Travemunder Woche
Below is a quick (ish) report I put together on the racing at the
regatta in Travemunder… 29er.org carries a slightly different
one.
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Travemunder EuroCup
Light winds forced the abandonment of the final two days of racing
at the 29er Eurocup event held in conjunction with the 115th
Travemunder Woche Regatta in Travemunder, Germany.
42 entrants from 8 nations contested 7 of a scheduled 12 races in
predominantly light conditions.
Overall winners were the current EuroCup leaders, Tristan Jaques
& Alain Sign on CrewSaver, followed by the Australians David
O’Connor & Scott Babbage on Harken, with the Finnish girls crew
of Silja Lethinen & Silja Kanerva on Audi in 3rd.
The British team arrived early and their preparation showed, with
all members of the squad finishing in the top 8.
Early series leaders were Lauri Lethinen & Miikka Pennanen on
Arcarda. Lethinen/Pennanen were pushed out of their overall 2nd
placing however after a jury disqualification for failing to wear a
bouyancy vest.
In the first race, Arcarda took the pin-end advantage and led to
the first windward mark with the Italian duo of Luca Maffessoli
& Marco Micheletti in 2nd. CrewSaver broke free of the pack in
the next lap to close the gap on Arcarda. On the final run, Harken
ran down Justin Visser & Simon Wheeler on Musto to take 3rd
place on the finish line.
Audi demonstrated the potential of their new boat in the second
race, fighting their way into the lead ahead of another British
combination of Ed Chapman & Tom Peel on Harken/P&B.
CrewSaver followed in 3rd, with 4th & 5th split between Arcarda
and Harken in another close finish.
After a break for the 49er fleet, the 29ers returned to the course
later in the afternoon to complete another 2 races in light winds
and lumpy seas.
Another pin-end favoured start saw CrewSaver & Harken lead
early in the third race. Harken led at the top by a boat length,
only to trail by a boat length at the bottom gate. CrewSaver sailed
away for the win with Harken struggling with weed and slowly
slipping back in the placings. In the end, Arcarda were 2nd, with
Finnish team mates Mikael Lindberg & Dennis Paetau in
3rd.
CrewSaver sailed away from the fleet again in the fourth race.
Breaking away from a mediocre start to take the right hand side of
the course were Harken along with the British team of James
Stewardson & Tom Morris. CrewSaver led at the windward mark,
followed by Audi, then Stewardson/Morris & Harken. The Finns
and the Australians were pushed out of the placings on the first
run after being rolled downwind by the British and the German
combination of Benjamin Friedhoff & Johanna Munding
respectively. The Germans then continued on to pass
Stewardson/Morris on the next upwind leg, holding onto 2nd at the
finish.
More light conditions greeted the fleet for the second day of
racing. Arcarda again won the start and tacked early to cross to
the right hand side of the course with the Swiss combination of
Nathalie Keller & Caspar Buettner. A progressive shift to the
right saw Arcarda and the Swiss round in front, with CrewSaver
rounding well back in the fleet after taking a disastrous start and
the left-hand side. With the wind continuing to shift further
right, passing opportunities became limited however Harken ground
down Audi & Harken/P&B to slip into 3rd, losing another
close finish on the line to the Swiss in 2nd.
The fleet separation closed up with a resetting of the course for
race 6. Audi & Harken/P&B again featured at the first mark,
with another Swiss team of Fabio Muller & Matthias Keller also
fighting for the lead. The lead changed several times in the
remaining laps, with CrewSaver slipping through to take the win
after some smart sailing. In another close finish, Harken/P&B
defeated Audi for 2nd, with Harken following close behind for
4th.
Race 7 saw another huge right hand shift after the start again skew
the course yet again. Arcarda won the start again, with CrewSaver
ducking sterns off the line to opt for the right hand side early.
The pressure held on the left just long enough to see Arcarda round
ahead, closely followed by Audi, Harken, CrewSaver, Muller/Keller
& Stewardson/Morris. Audi rounded ahead after the downwind leg
and opted for the right hand side, with Harken getting inside
Stewardson/Morris at the gate. Audi & CrewSaver opted for the
left hand side and paid for it, with the wind continuing to shift
right. Arcarda stretched their lead while the remainder fought
closely for position, Stewardson/Morris rounded the top mark inside
Harken, however a late set and gybe from the British saw both boats
overtaken by the Swiss, Audi & CrewSaver. At the bottom gate,
Stewardson/Morris held the inside advantage on Harken, followed
closely by the Swiss with Audi and CrewSaver again heading left.
With Arcarda in the lead, less than a boat length separated the
next 3 boats, with Stewardson/Morris slipping ahead of Audi and
Harken.
Monday saw the fleet sail two legs of the course before failing
breeze forced the abandonment of the race. With storms forecast for
the afternoon, racing was cancelled early. The 49ers started first
on Tuesday and with the win again failing in the afternoon, the
29ers were towed back to the beach.
Travemunder Woche demonstrated its standing as one of the premier
European regattas yet again, with more than 400 000 visitors
traveling to watch over 1500 boats participate. The 29er teams
split from the regatta to attend the Nordics in Denmark and the UK
Nationals in Weymouth - with a few teams intending to compete in
both.
Full
results available on http://www.travemuender-woche.net
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