The Sailing City Kiel and its Bay of Kiel showed themselves to be particularly diverse at the start of the regatta for the sea sailors. The 61 participating yachts were offered everything that defines the sport, from calm and fog to storm and sunshine. After the start in mild winds, fog covered the scenery on the second day and placed high demands on the crews. On Monday, the sailors were challenged in strong and twisting winds, before 40 knots of wind called for the same on Labor Day.
The season opener began on day one with a single race for the ORC classes and ended with a cancellation for the one-size-fits-all and ROC 1 + 2 on the final day. The unit classes J / 70 and J / 80 were allowed to stay in port on the holiday, the ORC-1 / ORC-2 fleet then refused to work on May 1st. Nevertheless, the one-size-fits-all classes completed seven to eight races, the 13 ORC-1 / ORC-2 yachts eight races and at least six of the 19 ORC-3 yachts ten races.
Scenes from the season opener at the Maior regatta
Overall victory in ORC 1/2 was secured by skipper Torsten Bastiansen from Flensburg and his "Sydbank" crew in front of the only ORC-1 yacht "Tutima" with Kirsten Harmstorf-Schönwitz (Hamburg) at the helm and the Kiel "X-Day" with the Hamburg skipper Max Gurgel, who in two weeks' time will be the only one to compete under the German flag in the Lake Constance duel sailing classic Match Race Germany. The series had initially opened Harmstorf's women crew on the "Tutima" with two wins before the "Sydbank" team took over command. "We had a really good regatta, even better than expected after we changed the crew and there was still a lot of room for improvement in training," said Harmstorf positively, although her team did not make the seventh race due to problems with the genoa threader had been able to finish. "That cost us the victory", knows the experienced sailor, but it was not difficult in the great atmosphere that prevailed at this regatta. The "Tutima" team has many more opportunities to shine this summer with its participation in the Kiel Week, the World Championship in Holland and the Cowes Week.
The winning teams (and not only they) were in high spirits at the season opener off Kiel
Demanding conditions demand the bowman and crew
In the duel of the Italia 9.98 yachts in the ORC 3 class, Gordon Nickel from Bremen relegated Kai Mares' KYC yacht "Immac Fram" to second place with the "One Spirit". The waiver of the "Patent 4" (Tebbe / Klinghardt) on the last storm race prevented the triple Italia triumph. With his "Hansen" (X-37), Michael Mollmann took advantage of the absence of the "Patent 4" and achieved third place. "That was tricky, nice and twisty - Stollergrund at its best in light winds", summarized Bertil Balser, chairman of the RVS class association (regatta association sea sailing). The "Sportsfreund", whose crew includes Balser, is taking a six-month break, so the North Sails man sailed again in the ORC 3 class after a long time. "So I'm back where I come from," said Balser.
In the J / 80, there is no way around the king of the class Martin Menzner. The Kieler dominates the class with his "Pike" undisputed. Seven wins in eight races and a third place as strings attest to the dominance. "We have a lot of experience and are a well-rehearsed crew," says Menzner. The Kieler wants "more competition, so that the tension is reduced again". Torsten Voss from Flensburg came second with his "Frida" and six second places. Lukas Heyde from Laboe secured third place.
Martin Menzner and his team remain the measure of all things with their J / 80 at the start of the new season
The Bremen crew around Björn Beilken prevailed in the Bundesliga class J / 70. "The circumstances were sometimes crazy," said the skipper of the "Procedes Diva". "First onshore with a lot of waves, then less and turned 180 degrees, wave from behind on the close-hauled course - everything was there." The crew of the sailing comradeship Das Wappen von Bremen showed their skills in the most varied of conditions and moved up to first place with a victory in the last race. "We fought our way forward through clever decisions. Well, maybe there was a bit of luck," said Beilken, who attributes the success to the consistency of his team. "We have trained a lot, are a well-adjusted team and have been sailing together for almost ten years," explains the man from Bremen, who is already looking towards the Kiel Week and will also be competing in the German sailing league.
Father Berend Beilken also sailed on boats called "Diva". Here Björn Beilken and his crew sail to the Maior victory in the league class J / 70
The second-placed Gerd Knospe used the Maior regattas as preparation for the European championships in Spain in June. "The races were challenging to sail, there were a lot of wind changes, but the fun on board was excellent. The Maior was a perfect start for the European Championship, great preparation. Everything was there in terms of sailing," said the Berliner. In third place was the strander Peter Kohlhoff on the "Greta", who relegated "Grün Software AG" (Daniel Nauck) to fourth thanks to two first places.
Here you can find Manage2Sail and the results.
