Berlin 1 wins the 2011 Germany Final.
The Berlin 1 team sailed its way to overall victory at the BMW Sailing Cup Germany Final in Hamburg. The crew of skipper Christopher Jantz, Frank Grzeca, Andrea Gebauer, Michael Rösner and Demian Schaffert finished first and third in the final two races to secure overall victory on the Elbe. Skipper Matthias Unger's team from Münster finished on the same points (two second places), but the better individual finish was enough to give the crew from Berlin the win.
Victory in the national final of the world's largest international regatta series for amateur also secured the team's invitation to the International Final in spring 2012, when Berlin 1 will be up against the national winners from Italy, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Jantz and his crew earned their ticket to the Germany Final by winning the regatta on the Lake Wannsee at the beginning of July. This event was organised by BMW Niederlassung Berlin, in cooperation with the 'Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee' sailing club.
"We experienced the fascination of competitive sailing at close hand, with excitement right down to the final race, and all against the unique backdrop of HafenCity. That is what makes amateur sport and the BMW Sailing Cup so special," said Magnus Wiese, Head of Events, Tradeshows and Sports Marketing BMW Germany, at the presentation ceremony. Wiese and Oliver Kosanke, Chairman of the cooperating Mühlenberger Sailing Club, presented the prizes and congratulated all 14 teams.
"It was a thrilling and extremely exciting final, which was thoroughly enjoyable. We did everything right in the first of the final races. The manoeuvres worked brilliantly and we coped very well with the conditions on the Elbe. However, we discovered just how narrow the margin between success and failure can be in the second final race. We were leading when the gennaker dropped into the water as we rounded the final buoy. Third place was just enough to clinch the overall victory at the 2011 BMW Sailing Cup. We are now looking forward to the International Final," said Jantz.
Professional coach Hannes Baumann, who, as bowman alongside Tobias Schadewaldt in the 49er class, is well on course for the 2012 Olympic Games, congratulated his team on its excellent performance on these difficult tidal waters. 14 professional yachtsmen and women, including Ulrike Schümann and Olympic hopeful Kathrin Kadelbach (470er team with Friderike Belcher), really got into the swing of things throughout the entire final weekend as they cheered on the teams they trained from the shoreline.
Share this