British Win J/22 2K Team-Race Germany

(Hamburg, Germany)-  The J/22 class in Germany and the Hamburger Segel-Club in Germany created a fun, new regatta to be sailed on the Alster Lake as a team race and called it the 2K International Cup.  The regatta saw very close competition amongst the teams that participated from Italy, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.  Here was the report from Manuel Huensch on how it all went down on the lake:

“Day three dawned with gale force winds as the 2K International Tour moved to the final stages of the regatta. With nearly all of Stage 1 complete and a forecast for strengthening breeze the PRO Stefan Roth, wisely chose to move as quickly as possible to the finals.

A quick repercharge round brought Yacht Club Costa Smeralda from the Italian island of Sardinia into the ring to face long term rivals but good friends Spinnaker Club from Great Britain.  At three-up in un-reefed J/22’s, the lightweight Brits were at a significant disadvantage.  As a result, the outcome of the race all depended on getting at least second on the starboard laylines coming into any of the marks.

Again and again, their success here gave Spinnaker the ability to pass their opponents back into a losing combination before the tightest of races to the finish.

Winning 2-0, Spinnaker watched with interest, and maybe concern, as the young Dutch  team from DMTRA also won their semi-finals elimination stage 2-0 against Bayerischer Yacht Club.

Emboldened by their impressive scoreline, the Dutch DMTRA team brought aggression and impressive speed to bear against Spinnaker in the final stage of the regatta.  In the first Race, the British Spinnaker team were again struggling with their lack of weight on the rail.  Spinnaker had to dig deep into their tactical repertoire to fend off the challenge. Despite a penalty at the windward mark, tight defensive work by Spinnaker's Sam Littlejohn got teammate Tom Hebbert's boat back into the game, and soon to victory in Race 1.

The outcome of Finals Race 2 was virtually over before it started.  Just about everything went wrong for the Dutch DMTRA team, leaving Spinnaker an easy 1-2 combo at the finish for both the race win and the International 2K Cup overall win.

In the Petite Final, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda also had to draw upon all their skills to win against Bayerischer Yacht Club.

Brilliantly organized and run by Hamburger Segel-Club, the club's board ended the event by announcing their decision to host a 2K event again next year! In the meantime, plans to run a German 2K clinic led by top 2K sailors is well advanced; especially after having gotten “schooled” by the well-sailed Spinnaker team with their brilliant team-racing tactics!”  For more International 2K Team-Racing Cup sailing information

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