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Germany 4 – Portugal 0.. in Kuhlungsborn.
Yes, Yes, Yes….. Germany did beat Portugal but now that I have your full attention….. here in Kuhlungsborn, Northern Germany, we had a most spectacular day of racing, organised by the PRO Christian Haake, (Lake Starnberg). From a Race Officer’s point of view it could not have been matched… 3 races with perfectly timed long courses and excellent starting lines, yes fellow sailors, “Haake” did the BMW German Grand Prix proud yesterday by delivering these tough and exciting “Grade 1” races for the 48 top Dragon teams from 9 different Nations…. What a day !
In race 1 after a general recall, “Haake” used the new “U” flag to control the excited fleet who had misjudged the amount of favourable current on the start line. The U flag has nearly all the same characteristics of the Black Flag, apart from the fact that if there is a general recall, NO ONE is Disqualified. I guess you could call it a “soft black flag”, but either way it certainly did the trick and race 1 of the BMW German Grand Prix was under way…..
Making the most of a “powerful” right hand side of the first 2 mile beat was UAE 8 Eyvgeni Braslavets who completely destroyed the fleet to open up a 90 second lead at the first downwind gate. Eyvgeni and his team never looked back and sailed the remainder of the three upwind and two downwind legs with ease to take the winners gun.
In race 2 it was the turn of UAE 7 Marcus Wieser to have his say and although he did not pull out such a commanding lead as his fellow UAE partner, Marcus always looked to be in the driving seat and took the winners gun after another 2 hour long race. With Eyvgeni making the most of the right side again on the final beat to finish 2nd, it looked like we could be in for a complete domination from these two Professional Teams who now base themselves in Dubai. Excellent sailing gentlemen….
However, in race 3, “Haake” decided to set a shorter course in order to complete the final race of the day before the wind died away and of course before the football kicked off at 6pm !! The first beat was reduced to 1.5 miles and the leeward gate was moved up to make beats 2 and 3 much shorter. This time it was the current World Champion GBR 758 Klaus Diederichs who took the lead and was never challenged, showing great speed in these lighter conditions.
Overall after 3 races it is UAE 8 and 7 at the top of the leader board with DEN 138 Lars Hendriksen in 3rd place after sailing very consistently all day. However, every team that took part yesterday was a winner, to sail 3 excellent races in sunshine, on excellent courses set just a “stones throw” from the marina, was a complete joy. There will be a few aching bodies and a couple of sad Portuguese Sailors take to the water today, to do battle again with an early start of 10am. But this PRO & venue is ready and well able to give this competitive fleet another great day in their sailing lives……..
Higher, Faster, Longer……… Stavros. (Committee Boat).