How do you turn journalists into enthusiastic sailors who may report in more detail on sailing topics in the future? Quite simple: Take the currently hottest boat class in Germany, put four-person crews from well-known companies such as Spiegel, Stern, the NDR, Tagesspiegel or taz on the boats and let them smell regatta air for themselves in 20 races in Bundesliga format. Before that, the participants and their teams are allowed to enter the fast ships slowly for weeks under the guidance of NRV trainers.
Fight on the way to the first bucket: taz (left) versus YACHT
The result was a top event on the Hamburg Outer Alster, which is likely to have brought sailing into the minds of media professionals and editors-in-chief more sustainably than many other events that you only attend as a spectator but are not right in the middle of it. A YACHT team was also at the start, but there was no longer any need to persuade them.
From Friday to Sunday, the editorial crews went to the start on the Hamburg Outer Alster and sailed in league format, everyone against everyone, including swapping boats and short races, which came in staccato with six races per team and day. Although the weather, with two days of continuous rain at the beginning, was more of a confirmation of the common prejudices of "tearing up 100 euro bills in the shower", the crews were soon hooked. Race director Klaus Lahme was surprised at how close the races were and at the "astonishing number of protests". The scribes and filmmakers had clearly tasted blood.
Participants in the NRV Media Cup
While the "Stern", controlled by Walter Wüllenweber, and the "Spiegel", with editor-in-chief Klaus Brinkbäumer am Rohr, fought for the supposed print dominance of the print run giants on the Alster, the Berlin colleagues of the "taz" came along from behind Helmsman Sven Hansen and sailed up to third place with a solid performance.
The team of the DSV drove home the victory in front of the YACHT. The DSV was at the start as the patron of the event. Helmswoman Nadine Stegenwalner and her crew (Anne Busche, Ulf Denecke, Torsten Haverland) fought a close duel with Michael Good, helmsman and tester of the YACHT, and his crew (Andreas Fritsch, Christine Siedle and Felix Wagner) over three days before the DSV threw back a jammed branch in the keel. In a direct duel on the last day, the DSV head of the performance sailing department played out all her experience and caught the YACHT crew, who was still leading up to the last day, on a barrel with a picture-perfect match race maneuver including penalty rings. The DSV did not take part in the media rating, so the YACHT won the 1st Cup ahead of the taz and Phantalassa.
In the end, eleven media crews from all sorts of sectors remained with shining eyes, and the NRV has probably made one of the best investments in its media work in recent years. Organizer Sven Jürgensen was accordingly pleased and already announced the new edition for June 2018. Then 18 starting places are to be filled with media teams from all over Germany.
If the level of the teams continues to increase as quickly as in these first three days, the league referees of the NRV should get busy in 2018.
Results:
- DSV (N. Stegenwalner / A. Busche / U. Denecke / T. Haverland) 31 pts.
- YACHT (M. Good / A. Fritsch / C. Siedle / F. Wagner) 35 pts.
- taz (Sven Hansen / Andreas Lorenz / JuttLietsch / DanielLeupelt) 48.5 pts.
- Panthalassa (Film production; Niklaas Reisenauer / Sergio Penzo / Ralf Burmester / Geert Schmelzer / ElisRouta) 49 pts.
- mirror (Klaus Brinkbäumer / Reinhilde Wurst / Torsten Feldstein / Juliane v. Mittelstädt) 51 pts.
- star (Walter Wüllenweber / Helen Bömelburg / Jonas Breng / Christian Krug) 51.5 pts.
- Daily mirror (Kai Müller / Sidney Gennies / Gerd Novakowski / Christian Hönicke) 64 pts.
- BIT (Journalism School; Max Ziegler / AnissAyoub / Jasmin Kallauch / LeHoops) 69 pts.
- Keel bombs (All women team; Christiane Bauer, Tagesschau / Birte Lindlahr, Beef) / LinNagel / Anette Bruhns (Spiegel) 75 pts.
- NDR (Hans-Jürgen Bachert / Andreas Albrecht / Susanne Grohmann / Martin Wilhelmi / Arne Kühl) 78 pts.
- The hamburger (Christian Drake / Phillip Jägersberg / Simone Rickert / David Pohle) 96 pts.