Preview Pirates IDM: Large field, many favorites

“When there is a lot of wind, Frieder and Julius are hard to beat,” says Andreas Ebel, when asked about the favorites of the International German Pirate Championship, which begins tomorrow. Frieder Billerbeck, brother of Contender World Champion Max Billerbeck, who is currently taking part in the Contender European Championships in Warnemünde, and crewman Julius Raithel are the reigning European champions. Andreas Ebel himself is also one of the favorites. At the IDM 2020 he and his husband Martin Ebel were runners-up. The declared goal is therefore: “Top 6!” But the field of pirates is large. 51 teams have registered, including many crews that have a good chance of sailing at the top, especially the reigning German champions Svenja Thoroe and Karsten Bredt. But Ines and Thomas Heldt, German champions 2019, or Simone Witte Wahrendorf and Silke Kinner, runners-up 2019, and many other crews also have a good chance of winning the title. Even before the first race, Andreas Ebel praised Warnemünde: “From our point of view, this is the best area!”