travemünde Week. Photo: ra
However, the ZYC crew were also affected by Monday’s rough sea conditions. They made two attempts to head out onto the Medienbahn. On both occasions, the anchor failed to hold. So they had no choice but to cancel the races for the J/22s and H-boats and send both fleets back to harbour.
This meant the previous day’s result stood, and Wolf Jeschonnek was able to celebrate victory in the German Open with Frank Sturm and Klaus Lund in the bow. “This was our fourth time in Travemünde – once for the World Championships and three times for the German Open – and this is our first victory. We were already close last year. After that, I took another close look at the trim and now, for the first time, I felt we could sail fast in all conditions. We would have liked to have sailed again today, but with the swell it was really borderline,” reported Jeschonnek. The other podium places were taken by the two Hamburg teams led by Thorsten Spötter and Andreas Dillmann.
Following the previous day’s results, the Berlin family team comprising Holger, Jan and Uwe Köhne were presented with the winners’ trophy in the H-Boat class. With three wins and two third-place finishes, they secured overall victory ahead of the other Berlin teams led by Andreas Krause and Jens Hanisch.
The Finn dinghies managed to complete at least one race. However, this did nothing to change the top positions. Overall leader André Budzien (Schwerin) secured another victory ahead of his closest rival, Fabian Lemmel (Berlin). However, with a lead of just one point and three races still to go, nothing has been decided yet. Jürgen Eiermann (Rastatt) follows in third place, some way behind.
The Vaurien class have been competing for the world title since Monday and kicked off the action with a long day of racing that lasted into the evening. Two teams from Angola had the longest journey to the World Championships. This is not the first time the south-west African nation has featured on the entry list for Travemünde Week. Five teams from Angola also competed at the 2018 Vaurien World Championships in Travemünde. “We’re enjoying our time in Travemünde, even if it’s a bit chilly for us at the moment whilst camping on Grünstrand. We’re hoping for good results at the World Championships,” says team coach Vicente Mendonça, who never misses a Vaurien World Championship with his teams. “Sailing is a widespread sport in Angola. As well as Vauriens, Ilcas, 470s and Optimists are popular. The teams are used to strong winds and waves because they sail on the Atlantic back home,” says the coach. His teams approached the races with a correspondingly relaxed attitude.
The team from Angola has travelled the furthest to the Vaurien World Championships in Travemünde. Photo: Katrin Heidemann
If there were a prize for the most beautiful boat at the Vaurien World Championships, it would probably go to the Frenchman Jean-Francois Vuaillat. His wooden boat, built in 1976, is adorned on the bow with an ornate inlay featuring a floral motif. Normally, his daughter Fanny sails the family’s wooden boat. At the World Championships, however, she is letting her father take the lead and is competing in a fibreglass boat. “Fun and great sailing on the Baltic Sea” is what the pair are hoping for from their TW debut. Jan Marten and Henry Pickles from North Rhine-Westphalia, who finished mid-table at last year’s World Championships in Italy, are also hoping to have fun at the World Championships. “We’ve already tested the waters, including capsizing. It can only get better,” say the pair. The clear leaders after the first three races, with three wins in a row, are the Italians Olmo Cerri and Giola Bertolani.
With around 200 boats, the RS Aero class provides the largest starting field at the 137th Travemünde Week. Since Monday, the Aero classes 5, 6, 7 and 9 have been competing in their European Championships and Youth World Championships, sailing races right into the evening hours. Consequently, the results from the course were a long time coming.
With 19 nations represented, the RS Aero field is also very international. Jamie and Andrew Mack have travelled from the USA with their daughter Lauren to take part in the championships. Jamie Mack is competing in the RS Aero 5 – the “class for young people, pensioners and short people”, as she calls it – whilst her husband and daughter are competing in the RS Aero 6. “I started sailing at the age of 27; my husband Andy has been sailing all his life and has several Olympic campaigns under his belt in the Laser and 49er classes.
Twenty-one years ago, we founded the Gorge Sailing Centre in our home state of Oregon, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to making sailing accessible to everyone in the Columbia River Gorge,” summarises Jamie Mack. The family trio have competed in regattas in Europe three times in total: in France, Italy and now Germany. Their verdict on Travemünde is positive: “It’s brilliant here. The people are very friendly, and everything is extremely well organised.”
The Macks’ home town, Hood River on the border between the states of Oregon and Washington, is regarded as the windsurfing capital of the USA, which is why the three of them aren’t afraid of wind or waves. “We’re used to that. I’m hoping for a decent breeze in Travemünde,” says Andrew Mack. Their daughter Lauren is looking forward to racing against her friends from the UK. What the American family particularly appreciates about the RS Aero class is the strong sense of community and the fact that the boat is suitable for people of all ages and with a wide range of abilities. “The boat is fast and great fun,” adds Andrew Mack.
For five further RS classes, their championships as part of the RS Games will come to an end on Tuesday after four days of racing. Ahead of the final day, however, the RS Tera and RS 500 classes had to forgo further races as heavy swells prevented the start boats from anchoring. Four races are now scheduled for both classes on the final day of their championships. The RS 700 and 800 classes also failed to complete any new races. Three races are scheduled for each class tomorrow.
In the RS Venture Connect class, too, the day’s races stretched into the evening. Initially, the yellow group made up for two races from the previous day and immediately completed two further races to contribute to the overall standings. The other two groups sailed two further races. The Spanish team of Pau Toni Homar and Ramón Gutierrez recorded consistently good results in the yellow group and are therefore among the top favourites for the European Championship.
Taking part in the RS Aero European and Youth World Championships with the whole family (from left): Andrew, Jamie and Lauren Mack. Photo: Katrin Heidemann
