Another successful beer can race

 June 24, 2026

This evening of sailing will be hard to top. Not only did the summer evening bring pleasant temperatures on the water, but the wind from the west-southwest also left nothing to be desired. Gabi, Malin, and I were sweating under our life jackets, but we pulled off a “Horizon Job” on the Schlei. Sailing was just plain fun!

We got off to a great start, having used the slight lefty to our advantage. With course 1 designated and a course shortcut in effect, we were the first to reach the windward mark and were able to maintain our lead—sailing under spinnaker—until we reached the navigation buoys off Fahrdorf. Then we were overtaken by the X-34. The rest of the field simply fell behind. We stayed relatively close to the X-34, but on the long upwind leg back to the finish, Tim
managed to pull ahead of us by 2:50 min. Sönke on the Bandholm 33 was calculated to have finished second, though we managed to pull ahead of him by an impressive 4:10 min. That was a huge lead, and we were calculated to have finished first. Wulf Dippel on the H-35 came in fifth, 8:21 min behind us, so we’re back in the lead—with or without discard results—in the annual standings.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

A busy week of sailing

What a week of sailing for the “Kleine Brise.”, my Albin Express.

On Tuesday, June 16, in Haddeby, Gabi and I sailed in a fairly large field without a spinnaker but with the large jib and were able to compete at the front of the pack in the prevailing southwest wind. The result was a first-place finish after a very good start. A good start into the week.

On Wednesday at the SSC beer can regatta, a strong wind picked up as the evening went on, with gusts up to 5 Bft and Gabi and I were again sailing with the large jib but, unfortunately, were over-powered. Malin, my regular crew from the youngster program in the local sailing club had asked for an exemption at the last minute, which seemed like the right decision given the light afternoon winds. Far from it. We couldn’t really get the boat going. Especially since I’d also completely botched the start. I failed to notice a wind shift to the left during the pre-start phase, so I started right next to the boat, barely made it across the line, and the boats downwind at the mark quickly turned on to starboard bow and were ALL ahead of us at the windward mark. Wulf Dippel won the regatta and has regained the lead in the standings, which we kept for a while. We finished second to last—8th out of nine boats, the only boat sailing without a spinnaker.

On Saturday, June 20, 2026, I sailed the 50th Anniversary Regatta in Haddeby with Kerstin. A lot of effort had gone into organizing this event in advance, and that was rewarded with 33 participants divided into two groups. The weather was incredibly good. Our start went very well. We were the second boat to reach the windward mark.

Really good start as first boat over the line

We hoisted the spinnaker, though once again I hadn’t properly secured both sheets. The spinnaker was set perfectly, but the sheets were chafing against the rail, which was kind of annoying. Then the upper batten wouldn’t flip over in the light wind, so I tried to correct it with the boom. In the process, I hit my forehead with the boom and cut myself, causing a bleeding wound. Now we needed emergency first aid. The yacht that had overtaken us wanted to call the DGzRS for help, but Kerstin got the situation under control with a large band-aid. By then, it seemed like all the larger boats with spinnakers had overtaken us. We had two long laps to sail, which should have been an advantage for catching up given the long upwind legs. But it felt like we just couldn’t get the boat going. On the first upwind leg in the narrow stretch, we lost at least a hundred meters on the wrong left side to the fleet ahead of us, which included Gitta (X-79) and the H-35 boats. Things went better on the second upwind leg. We found a rhythm and caught up to the fleet of “big boats,” though the small H-boat SVENKA—which had been far ahead of us at the start—was also sailed very well. No wonder—at the awards ceremony, Helle Clausen emerged as the helmsman and won the anniversary regatta with the regular SVENKA crew. We were rewarded with a second-place finish, which Kerstin and I hadn’t really expected. We rounded out the evening at a lovely harbor festival with nice people, a great barbecue, and a fitting awards ceremony. We wrapped up the evening with a fantastic barbecue and a well-deserved awards ceremony. 

The little red spinnaker being rolled by most of the bigger boats.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Just some random thoughts whilst I am still around.

The coveted shirt which I never wore got into good hands

Recently I had noticed that blogs are not the game of the day anymore, really one should write on Substack. Maybe there is some easy money to be made or it must have some other reasons which I haven´t discovered yet. Anyway I had subscribed to Rule 69, Magnus Wheatley and to Paul Strzelecki who both are reporting about the Americas Cup and other sailing related themes.

It happened during a mail conversation that I had offered my AUSTRALIA II shirt from `83, bought actually in Newport from the AUS team base to a real AC enthusiast. And this happened before I read that the Aussies challenged for the AC37. Maybe not smart but the shirt is in good hands now and well appreciated by the new owner. What came to my mind before sending the shirt off had been an idea to take a photo about the shirts which I had purchased during my visits to the AC over the years. Here is the photo taken in my workshop in the morning.

Collection of Memorabilia from the Americas Cup visits

To get access to the SUBSTACK one should give a short description about oneself in order to help communications with like minded. A bit like in SA. Therefore I wrote the following and maybe I will back it up with some stories about my sailing adventures which happened by 90% on race courses. Coming from last places to be on top sometimes. A lot of "Kieler Woche" as you can see also in the photo above, plaques pinned to the board. Anyway here is the summary:

Sailor on soft and hard water. Through the 58 years of sailing I did own boats and sailed them in the following order: FDs, Laser, DIV 2 Boards, Windsurf Waveboards, H-Boats, IMS 36‘, Bull 7000, ORC 38‘, Seggerling, Foiling Moths & DNs and now an Albin Express for the beercan races during the week.

It all started with my first own boat, an old Flying Dutchman, G-500 in 1970. I had no idea about the development which happened in this class during my first weeks of ownership, overhauling the old lady. Than in 1971 entering my first Kiel Week I had to realize that G-500 was old, was about the laughing stock as developments had taken place and one needed at least  G-931 (LEDA) which featured a much fuller bow profile. Two FD´s later I had ordered a brand new HEIN boat, G-1308. This boat featured the latest hull shape, mast and appendages as well as "all the ropes". I took part in the 1974 WC in Weymouth, England and due to some reasons ended up with a NZ crew, Lindsay Kennedy who later became a great Contender sailor. Lindsay taught me much. The most important one to me had been his words: "Manfred, be concentrated", whenever I started to fiddle with the ropes. "This is my job" he said than. Great times. Unforgettable. And after the WC had ended, me and my wife had been asked by Rodney Pattison if we would join him to deliver his ENDURANCE 35 from Weymouth to Torquay. Of course we did but that is another story. In the autumn of 1974 I had won my first FD regatta. It was the "Seglerhaus Preis", sailed in Berlin on the Wannsee. 

FD G-1308 "Angie S" sailing on the Alster, Hamburg

PS: Just realizing that so many of the old links seem to be out of date. Will work on them later.

Endlich ein kalter Winter aber warum ist es nicht wie früher?

Reschensee 2026- Neujahrsgruss am anderen Ufer

Für mich als aktiver DN Segler beginnt die Saison in den Tagen nach Weihnachten meist in Italien (Südtirol) am Reschensee. Hier auf 1500m ü/nN scheint zumeist die Sonne und die Tage sind nicht so dunkel wie bei uns in Schleswig. Heuer war der große Reschensee nicht komplett zugefroren und wir mussten zum Haidersee ausweichen, der frisch zugefroren, schwarzes Eis hatte. Es waren bereits mehrere Segler aus verschiedenen Nationen vor Ort und als ich in das Geschehen eingriff, waren wir ca. 20 DN Segler, die auf Grund der Geografie des Sees in 2 Flotten aufgeteilt werden mussten. Das lief prima und erste Trimm Wettfahrten um 2 Tonnen brachten auch gleich gute Erkenntnisse. Mit den weichen Masten haben sich der Trimm des Bootes und der Segelstil erheblich verändert. So fährt man jetzt den Mast sehr steil, bis zu 75° Mastfall und als Pilot rutscht man tief in den offenen Rumpf hinein. Letzteres ist nicht einfach und muss trainiert werden. Die Losung lautet: „Erst wenn du die Rückenlehne nicht mehr an deinen Schultern spürst bist du tief genug und weit nach vorne gerutscht“. Es entlastet die Luvkufe, „das Beinchen hebt sich leicht“, weniger Reibungswiderstand und man kann höher am Wind segeln. 

Januar 2026. Segeln vor beeindruckender Bergkulisse am Haidersee

OK, das mal vorab aber wie lief nun die Saison?

Große Hoffnungen machten wir DN Segler uns dann Ende Januar als der Frost über Deutschland herein brach. Gibt es endlich, nach 14 Jahren mal wieder eine Deutsche Meisterschaft und können wir vielleicht ein paar der attraktiven Preise mal wieder aussegeln? Die große Revier Suche begann. Der Schneefall kam nachdem die meisten Gewässer bereits knapp zugefroren waren. Man sichtete Wasserlöcher, es gab Borsten die nicht überregelbar waren. Es gab Reviere an denen man nur mit wenigen Autos parken konnte. Es war schwierig. Eine DM steht weiterhin in den Sternen.Januar 2026 . Balmer See - segeln auf Spiegeleis

Januar 2026 . Balmer See - segeln auf Spiegeleis

16.-18.1.2026

Oderhaff und Achterwasser, Balmer See

Mitte Januar rief unser Berliner Freund, Dirk Meyer, an und lud zu sich am Oderhaff ein. Es sollte dort bereits gutes Eis geben. 5 DN Segler machten sich auf den Weg und wir fanden am Freitag schlechtes Eis. Doppeleis. Wenn man einbrach in die oberste Schicht stand man bis zum Knöchel oder tiefer im Wasser. Natürlich lies sich so nicht segeln. Wir riggten wieder ab und verluden die Boote und fuhren zum Balmer See, ca. 25min. entfernt. Hier fanden wir gutes Eis, allerdings die Oberfläche naß. Wir segelten Freitag nachmittag noch ein paar Runden um 2 Tonnen und freuten uns auf den nächsten Tag. Dieser erwartete uns mit gutem Wind und glattem, aber naßem Eis. Es wurden ordentlich Trainingsrunden gesegelt und mein Training am Haidersee zahlte sich aus. Nur ein Lauf ging verloren. Am Sonntag ging die Sonne auf im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes. Frost, Sonnenschein und lt. Henning, G-21, 5 Bft. Hartes spiegelblankes Eis. Traumbedingungen. Leider nicht für alle von uns händelbar. So drehten wir zu dritt einige schnelle Runden um die dortigen Inseln, was auch viel Spaß machte. Dirk, G-126 schrieb anschließend: „In dem Track max. 70km/h, gefühlt schneller aber alles safe! An die Mitracer: das war once in a Lifetime und wir haben es erlebt. Danke!“ Anschließend fanden wir ein sehr gutes Fischlokal am See (Fischpalast Nepperin) auf dem Weg zurück in s Hauptquartier.

Januar 2026 - Segeln auf Wassereis

23.-25.1.2026

Grimnitzsee, Brandenburg. 

Der harte Kern, erweitert um unsere bayrischen Freunde, Thomas, Peter und Bernd hatten recherchiert und trafen sich bereits am Freitag auf dem Grimnitzsee. Leider nur ein im Wald versteckter Takelplatz für diesen schönen, großen und runden See, der allerdings durch eine Borste in 1/3 und 2/3 große Eisflächen geteilt wurde. Wir entschieden uns für die größere Fläche. Am Samstag segelten wir um den Ernst-August Gedächtnispreis. 5 Läufe, 1 Streicher. Flugs waren die Regattatonnen ausgebracht und eine Startlinie gelegt und die Wettfahrten konnten beginnen. Der Preis ging nach Bayern. Thomas, G-8 zeigte sein Können und brachte ganz zur Freude seiner Familie den großen, Ernst-August gewidmeten Preis mit nach Hause. Ich wurde 5ter. Am Sonntag segelten wir um den traditionellen „Bernsteinpreis", der bereits seit den 30er Jahren im Eissegelsport in Berlin oder Brandenburg ausgetragen wird. Holger, G-890 gewann, Bernd, G-51 wurde 2. und Anja, G-390 wurde dritte. Thomas konnte sich knapp vor mir platzieren auf 4 und ich werde wieder 5. Gesamt 10 Teilnehmer.

Januar 2026. Balmer See. Wo ist bitte die Luvtonne?

Januar 2026 Grimnitzsee:. Der Track von 3 Wettfahrten

Grimnitzsee - Preisträger und Stifter vom Ernst-August Gedächtnispreis

30.1. - 1. 2.2026

Wolziger See, Brandenburg

Unsere Berliner Freunde hatten den „Brandenburger Adler“ ausgeschrieben und es kamen Segler aus Hamburg, aus Schleswig und aus dem Ruhrgebiet. Der See hatte wiederum eine Borste beinahe in der Mitte und nachdem wir diese gekennzeichnet und sicher überfahren (übergetragen) hatten, konnten wir einen großen Kurs auslegen. Unsere Scouts, Holger und Anja, schon früh auf Schlittschuhen und mit Sicherheitsausrüstung unterwegs hatten noch ein großes Wasserloch (Windloch) gefunden, welches wir mit Hilfe von Flaggen kennzeichneten. Es waren sieben Wettfahrten vorgesehen bei einem Streicher. 4 Wettfahrten am Samstag und 3 am Sonntag. Viel Wind, herausfordernde Bedingungen. Ich konnte mich leicht verbessern auf den dritten Platz, Holger gewann knapp vor Anja. Ein tolles Eissegelwochenende welches aber für die darauf folgende Woche einiges an arbeiten, wie Kufenschleifen einforderte. 

Wolziger See - Die Preisträger beim Brandenburger Adler

10.2. - 12.2.2026

Mielno, Polen - Grand Master 2026

Bereits am Sonntag reiste ich mit DN Freund Wulf, G-749, (Krogo) nach Polen. Alles Autobahn bis nach Danzig. Einige Trainingsrunden am Montag. Es lief gut bei mir und am Dienstag sollten die Wettfahrten beginnen. Es hatten 60 Teilnehmer zu dieser besonderen Regatta gemeldet. Man muss über 60 Jahre alt sein und konnte sich selbst in eine Gold oder eine Silbergruppe eintragen. Ich switschte noch in der Vorwoche hin-und her und entschied mich dann auf Grund kleiner Zipperlein für die Silbergruppe. Hier traf ich auf die Freunde aus Berlin und überraschender Weise hatte sich auch der Schweizer Spitzensegler, Jean Claude Vuithier, Z-39 für diese Gruppe angemeldet. Das Eis am ersten Wettfahrttag war rauh mit Schneeauflage. Eine schwierige Kufenfrage aber vom Wind her kam nur das flache Segel in Frage. 29 Segler in der Silbergruppe und ich segelte die Platzierungen 3,4,3, welches mir einen Vorsprung von 5 Punkten auf den dritten Platz, Dirk einbrachte. Sehr spannende Läufe. Kräftezehrend. 

Mielno, Polen - alte Bekannte: G-99 und David Howlett, K-13

In der Goldgruppe konnte Thomas (G-8) mit den Plätzen 2, 4 und 20 ein erstes Signal setzen. Hier waren 22 Segler am Start. Ex Europameister und andere Spitzensegler. Am Mittwoch gab es nicht genug Wind zum segeln und zwischendurch auch Regen, Wir harrten den ganzen Tag am See aus um dann nachmittags durchnäßt in unser Hotel zu fahren. 

Mielno, Polen - Holger Petzke, G-890 in Aktion

Am Donnerstag bei einem Blick aus dem Hotelfenster wurde die Lust auf weiteres DN segeln nicht gerade verstärkt. Regen und Wind. Der Regen blieb im ersten Start dann aus, jedoch war das Eis richtig nass, genauso wie der Hosenboden. Es sollten 3 Läufe gesegelt werden mit anschließender Preisverteilung auf dem Eis. Ohje. Ich war leider auf Grund des Wetters nicht genug motiviert, nahm keine Wechselkufen mit raus und hatte in der Nachsicht „falsch gewachst“. Sprich die falsche Kufenwahl, was ich  bereits im ersten Lauf bemerkte. Es war bereits am Start eine Quälerei das Boot auf Tempo zu bringen, Mit zwei guten Vormwind Schlägen konnte ich noch einen dritten Platz einfahren aber im Laufe der folgenden Rennen verlor ich Plätze. Wurde 8. und 6. und punktgleich mit dem dritten, Pierre Z-25 wurde ich als vierter gewertet. Gewinner war mit 5 ersten Plätzen und im letzten Rennen nicht mehr angetreten, Jean-Claude, Z-39. Leider erschien er nicht zur Preisverteilung die trotz Regen einen schönen Rahmen hatte. Dirk Meyer, G-136,  wurde verdient zweiter. Er hatte mit 1,5 Umdrehungen am Vorstagspanner das richtige setup gefunden und war mit den Platzierungen 2,3,2 an diesem schwierig zu segelnden Tag verdient auf den 2. Rang vorgerückt. 

Mielno, Polen - Preisverteilung im Regen. Gesamtsieger und Nationenpreis für Team GER

Thomas, (Radl Huber) G-8, wurde Gesamtsieger in der Goldgruppe und widmete seinen Sieg dem kürzlich verstorbenen DN Kollegen Ernst-August, G-631. Es war das neue Boot von Ernst-August, in Porsche Orange, welches Thomas erworben hatte. Auch wieder eine beeindruckende Geschichte, die aber auf einer anderen Ebene erzählt werden sollte. Das Team GER gewann dann auch noch den Nationen Cup. Thomas und Holger waren in diesem wirklich starken Feld mit den Platzierungen 1 und 6 allen anderen überlegen gewesen. Es begann das große packen im Regen und der größte Teil des Teilnehmerfeldes fuhr bereits am Abend auf die Fähre von Danzig nach Schweden, wo in der darauf folgenden Woche die WM sowie die EM stattfinden wird. Noch ist die Saison nicht zu Ende. Vielleicht wird es ja auch noch das bei uns. Auf dem Pönitzer See wird ja auch seit Wochen in kleinen Feldern regattiert. 

See you on the Eis

 Going DN sailing again

Just realized that one of my blogs, "KAFC" with great fotos from past windsurfing times got canceled by the blog owners. Seems appropriate to write something here from time to time to leave something for re-reading and kind of a diary of the sailing life. Now off to find a foto and than loading up the car and go DN racing.

This is how they are treating the New Year at Lake Rescia in Italy.

Me, G-99 spit out at the back after the running start which does not work as well as some years earlier.,

It is winter 2024 and I am back into action at least in the DN Class as well as summer sailing in my little Albin Express. 

Here you can see a photo from the opening ceremony in Estonia last week. We had sailors from 17 nations  appearing and they came as far as from Canada, USA and even a competitor from China. 

Had a couple of "bad years" but recovered very well and just being back from the 50 years DN Gold Cup with mixed results, of course I cannot keep up with the youngsters, running like Armin Harry on the start line. You get into a lot of dirty air and usually it is difficult to recover. Tacking early is dangerous as you are approaching the weather mark with its offset to leeward (Darling mark) on port and there are usually about 40-50 starboard sailor coming in hot. You do not want a crash with another boat sailing abt. 60km/h as well as yourself being as fast. 

This Blog entry had been written in the year of 2019. 

Took the photo away for a reason. Though this year had been planned as my last year sailing my Mach 2 Moth and finishing competitions with "Kiel Week", I now have to accept that due to a very bad accident sailing my DN a fortnight ago during Swedish Championship 2019 in GÄVLE, the recovery from two broken lumbar vertebra will take its time. Time to say goodbye to my Moth.

Moth World´s in Hawaii 2013

No excuse for not blogging since long time. Life had some cross roads for me and I am still not sure if I took the right exit. But all is coming together and as I thought since long about the opportunity to sail the Moth´s WC in Hawaii this year, I had searched for a web page yesterday and with the help of Mike L. and Scott B., I did find the link behind the Nathan O. photo on the IMCA website. To make live more easy for myself and for you Moth guys out there, I have put a direct link on the right side as usual. I should definitely increase my small amount of Moth sailing and do more exercise, but it ain´t easy, mate. I will attend the Euro Cup regatta at Lake Walchensee, which I am looking forward to. So, all in all a good day today. Have put my entries down for two upcoming big Moth events, have booked the flights and hopefully the accomodations will be accepted. Now it is about preparation of myself and the boat. Business as usual but more difficult with age.

As I have two great MACH2 boats (with all options) at present due to lifes circumstances, I am willing to sell one directly after the Worlds in Hawaii. Anyone out there reading this, should request for details and pricing. It will be a good opportunity to purchase a boat which had not been sailed much and which is upgraded with RHA and Adjustable Wand.

For my friends out there, following the AC, and I am excited about the racing to begin (hopefully) here is agood shot showing the asymetrical rudder rom ETNZ. Every Moth sailor will understand what Dean Barker said about "a man falling overboard and maybe being sliced by the rudder foil if sticking out of max boat width". And I am sure these asy rudders need special reinforcements and I cannot understand the dispute which we have as per today in the AC. I am happy that my Moth and Sails are being measured and class legal. 

Smooth sailing everyone out there!

Photo Credit goes to Chris Cameron of ETNZ

Off to the DN European Championship

Less drag by bending the mast in the "right" direction

Long time , no hear. Suffering from a very bad mutant (?) flu it took me a lot of days to get back in shape and also to prepare my DN equipment which I had neglected last year after coming back from Sweden. Had been out racing 5 weeks ago and realized, something has to be done. Runner sharpening and alignment. Time consuming and difficult to really get into it when there are so many distractions. We are living in a very difficult business climate and nobody really knows when and if things will pick up again. In the marine trade business we thought that it cannot get any worse but every month shows that we seem not to have reached the bottom yet. Ask your friends, they might come up with the same answers all around the world. 

Picture shows a price which I had donated to our president, who is searching by plane for the best ice conditions all over Europe

But lets not be too negative here. I am looking forward to meet with friends from all over the iceboating world. Though it is a European Championship we have participants as usual from the USA and we have Karol Jablonski, P-736, back in the fleet, sailing the DN. I really wonder why he has not been invited to share ideas and to sail one of the foiling monsters, the AC72´s. He has done a Tornado Olympic campaign. Several times DN World Champion, knows all about apparent wind sailing and sniffs the gusts, due to many, many hours on the ice where you cannot "see" the wind. Same with Ron Sherry, US-44, also a multi former World Champion. 

From a Moth point of view it is a pity that Amac cannot make it. He was very interested to sail a DN regatta and I am sure the sport would suit him. He had to cancel due to business committments. I had prepared my reserve boat for him and really aligned some nice runners for this boat. I think that Amac is looking into possibilites about how to make the Moth rig faster. As I had said in some sailing forums long time ago, it is all about drag. And if you look at the DN picture above, the drag can be reduced with the help of the bending. But in the case of the DN, tests had brought the best results with the "odd" triangel shape of the sail. A fat head sail with a short foot leech did not work at the time of testing. This might change with more testing but in the meantime we are all happy with the rig of our iceboats and we love to bend it to leeward which is enabling the "turbo" to accelerate the boat like there is no tommorow. Look at this video. No drag from the bottom, the runners, just the drag, the driver and the boat and the rig are producing. Reducing the drag in the water is also what the current developement in the AC72´s is looking for. Yeep, they are foiling.

Best wishes to everyone for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

My DN friends are usually searching for good ice conditions between the holidays at the years end and there is a pattern to where the different people are going. I have usually made up my mind at the last minute due to family commitments but these commitments had also stopped me during the last years to go either north to Sweden or South to Italy. This year some friends have gone east to Poland where they have found good conditions, but only for a few days. My prefered location would be Lake Rescia (Reschensee) where you usually also find my friend Thomas, whom I had talked into the Moth class during one of our DN meetings, somewhere on the Ice site in one of those long nights in our campers. Thomas easily beat me on the soft water after a year in the Moth and I was able to beat him on the ice in the last competitions. It is always fun, we always share our experience. A pity that this great sports buddy is living in the south and I am living in the north of Germany. Anyway if you look at the picture above, in the left corner, you can see a small group of DN´s. It is early morning, I guess everyone is still at breakfast looking out the window to the beautiful scenery from the www.seehotel.it or else. Maybe the snowfall, which is predicted, will stop the sailing but than the skiing or sledging takes over. It is all good in Italy at 1500m above sea level.

Yes, and what am I doing here at the office desk on my computer? I am staying home another year due to different commitments. Company wise and in my social life. Yeep, I am going to a "ball opening" with full ball gown tonight. Life is pretty at the years end and it will finish with a positive note. Looking forward to 2013 to meet with my sailing friends again on hard or soft water. Maybe also doing some keel boat races in Kiel and Flensburg on my new "thing".

On the Ice again

Yeah, life is not bad when the Fjord at my home starts freezing in and the first sailable ice is developing. Such had been the thing yesterday and despite a work schedule for most of us, we met on the ice to sailsome practice races. It was good and I felt at home immediatley with my boat, with the surroundings and with myself. Maybe that had been the reason that I won all of the races despite the first two, but all without changing a knob. We had some good chat after finishing the day and thinking about racing again, maybe more officially on Saturday, weather permitting. See you on the Ice, G-99 Have not blogged for a long time after I had to swallow my frustrations of not being able to sail at Lake Garda. Did only do some practice at the wonderful venue and the warm water but at the first day, my back gave in. I was not able to carry my boat to the ramp and therefore went straight home to see the doctor. Couldn´t stay and look at 120 Moths having fun and fighting it out. Not that I would have been able to even touch a place better than 80th, but the great cameraderie and spirit in the Moth class is something special and it will pull me back into the next big event. See you on the water, GER-3835

Boat Prep is King...

Boat preparation going on everywhere here in Camp Moth in Campione. Foils are being smoothed down to 2000 grid, carbon work is going on every evening when there is shadow protection from the high cliffs in the west of the launch area. At present there is no hurry to put in any morning races with the "Peler" wind. This is the reason why the Mothospehere is buzzing with news and Fotos and all. At present I am counting 15 computers in action down here at the Cantina which serves us not only with good food but with a stable WiFi. Heart that there is a lot of "noise" in the many FB pages which I am ignoring. My own preparation had only been marginal though I know some of the important bits to go through. But I did not expect a knot to slip open, a splice to detach and my boom vang to open up at the holding part. Bloody me. Than there was a lack of speed both up and down and avoiding traffic in the most careful way. You can see in pictures, published at Segelreporter that 80% of the fleet did start on port tack. You than do not want to be the idiot to call for right of way as a starboard tacker on the line, close to the pin end. 50km/h crossing speed will not be without harmful damage. One sailor already ended up in hospital. I tried a right of way start closer to the boat. The line was difficult to cross but when the fleet approached me, I tacked to port immediately but after that, I found myself already at the back end of the fleet in the first race. Due to technical problems missed the 2nd and 3rd but had all the slipway for myself to do a safe hauling out of my boat. Done some boat prep in the evening, even sanded down my centerboard and foil. Hope it helps the mind set today. Being in 114th spot is not exactly what I came here for. 99 would be acceptable, bearing in mind the risen standard within the class. A great article can be found again today (as yesterday, scroll back on the fron page and read "Naked Lunch") on SA.com. You can read about this fantastic event in German language at SR.com who said they are covering the event. And many good Fotos, taken daily can be found at the Mottenfieber link as in the post below. On with some food, a good cafe latte and waiting for the Ora to set in from the south.

Moth Blogger in Campione, italy

An amazing new place here in Campione, Italy with a Cantina giving us a stabil Wifi an the best coffee south of the German border. The Italian championship is behind us. Today is a layday with measurements and technology sharing. I had a nice swim in the lake this morning and am sitting now in the air conditioned Cantina because it is very hot outside. The boat is sorted after some small trouble yesterday. Some ropes had not been rigged in the right way which might have to do with the extensive heat, this North German participant is not used to. Nevtheless had a nice sail yesterday and had to try out unusual cloth combination due to the warmth of the water and the burning sun. Two Leicra shirts on top and no neopren seemed to be a good answer. Mottenfieber Fotogalerie

Moth Worlds coming soon, just read this...

Yes,preparing for the Moth´s Worlds at Lake Garda in Campione, my favorite spot on the Lake. Happy to meet with friends and to fight it out at the end of the fleet. My goal is not to finish in the three digit region Should be possible if I go out for some training this evening. Now if one or the others of my readers want to know who is there and who is gonna win, here is a expert analyses from the Grandmaster himself, Mr. Simon Payne: Simon's Form Guide A link to the event can be found on the right. And I can only advise those who always want to know more to use the inks to the international Moth Forum or to the German Website. Have fun, enjoy life and see you soon.

Look Ma, no wires...

I had watched these interesting little sailboats in Spain during my last trip to the Mar Menor. There are no stays or wires connected. Both jib and main are on free standing poles. Amazing little crafts and I wonder why in this age of carbon fibre tubes no one else did come up with such a great idea. These boats had been sailed by two handicapped people and the regatta was intense with lot´s of wind and waves. They looked great out on the water with their colourful liveries.

Cooles Video

Thanks to Scuttlebutt and Brownie for this Moth video with several cameras mounted on the boat. Brownie´s Moth experiences. Have some great sailing days and see you in Horsens at the Moth regatta, June 9th. Your entry shall be placed with Søren at: Info@horsensvaerft.dk. Photocredit for the great startline shot goes to: Susie Tagg

Great Racing in Champagne Conditions

Moth Fest as expected. The water really warm, the friends and competitors relaxed, the food excellent. Alan has put on again a great event at www.pro-vela.com. The participants decided that we are running short races for the last three days. First one round, later in the day 2 rounds. We have 2 groups of abt. 5-6 boats each, who are fighting it out. Great fun. I found myself in the first group, fighting it out with Alan for third. June and David running the races from the Rib with early starters being identified, so no cheating.

Pablo is the star of show, leading in all races and being up on foils first, when the wind drops a bit later in the afternoon. Flawless wind spotting by him. Janne from Finland did his first excellent jibes yesterday and he will be someone to watch in the near future. His catamaran background (F18) definitely counts.  Back to the club for some boat maintenance and another day of champagne sailing here on the Mar Menor in Los Narejos.

Training, Racing and a Sauna at the Beach

What a great week we had here in the North of Germany. Sailors flocked in at 1st of May and it started with the welcoming of all participants for the training "week". The 1st of May is known as a "hoist your red flag" holiday in Germany, but we did not go for protesting (against whatever) instead we wanted to put in some serious sailing after the long Mothless winter time. For 80 % of the sailors it had been the first outing this year. With Markus, we had a very knowledgeable trainer who does not only sail fast on his Moth, but who understands so well all the physics and hydrodynamics around our little boats. He is able to give lectures about things which are important but which I had not even thought about. Time on the water had been shared with time on land discussing speed and handling issues. Everyone had made progress in his own field. During the only windless day, videos had been taken about the foils going through the water, which gave some interesting discussions later in the evening. The small hometown club, the HSVS which has it´s origin in sailing old fisherman´s prams welcomed all Moth sailors and the President, Walter Rolfs, had held an opening speech in the native North German language. The Fisherman´s society, thanks to foreman Harald Ross, had allowed the Mothies not only to rig their boats on the ground but also to park their campers and trailers on their meadow which is normally being used to repair and refit their nets and fishing equipments. This made life easy for the Mothies, as it meant boats and cars and the club as well as the launching beach, to slip the boats, had all been within a 40 m circle. Evening activities were based on a herring BBQ, cooking noodles for all and visiting the local restaurant within walking distance. All in all it is a very convenient environment with a low carbon footprint. Friday, 4th of May, the wind did not cooperate, it was light but Markus had a great "game plan" in mind. Short course racing with 3 jibes instead of tacking upwind and 3 tacks instead of jibing downwind. Great fun and you should try it out with your Moth in the light air.

CTM Carbon Motte: Saturday we had sailed four races in: "it is not normally like this" wind from the north-west, which meant a lot of gusts and shifting around 30°. The wind strength in the typical Markus: "it is only 3 Bft range", but some of us felt a little more pressure. A couple capsizes and the cold water let me and others go straight for the "Sauna at the beach" after the racing. The juniors (Lüttsegler) were already welcoming us with coffee and cakes and a water hose to give us a shower after coming out from the sauna. Great fun for everyone and thanks to Dirk Röhlig, Saunapointwho had sponsored the sauna event. Sunday saw light winds, shifting around half of the clock. Junior race officer, Johan made the right choice for one 2 lap race which had been raced against the easterly wind which held about 3/4 of an hour. Later in the day, the wind shifted to the west, but only a zephir breeze as already in the first race of the day. Everyone was happy to hit for the beach and to pack the boats after a 5 day Moth session in Schleswig. Coffe, cakes and a prize giving rounded up this event. The Carbon-Motte again being taken home and cared by Markus. As you can see from the results list at: Results, Markus won the regatta with 5 bullets, followed by Sven, being a little bit rusty after the long winter and our newcomer on the racing course (not new in the Moth), Andreas, who sailed some excellent races, finishing third. Hannes had boat problems, which we were able to fix over night and he finished fourth. Usually I would only mention the podium places but Hannes deserves a special mentioning, because he gave a talk in the HSVS about his way to become a sailor and his path to win the bronze medal in the 49er class, during the last Olympic games in China. The juniors and their parents and interested Mothies were deeply impressed. Look also at: HSVS Event Site Thanks again, Hannes, for this spontaneous event which will stick in the minds and hearts of the junior sailors from the HSVS. Next stop for me is the: Moth Fest at the Mar Menor, where I will haul my boat out of the monster garage, which had been mentioned in the blog entry below. Edit: Sorry, not possible to put in paragraphs in this "new" Blogger layout program, though they are showing in my text.

My Monster Garage

Moth blogging seems to get busy again and I appreciate my friend Harald to come up with his reports, which enhances me to give a short update about my own activities. My boat had been stowed in the big garage as you can see from the photo above. I rolled it out for the last ten days, finishing on Saturday, for an everyday sailing session. A nice warm-up to the season, lying ahead for us Northern European Mothies. Our Swedish friends from Stockholm had the same idea and were also sailing a couple of days on the Mar Menor.

Being back in the office today I dream about the lunch break which is illustrated by the photo below. Always a highlight of the day in the C.A.R. Christina and the easy going canteen with good and cheap food. Boat being laid down on the beach ready for the afternoon session. I have signed myself already in for the Moth Fest @ pro-vela and afterwards the boat will be shipped back home. Some good relief from the difficulties which life has thrown on me in the past months. Hope to see you guys and gals out there soon.

Gone Windsurfing...

Gotta get out of this place that is what Eric Burdon is singing here. I have just taken the "WE" for an "I". Live has not been smooth the last weeks and now, looking forward to the sun, the waves and my old Lightwave 2,55 board with the GUN sails, all will be good at once. I am sure it works, it had already been much fun to dig the stuff out of the "drawer" today and to prepare for the long flight west and down south. Might blog something if I get back into the mood for it.

It´s all in the links...

Had a fantastic weekend on the Ice in Sweden with my new boat and a new mast. It is amazing how one can have small problems with the set up of the boat when not doing a full rigging process at home in the driveway or else. Which I had not done due to various circumstances. Raising the masts on the hull first time, it looked like my old shrouds were way too short for the new higher hull, but with a set-up of the mast at 94 cm it worked and did not look too bad. Rake was OK. Shrouds at the last possible hole. Anyway it was OK for sailing and for racing within the first third of the competitive fleet. Tips from the current European Champion, Karol, P-36, to move the mast back to 104 cm for more speed did not help me as it was impossible. Now I cannot wait if it is true and I will find a bit more speed when changing the set-up, which is meant to be for strong wind and black ice. A different story in sticky conditions of course. More important would also be to get a bit stronger, to have more willpower on the downwind to fight hard for not loosing places. (Same, as in the Moth Class) It is amazing how much one can gain if purely holding on and blasting away from the weather mark. I am under the impression, that the top 5 gained half a leg on the first 1,8 km downwind flight.

Now, before writing up a more detailed report, which I had already done in German language Report (use your favorite translater) I give my fellow 3 readers, who like to know more, some links to more information and pictures:

An nice article and video link can be found about our first training session on Friday 12th in Sandviken at Segelreporter.com : Segelreporter.com
This article also contains other links, like my report for the German DN site as well as the result list. Some great shots are to be seen at: Fotos from the weekend

Next stop: Somewhere in Northern Europe in 10 days for the World Championship and the Europeans which will be sailed straight afterwards. There will be about 10-15 participants from the US this time as well as Canadian sailors and with all the independent States in Europe we might have again 18 - 20 Nations raising their flags. I hope that all the anthems, though nice to hear, are not played in full length out there on the ice because than we would be finished with the opening ceremony only in the dark.

The picture above had been taken in Sweden on Friday. Some early arrivals are being shown.
The second picture shows me (G-99) starting to hike just before the mast will fully bend and is taking the load and acceleration.