Helge and Christian Sach made a clear statement at the Kieler Woche (Germany): Ten races in four days and almost only top 3 positions. If there’s a team to be afraid of at the Formula 18 Worlds it’s them. They know the playground and will do everything to keep the F18 title in Germany. Dany Paschalidis and Gustaf Dyrssen (Greece) ended in 2nd position on the podium. Jörg Gosche and Hannes Pegel became 3rd overall.
It’s the 9th time Helge and Christian win the Kieler Woche. But, it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Helge Sach:”When the event started we had a lot of competition with Dahl Nicolaisen/Vogelius from Denmark. In the weekend Paschalidis/Dyrssen from Greece were our new competitors. Fortunately Christian and I are sailing together for almost 40 years and our roles have always been the same. Christian is the tactician and crew, I’m helm. We didn’t have much time to prepare for this event becasue of my injury and complications after the F18 Worlds 2014 in Ireland. Just only two weeks ago it was the first moment for Christian an me to sail together on a boat since last year.” Sach is referring to his broken hand on the F18 Worlds 2014 and sailed the last 10 races with this injury, without knowing it was broken. Recovery took a long time, but now they’re back. It also shows that this ‘dreamteam’ can do a lot in less time. “Our goal is to get a top 10 position at the Worlds in Kiel, but we’re there for the FUN element in the 1st place. F18 sailing is really in our harts.”
Sach was also very happy with the coverage of the F18 class in Kiel and received a lot of positive reactions. “It was really nice to see how professional the coverage in Kiel was organized. Not only the GPS tracking on board made it possible to follow the fleet in real-time, but also the video coverage. We had (together with two other boats) a camera on board that weighed 2,5 kg and were still able to win. That’s why we both love to sail the Formula 18 class. It’s a competitive class where you can sail on a high performance and affordable boat, because their are no major and expensive upgrades & parts like some other classes. You can also sail against the best sailors from all over the world. It keeps me staying in shape and focused and because I organize corporate sailing for a living.”
Proud chairman
The German Formula 18 President, Jens Uwe Tonne, is very proud about the number of participating boats at the Kieler Woche 2015. Jens Uwe Tonne: “Forty F18’s from 10 different countries were present at the startline (the biggest non-Olympic fleet) and sailed two races each day. It was really nice to see how other classes reacted on the size of the fleet and even a bit jealous about the upcoming Worlds. The Race Committee (RC) is ready, we will have the same RC at the Worlds who did the Formula 18 and Nacra 17 fleet at the Kieler Woche. And a tip for all ailors. Make sure you’re in time in Kiel and explore the race area. Conditions can be pretty shifty in Kiel, so you need to know where where to be on the race court.”
Top 10 results:
- H. Sach/C. Sach (GER) 15 points
- Paschalidis/Dyrssen (GRE) 22 points
- Gosche/Pegel (GER) 34 points
- Dahl Nicolaisen/Vogelius (DEN) 50 points
- E. Kaphengst/T. Kaphengst (GER) 52 points
- Schwall/Hartkopf (GER) 59 points
- Schütz/Kühl (GER) 65 points
- Lindstädt/Odefey (GER) 67 points
- Blom-Bakke/Johansson (NOR) 68 points
- Räisänen/Hartas (FIN) 74 points
All results can be downloaded here. If you want to review all individual races, click here. More information about the Formula 18 Worlds can be found on the website.