Riding on the razor's edge

After a day without racing to Warnemünder Woche Due to excessive winds and high waves, a glance at Saturday's weather forecast revealed: Today, things had to move quickly! As early as 7 a.m., Sports Director Peter Ramcke had gathered his teams from the race committees, the safety boats, the jury, the situation center, and the representatives of the sailing classes for a briefing. The German Weather Service from Hamburg was also connected, and they again forecast strong winds with strong gusts over Warnemünde. In addition, considerable waves had built up – some with a cross sea. The problem: The conditions were expected to become even more severe throughout the day.

Alternatives to optional race courses in the Warnow were explored, an inflatable boat was sent out to the coastal lanes to check the current wave conditions, and finally, the decision was made: The Zoom8, the Finn dinghies, and the RS Aero were sent to the race area east of the harbor for a 9:XNUMX a.m. start – in closely spaced lanes. This allowed the best wave pattern to be utilized and the fleet of safety boats to be kept together. The fragile Musto skiffs, which always carry a high risk of capsizing under gennakers and on outriggers, were left in the harbor.

But the races also became a ride on a razor's edge for the classes on the water. There were numerous capsizes, and there was also some minor damage to sails and boats. However, the Zoom8 World Championship team at least managed another race, and the RS Aero also sailed their first race as part of their German Open. Afterward, however, the race organizers sent the fleets back to the harbor. The experienced Finn dinghy sailors also returned to shore after one race, but the race organizers initially kept the option of another day's race open for the class. But at 12 noon, the rest of the day's races were canceled for them as well.

Juliane Barthel, chairwoman of the German RS Aero class association, explained Saturday's motto: "The goal today was: reach the finish!" How did it happen? It didn't matter to the few athletes who were on the track. "It was all about not breaking anything," Barthel continued. The conditions were a big hurdle for the design of the RS Aero. "In the steep waves, the narrow bow quickly pierces, and the boat tips over." This also meant that unnecessary jibing maneuvers were avoided in the RS Aero. With one race in the books, Ukrainian Sofia Naumenko is first in the books, ahead of Marcus Walther (Langen) and Juliane Barthel from Dümmer Lake.

Exhausted, but also proud to have been on the track, the children and young people of Zoom8 returned to the harbor. "It was really windy, tough conditions," reported Danish rider Safina Linnau. However, she didn't make it to the finish, slipping from third place overall to seventh. Her compatriot Emil Praest Pedersen, who overtook her to sixth place, said: "It was tricky today – especially riding the waves. After the race, the wind got too strong. So it was a good thing that it was called off."

The Austrian coaching team of Max Fitzinger and Herwig Bäumel shared this view: "It was a great decision to go out today. We've now secured enough races to secure the title. But after the race, it got too intense." Their current best, Felix Rhomberg, climbed to fifth place. The current podium positions reflect a Scandinavian-Baltic mix: Finn Sisu Seliö demonstrated his exceptional boat control even in strong winds, clinching his fourth win in the fourth race and now leads ahead of Denmark's Johan Gundborg and Estonia's Leon Zolotarjov.

Fabian Lemmel, who came third in last year's German Championship, had a lot of fun on the water in the Finn. "Great conditions, fantastic waves out there. I would have loved to have sailed more races," said the Berliner. But even he couldn't avoid going off into the water completely. "I messed up the first leg. So I risked everything on the downwinder, made up a lot of ground, and then capsized. After that, I was at least able to work my way up to third place." André Budzien emerged as the winner of the race. The man from Schwerin started the week fourth in the OK Dinghy World Championship and is now aiming for victory in the Finn at the Warnemünde Week. On the final Sunday, however, he will have to fend off attacks from his pursuers. His toughest opponent at the moment is the Dane Peter Sigetty Böje.

For the final of the Warnemünder Woche Sports Director Peter Ramcke has once again scheduled early starts for the four classes. The first races are scheduled for 9 a.m. While the Zoom8, Finns, and RS Aero are hoping for three races, the Musto Skiffs are aiming for six races if possible.