29ers at Kiel

German victory in 35 boat EuroCup fleet

The second round of the 2005 29er Eurocup took place in Germany at the huge Kiel Week regatta. It was the first time the 29ers had a start at the regatta so it was a new experience for organisers and competitors alike.

A healthy fleet of 35 boats from six countries took to the water, this was very encouraging especially since many teams were either in the middle of exams or their boats were on their way to the worlds in San Francisco.

The forecast was for light winds and it was right. Four races a day were scheduled but on the first day only two were held, on the second day there was no racing at all. Day three was encouraging and in the light winds the fleet managed five races. The final day brought a little more air and with it the threat of thunderstorms, three races were held before the fleet was sent home.

Even in the light winds the racing was intense with some young teams showing what they have to offer in the future. In the end it was the German team of Benjamin Friedhoff and Johanna Munding (GER1031) who after a shaky first day went on win in fine style with five firsts. Dave Hall and Jessica Smith (GBR777) were their only real threat but didn’t have the consistency of the local pair. The Danish team of Christian Sogaard and Frederik Stage (DEN943) showed bursts of speed but were let down by one too many bad results to keep them in third. The brother and sister team of Max and Rebecca Lutz (GER953) liked the light winds and put in a steady performance to come in fourth.
A superbly ran regatta with a total of ten races was pretty good when many fleets only achieved a few.

Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Tot
1	GER 1031	Benjamin Friedhoff	Johanna Munding	14
2	GBR 777	David Hall	Jessica Smith	21
3	DEN 943	Christian Sorgaard	Frederik Stage	34
4	GER 953	Max Lutz	Rebecca Lutz	38
5	DEN 370	Henrik Sorgaard	Søren Kristensen	43