World Championships at Steinhuder Meer: Wojcik and Slivova are Raceboard World Champions, Germany wins the Nations Cup
Many other regattas can only dream of such a field of participants: more than 160 surfers from 21 nations came together at Steinhuder Meer from 12 to 17 June for the Raceboard World Championships. Even competitors from Australia, the USA and Argentina came to Lower Saxony with their almost four-metre-long boards. And it was worth it: "It's beautiful, what a great lake! One of the best places for a regatta that I know!" reported James Luffman from Australia enthusiastically.
Light and shifting winds challenge the pump specialists
Despite very light winds, there were eleven normal races on paper for both men and women, as well as a long distance race on the third day of the event. "The long distance race lasted almost three hours. It was very physical, we were pumping almost the whole time. The wind was always shifting, so the strategy had to be right," reported American Farah Hall.
Brit Louis Morris adds: "It was very interesting to do something different. There were lots of opportunities to overtake, so it was a tactical challenge. And it was hard work because it was three times as long as a normal race!" On the last day, there was the Nations Cup with two heats, which the German team won with Lasse Brudek, Richard Sprenger, Markus Bouhier and Fabian Aldinger.
Jennifer Bouhier takes World Championship bronze
In the end, Poland's Maksymilian Wojcik won the men's World Championship title ahead of Jorge Maciel Andres from Spain and Patrik Pollak from Slovakia. Wojcik won six races, his closest rival from Spain only four, which ultimately decided the outcome. The best German is Andre Hartung in eighth place, Fabian Aldinger came tenth.
Jennifer Bouhier from Windsurfing-Club Jade took world championship bronze in the women's event. She was followed by Farah Hall from the USA and Jana Slivova from the Czech Republic, who became world champion with six wins. Dani Sanchez from Spain won the men's U23 category. "The wind was perfect, we had changing conditions, so you had to pick a side, but it was very good!" said Jennifer Bouhier about the conditions at Steinhuder Meer after the first day of racing.
High praise for the organisers of the Raceboard World Championships
In general, the spot and the organisation of the World Championships generated enthusiasm: "It was a fantastic World Championships for three reasons: We had 168 starters, which is very good in these post-pandemic times. The participants came from all over the world, which is great," said a delighted Bruno Marque, Race Director of the International Raceboard Class. "Secondly, we were in a beautiful setting, the Steinhuder Meer is really perfect - flat water and good wind. And thirdly, the organisation of the club was fantastic. They did everything possible to make it a great World Championship. The people are nice, the food was spectacular - everyone is happy!" Around 80 helpers from the Yacht Club Niedersachsen worked for months to prepare and organise the World Championships.
The organisation of the club was fantastic!"
The World Championships were also a big get-together for the raceboard scene: in addition to shared meals and a great atmosphere among the riders, there were also equipment exchanges and lots of mutual support. One highlight was the visit and presentation by sailmaker Monty Spindler, whose orange Loftsails models are currently the benchmark in the raceboard sector.
