Almost 70 participants gathered at Lake Wittensee for the first "Wittensee Foiling Championships" to determine their champions, particularly in the youth sector, in an International German Youth Championship in the Techno 293-U15 class and an International Best in the Open Windfoil Youth class. The event was complemented by an adult Formula Foil field, which was also looking for its International German Champion with an iQFoil sub-classification. The event was organised by Wassersportclub am Wittensee and Windsurfing-Club Wittensee-Rendsburg.
"It was a very challenging event on this inland waterway" - that was the conclusion of race director Konrad Sagebiel from the Akademischer Segler-Verein in Berlin. "We made great efforts to lay out appropriate courses for all classes, as the wind conditions were different every day. Nevertheless, it was a successful event."
On the first day of racing, two separate courses were laid out in good wind conditions so that all classes could race for the first time. However, this turned out to be impractical because only a limited number of boats were allowed on the Wittensee for nature conservation reasons. On the following two days, the race officer set up a different course scheme that could be used by all classes present. However, the groups then had to take turns on the regatta course.
Fire brigade has to rescue launch boat
While the wind was always just over 10 knots on these two days, on the final day there was already a westerly wind of 12 knots under land and 22 knots at the peak in the middle of the sea during the preparation phase for the first start. The Techno 293 began with the 12th race of the series, followed immediately by the Open Windfoil Youth with the 5th and 6th races. When the Formula Foil class then took to the regatta course, the wind picked up very strongly within a few minutes, with gusts of up to 70 km/h whipping across the lake. Waves built up, washing over the starting boat and making it impossible to manoeuvre. The race committee therefore cancelled the event one hour before the last possible start with an AP above A for all classes. The start boat was brought into the harbour with the safety boats and the support of the local fire brigade's rescue boat.
Katrin Adloff, Vice President of the DSV with responsibility for competitive sailing, the Chairman of the Schleswig-Holstein Sailing Association Jan-Dirk Tenge and the District President of the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district Sabine Mues were present at the award ceremony and presented certificates, medals and trophies. The district president admired the performance of the two clubs and thanked them "for the great cinema" on Lake Wittensee.
"Would have liked to do more races"
Gustav Grünbaum, the new German youth champion in the Techno 293-U15 class, a globally recognised one-design class, was delighted with his victory. However, he added: "The race organisers put a lot of effort into the course. Nevertheless, I would have liked to have sailed more races. I didn't really like waiting for the next start."
Not entirely unexpectedly, Pawel Dittrich from Poland, who competes for the Werder/Havel windsurfing club, ended up with a familiar face on the top step of the podium. After all, he was this year's Master World Champion in the Formula class: "I really enjoyed this spot, the organisers went to a lot of trouble, it was a pleasant stay here."
The 4-day championship was supported by numerous sponsors, including the Harald Striewski Foundation, wind farm developer Dencker und Wulf and VR Bank Schleswig-Mittelholstein. The organisers had set up a large video screen for spectators at the event, which was provided by Eckernförde Touristik und Marketing GmbH.
Results Wittensee Foiling Championships 2023
IDJM Techno 293
- 1st Gustav Grünbaum (YC Warnow, 17 points)
- 2nd Philipp Köhlert (SC Kühlungsborn, 20 p.)
- 3rd Tom Franke (Nordwind Wassersport, 30 p.)
Ranking Techno 293 U17
- 1st Pauline Bruch (Nordwind Wassersport, 12 p.)
- 2nd Eva Lotte Grünbaum (YC Warnow, 14 p.)
- 3rd Noah Schmäh (Nordwind Wassersport, 25 p.)
Ranking Techno 293 U13
- 1st Ken-Oke Benedict (YC Warnow, 9 p.)
- 2nd Fritz Grünbaum (YC Warnow, 16 p.)
- 3rd Smilla Petersen (Surfclub Flensburg, 25 p.)
IDJM Techno 293 U15 Men
- 1st Gustav Grünbaum (YC Warnow)
- 2nd Philipp Köhlert (SC Kühlungsborn)
- 3rd Moritz Schleicher (Die Schwimmflöhe, Bad Endorf)
IDJM Techno 293 U15 Women
- 1st Charlotte Benedict (YC Warnow)
- 2nd Smilla Petersen (SC Flensburg)
- 3rd Leah Schmäh (Nordwind Wassersport)
International German Championship Open Windfoil Youth
- 1. Lenny Friemel (SV Wacker Burghausen, 6 p.)
- 2nd Felix Dybdahl (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening Oslo, 11 p.)
- 3rd Meno Büchler (Surf Club Kiel, 14 p.)
International German Championship Open Windfoil Youth U17
- 1st Moritz Schleicher (Die Schwimmflöhe, Bad Endorf, 5 p.)
- 2nd Leon Maethner (Surf Club Kiel, 10 p.)
- 3rd Gustav Permin (Sejlklubben Snekken, DK, 13 p.)
International German Championship Open Windfoil Youth Women
- 1st Sophia Meyer (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, 6 p.)
- 2nd Emma Schleicher (Die Schwimmflöhe, 9 p.)
- 3rd Lucy Schleicher (SV Wacker Burghausen, 12 p.)
International German Championship Formula Foil and special evaluation iQFoil
- 1st Pawel Dittrich (WSV Werder, 5 p.)
- 2nd Jonne Heimann (Württembergischer Yacht-Club, 9 p.)
- 3rd Jakob Ditzen (Windsurfing Verein Berlin, 12 p.)
International German Championship Formula Foil Women
- 1st Sophia Meyer (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee)
- 2nd Lucy Schleicher (SV Wacker Burghausen)
- 3rd Helena Lale (Hildener Windsurfing Club)
International German Championship Formula Foil - Grandmaster
- 1st Pawel Dittrich (WSV Werder)
- 2nd Bernd Timme (Kieler Yacht-Club)
- 3rd Matthias Regber (Surf Club Kiel)
Text: Manfred Fritsche/WSCW