NRV Champions Week - J/24s on the water in Boltenhagen

by Deike Maria Flemming on 8 Sep 2012 The 2012 NRV Champions Week is now underway and Kai Mares (GER 5420) has led his crew to two first places on the opening day of racing of the J/24 German Open in Boltenhagen, Germany. Kristian Nergaard and Ger Schmitz managed to hold onto their top spots in the Scandinavian Gold Cup and Hankø Evolution respectively. Gurvan Jaouen climbed to first place in the Royal Kaag Classic Cup.
 
With a win during the first race Mares, the skipper of the Rotoman (GER 5420) declared his intentions: To take the title of this year’s German Open. But longtime J/24 sailor Peer Kock beat him to first place in the second run, leveling the playing field between the two close competitors. The Rotoman crew had to use clever tactics to propel themselves back into first position and ahead of Kock’s only four (GER 3117) on the first downwind after a catastrophic start in race three. Mares was only beaten by sailmaker Frank Schönfeldt and his crew in the last race of the day whereas the only four came in ninth.
 
Overall results after day one have Mares in first place overall with six points, followed by Kock with fourteen and Schönfeldt with sixteen points. The forecast for Saturday predicts light and shifty winds. According to Mares these are the ideal conditions for Kock and Schönfeldt: 'You can’t underestimate the only four in lighter winds, they can surprise you. And Frank Schönfeldt is particularly good when there are difficult tactical decisions to be made.' The only four’s skipper challenges him: 'Everything is up for grabs tomorrow. We are not giving up.'
 
Ger Schmitz kept his position at the top of the leaderboard for the Hankø Evolution Cup and steered Kockout (GER 25) to a fourth and first place. Although Traumfänger under skipper Jochen Franzen (GER 74) crossed the finish line of the first race ahead of the whole fleet, a protest from the Finnish My Shout (L 26) lead to their disqualification. Skipper Matti Muoniovaara took the win after the jury’s decision and moved to second place overall.
 
Even though it looked like the winner of the Scandinavian Gold Cup could have been decided during today’s races, Johan Gullichsen from Finland managed to beat Kristian Neergard’s Artemis XIV, who had already won twice, in the last race of the day. No other competitors will race in the Gold Cup competition tomorrow as only those crews with at least one first place to their name are allowed to participate from race number four onwards. The first boat to win three races is declared the winner. This means that the Addam4 (FIN49) needs to beat Nergard and his crew in both races tomorrow to be able to return home to Finland with the golden trophy in tow.
 

Gurvan Jaouen (FRA 19) successfully pulled off a tricky tactical game in the third race of the Royal Kaag Classic Cup. He forced Lutz von Meyerinck (GER 33), who was leading with two first places, to cross the starting line just a few seconds too early which meant an OCS disqualification for the German. The French crew won the race and edged in two points above von Meyerinck’s Blueprint at the top of the leader board. But tomorrow’s conditions may favour the Blueprint.

'Our boat loses a lot of speed during tacking and takes a while until it’s back at full speed because of a different rudder. Blueprint can maintain a much faster speed in these shifty winds', Gaouven explains. During the 50th World Championship which will also take place in Boltenhagen (September 10 - 15, 2012) he is hoping for a better chance. 'In a larger field even the faster boats are a bit slower, so it is more about the tactics', the Frenchman says after the day’s prize giving on the event pontoon at the Weiße Wiek.
 
On Saturday the boats will also race in the Palmberg Guest Race for the 5.5m IC class and the NRV Guest Race for the J/24 class. After the official races they will return to shore and pick up an additional guest for one brief race in front of the promenade from where spectators can follow the Full results Norddeutscher Regatta Verein website