Usual suspects

Top German team lead after day one of the CSC 505 UK Nationals

The in-form German pairing of Boris Herrmann and Julien Kleiner continued their recent impressive form in the European Championships into the first heat of the CSC UK National Championships and pre Worlds regatta with a comfortable win over a chasing pack that included previous 505 Class World Champions Howard Hamlin and Ian Barker.

After a two hour postponement the race started in a light southerly sea breeze with Barker, crewed by Mark Darling, acting as pathfinder. At the first windward mark the fleet was led by the American team of Howard Hamlin and Jeff Nelson, closely followed by Debbie Darling, who was acting a guest skipper for Rainer Goerge in GER 8728. Barker and Darling showed that the pathfinder’s job is not always thankless by slotting in at third.

The fitful breeze was losing energy, which made the leeward leg long and slow, but with plenty of opportunity for gains and losses to be made. Herrmann and Kleiner were the prime gainers, moving through from fifth to the lead by the bottom mark, a lead they were never to relinquish. Their compatriots, Helen Fischer and Angela Stenger also used the small areas of extra pressure that were to be had with skill, moving up to third.

The next leg saw close competition and place changes among the chasing pack, but Herrmann and Kleiner were not be perturbed, gradually consolidating their lead. By the start of the final leg they had a lead of over a minute from Hamlin and Nelson, who had recovered to second place. Although Hamlin was gradually closing the gap by picking up more pressure on the left of the course, the German pair covered the danger well to take the finishing gun.

Top six:
1: Boris Herrmann, Julien Kleiner, GER 8903
2: Howard Hamlin, Jeff Nelson, USA 8266
3: Ian Pinnell, Steve Hunt, GBR 8882
4: Helen Fischer, Angela Stenger, GER 8671
5: Ian Barker, Mark Darling, GBR 8743
6: Debbie Darling, Rainer Goerge, GER 8728