At their SSL premiere, it was enough for Jochen Schümann and Ingo Borkowski to make it to the quarter-finals. What's going on this week off Nassau in the Bahamas territory?
Aggressive and in a good mood: Jochen Schümann
For the fourth time in a row, 16 Olympic medalists, America's Cup winners and 19 world champions from 17 nations will fight for the season title of the Star Sailors League (SSL) off Nassau in the Bahamas. For the stars of international sailing, the prize money is 200,000 US dollars. Click here for the live broadcast every day with guest commentators such as "Mr. America's Cup" Dennis Conner.
The new World Sailing Vice President Torben Grael
Among prominent participants such as the two five-time Olympic medal winners Robert Scheidt and Torben Grael from Brazil, who has just been elected Vice President of the World Sailing Association, there are also three German teams: Jochen Schümann is participating for the second time with Ingo Borkowski. The Berlin duo would love to improve their quarter-finals from the 2015 premiere. Last year Johannes Polgar and Markus Koy reached the finals as the best German crew and finished the series in fourth place. Last but not least, the star boot world champions Robert Stanjek and Frithjof Kleen want to intervene in the fight for big bonuses.
To get in the mood for a thrilling week of sailing from Nassau, which can be followed live on the Internet every day, the final film from last year is shown again
One of the co-favorites in the SSL area of the Bahamas: helmsman Robert Scheidt
Last year the best German helmsman in the SSL final: Johannes Polgar
One can look forward to the performance of a number of young Olympic medal winners, some of whom are competing in the star boat for the first time. Australian Olympic champion Tom Burton, silver medalist Tonci Stipanovic and bronze man Sam Meech from New Zealand will represent the laser class in the dream destination of the Bahamas. Overall, the ten best teams in the Star Sailors League fight against 15 invited VIP crews, including the Croatian 470 Olympic champion Sime Fantel. As a veteran, Starboot World Champion, Louis Vuitton Cup winner and Volvo Ocean Race triumphant Paul Cayard shows up in front of Nassau. The defending champion is the American George Szabo, who competes with his Italian crew Edoardo Natucci. The two match race aces Taylor Canfield (USA) and Eric Monnin (Switzerland), who want to score points with dueling sailing skills in the concert of the best, celebrate their SSL premiere.
The goal is clear: the star boat world champions Robert Stanjek and Frithjof Kleen want to sail into the SSL final
And this is how the final works: The ten best teams in the qualifying round contest the final day. The qualifying winner sails straight to the final, the second-placed crew straight to the semifinals. The quarter-finals will initially be played with the teams in third to tenth place after qualification. The best five teams of a quarter-final run meet the runner-up in the qualification in the semifinals and also only sail one knockout race. Only the best three teams move into the final, in which the qualifying winners are already waiting. For the last time, a single race decides on the final placements and the share of the princely prize money. Fans can sail the Star Sailors League at home with virtual regattas.