A-Class: German Nats 2011: Bob Baier 1st

Report by Rainer Bohrer ——
Bob Baier defends 2011 international German championship title in A-Cat sailing at the Ammersee
From Friday, October 7 to Sunday, October 9, 2011, the International German
Rankings Competition for A-Cat sailors took place at the Ammersee. The
competition was organized by the TSV Utting club, and was sponsored by
the company ‘Schröter Modell- und Formenbau‘.
The event drew an
international field of top-notch A-Cat sailors to Utting on the lake
Ammersee. Along with a large field of German sailors, the club also
welcomed guests from England, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Austria. The
TSV Utting club was a very competent host for the sporting event –
showing great professionalism in organizing the races, and its members
showed extraordinary motivation as a support team.

The regatta
weekend was marked by both fluctuating temperatures and fluctuating wind
conditions – a genuine challenge for everyone involved. A total of 6
races were held over three days of competition. Temperatures briefly
dropped to about 3 degrees Celsius. The very first race on Friday was
met by a storm squall with hail, which sent the majority of sailors into
the cold water. The regatta director Günther Moertel immediately
instructed all boats to return to land. Thanks to its numerous rescue
boats, neighboring clubs were able to prevent any serious mishaps.
After
a brief recovery period from the weather shock, everyone prepared for
another five races on the Ammersee – some of them hard fought battles.
Wind conditions for the remaining races were extremely complicated with
many sudden gusts and wind shifts, which placed high demands on all of
the sailors’ abilities. So, it was not surprising that the racing
scene’s regulars moved up to frontrunner positions.

The
German Championship was clearly and impressively won by Bob Baier (GER)
who placed ahead of Sascha Wallmer (CH) and Nils Bunkenburg (GER).
Helmut Stumhofer (GER) took fourth place. Bob Baier once again proved to
be an extremely well-rounded sailor in his class and had a very good
material package; he is an absolute top performer in Europe, even in the
most difficult of conditions. Stumhofer and Baier delivered hard-fought
battles in strong and moderate winds, and some of the races were not
decided until the final meters. Sascha Wallmer, a light wind and
tactical expert, exploited his opportunities in races with decreasing
winds. In a successful comeback, Nils Bunkenburg was constantly in the
lead group in all conditions.

The former A-Cat sailing
world champion only needed one day of competition to reestablish himself
among the top group after retiring from competition for several years.
After his return to racing at lightning speed, ‘sailing Germany’ can
only hope for his continued presence at A-CAT regatta competitions!
On Saturday evening, all race participants and helpers were invited to
the the 40th anniversary celebration of the German A-Cat Association at
the club facilities of the Utting Sailing Association.

The
rock and roll band “Root Bootleg” played, and not only was its music
‘loud’, as announced in advance, but the clear consensus of the audience
was that it ‘rocked’ – putting out good vibrations for guests and the
event building alike.
The extraordinary weather conditions, the very good atmosphere and
excellent club work by TSV Utting Watersports will certainly leave a
long-lasting impression in the memories of participants. The next German
Championship event for A-Cat sailors will already be held in May 2012
in Wismar on the Baltic Sea.

For more information and photos go to the event website: www.idb2011.de.
Sincerely, for Vereinigung Deutscher A-Division Catamaran-Segler e.V. (VDAC e.V.)
(‘Association of German A-Division Catamaran Sailors’)
Rainer Bohrer