Spectacular Spring Opener for J/70s in Hamburg
by J/Boats 11 Apr 2022 08:05 PDT
J70 Spring Regatta on Alster Lake © J/70 Class German Association
Dream conditions at the spring regatta in Hamburg were a nice reward for the long wait for the season. Gusts of over 25 knots provided plenty of sunshine and plenty of action on Alster Lake.
A passionate field of nineteen boats sailed on the gorgeous lake in the middle of Hamburg. It was a miracle how the host- Hamburg Sailing Clubs - managed to get the crane work done in a relaxed and well-organized manner, despite the cramped situation for the two large fleets sailing on the weekend. In addition to the nineteen J/70s, thirteen J/24s also went into the water!
Day One - Epic Lake Sailing
The wind was sympathetic to the sailors as the direction and flow from the northeast over the Alster meant the two fleets hardly got in each other's way.
After five races, the favored NRV J/70 team, skippered by Tobias Schadewaldt, prevailed with a strong performance. Behind them was Thore Kiesbye and his team, who had already competed in a number of successful junior regattas for the Flensburg Sailing Club. The guests from Denmark, skippered by Johnny Jensen- managed to win a race and finished fourth overall ahead of Lukas Feuerherdt, who came second in Kiel Week, with a team from the Blankeneser Segel-Club.
What was cool about the J/70 teams at this Spring Opener? Six of the teams were led and skippered by women helms, with Lynn Hafemann leading the women's division.
Day Two - More Epic Sailing!
Eight races in two days. Short, crisp runs. What more could you want!?
Some would say, this is what modern regattas should look like. Don't wait long for a perfect course. Better to start often and tolerate surprising results. At the end of the day, the best are ahead in the overall standings. The successful Lake Constance battles in the south also follow this principle. But, not every race officer has mastered the art. At the NRV, ex-laser sailor Noel Gonseth did it perfectly, not for the first time.
Despite being one of Germany's best sailors, and an Olympic champion, the winner of the J/70s had to work hard to win the coveted class honors. Ex-49er Olympian Tobias Schadewaldt had two slips in the series. But, despite the low crew weight, he asserted himself confidently with the siblings Höpcke and Juliane Adelesen... a strong crew to watch from the Nord-Deutscher Regatta Vereing for the 2022 sailing season.
A remarkable performance was put on by a youth team. Taking second place was the Academic Sailing Club Warnemünde, skippered by Johannes Machur. How young was his team? There were still sailing 420s in 2019!! Johannes' crew consisted of Amelie Steinbrinker, Gundram Leifert, and Leif Meier.
Rounding out the podium were the Plessmann brothers. Their final race 12th torpedoed their chances to garner the silver, having to use it as their throw-out after posting a fleet-leading 2-4-1-1 tally in their previous four races. Nevertheless, theirs's was a happy crew in the end to be standing on the bronze position in the first regatta of the season. The team consisted of Ulf & Matti Plessmann, Lea Valentine Beele, and Jannes Rix.
The appearance of "Blindfisch", the new J/70 from a cooperation between NRV and FC St. Pauli Segeln, was also special. Skipper Marvin Hamm led the team with the two visually impaired sailors Johannes Loeschke and David Koch to some strong results and was happy not to have to lead the Red Lantern. The BAT Sailing Team - as the visually impaired people call themselves in reference to the limited visual abilities of bats - wants to take part in Kiel Week in 2022, among other things.
More information here...