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Wednesday layday for the Tornados, but Musto Skiffs start and 470 Junior Worlds lead changes

A change in the lead of the 470 Junior Worlds and the start of the Musto Skiff Gold Cup caught the attention on Wednesday (July 26), day six of the 117th Travemuende Week. The Tornado sailors enjoyed a deserved lay day in the shadow, as temperatures climbed again to 32 degrees Celsius. The classes Trias, O-Dingi and Korsar started racing today.

A high pressure system made the sailors wait four hours on Wednesday before the sea breeze set in and racing was started. Good winds of three to four Beaufort followed and with water temperatures around 24 degrees the sailing conditions had Caribbean style. “Our meteorologist Meeno Schrader was a hundred percent right today”, said race chairmen Walter Mielke.

Fantela Sime and Igor Marenic had the best run of the day in the 470 fleet. The favourites from Croatia scored two firsts today and grabbed the overall lead equal in points with Levine Eyal and Amir Yam from Israel. The Croatian team is 15th of the open world ranking list and showed an impressive performance in both races. “We await very thrilling fights for the title between the top crews”, said Yalcin Gurkan, general secretary of the international 470 class association.

It is a German guy that invented the Musto Skiff in 1999, but the British sailors dominate the Musto Skiff Gold Cup after day one in Travemuende. Three races where sailed by the fleet of 25 single handed sailors for the start of their unofficial World Championship. Richard Stenhouse, three times Gold Cup winner (2003-2005), won every single one of them in sovereign style. And eleven out of the first twelve in the ranking list fly the Union Jack. Joachim Harrprecht from Kiel, Germany is sailing in the fleet as well.

The addicted sailor designed the Musto Skiff in 1999, when the ISAF called for bids for a new Olympic single handed class. And the Musto Skiff could win the competition, but if it will be at the starting line for the Olympics in 2012 is not decided yet.

In the International German Junior Championhip of the Laser sailors, Simon Grotelüschen from the organizing Lübeck Yacht Club started to defend his title. Scoring 4, 2, and 1 he’s already the overall leader again. “I want to win this year, too – although I could not train very much in the last months”, the high-school graduate said.

Results from day 6 of 117th Travemünde Week

Olympic classes

Tornado-European Championship (lay day)

470 Junior World Championships (results after six races in three groups)
1. Sime/Marenic (Croatia) 7 points
2. Eyal/Yam (Israel) 7
3. Patience/Grube (Great Britain) 10

International German Junior Championship (results after three races)
1. Simon Grotelüschen (Germany) 7 points
2. Malte Kamrath (Germany) 8
3. Frithjof Schwerdt (Germany) 10

Laser Standard (results after three races)
1. Stefan Hoffmann (Germany) 5 points
2. Hauke Schröder (Germany) 8
3. Marc Gelhausen (Germany) 13

International classes

Musto Skiff Gold Cup (results after three races)
1. Richard Stenhouse (Great Britain) 3 points
2. David Poston (Great Britain) 8
3. Rick Perkins (Great Britain)

Korsar (results after three races)
1. Pierre Tscherneck/Gerd Linnemann (Germany) 3 points
2. Torsten Simon/Frank Thieme (Germany) 7
3. Uta Koch/Arne Broy (Germany) 9

O-Dingi (results after three races)
1. Uwe Kuhlmann (Germany) 3 points
2. Roland Franzmann (Germany) 3
3. Jochen Lollert (Germany) 7

Trias (results after three races)
1. Uerlichs/Stoffels/Felser (Germany) 4 points
2. Stamm/Gläser/Ecker (Germany) 6
3. Bergner/Billig/Jumpertz (Germany) 13