Event: Alpsee Skiff Weekend 2025, Segelclub Alpsee-Immenstadt e.V., 7 to 9 June 2025.
Reports by Gilbert Brietzke (GER) and Alex Greil (SUI)
The following two event reports for Alpsee Skiff Weekend 2025 are kindly provided by sailors from our German and Swiss Musto Skiff Class Associations.
Disclaimer: These reports have been translated into English using Google Translate. Some words or expressions of language may not be translated 100% accurately. The original reports can be viewed using the links provided.
German MSCA Report
A lot of pressure at the Alpsee 2025
Report by Gilbert Brietzke (German Musto Skiff Class Association)
The Alpsee put the skiff sailors of the 10 49ers, 3 49erFX, and 12 Musto Skiffs under a lot of pressure. Here, Gilbert (GER580) tells us about his experience at the 21st Alpsee Skiff Weekend.**
Friday:
After about 3 hours and 50 minutes (including 30 minutes of packing the boat), I arrived at the SCAI on Lake Alpsee late on Friday. I was greeted by a heavy shower in the late evening twilight. After a few minutes, the shower subsided, and I was able to venture out of the car. Four Musto’s were already set up in place, and two minutes later, I was able to shake Karsten’s hand. Dressed only in an “old rag,” he beamed as I finally correctly delivered his Musto hoodie in XL (!) from the GO-2024, which had been misplaced in 2024. The cozy, warm hoodie was just what he needed in the wet, damp weather.
Then I quickly raised the mast and inserted the racks: done! Oh no! The mainsheet had actually been almost impossible to trust over the previous weekends. I decided to “quickly” replace the sheet. There was a flurry of activity anyway, at least in the 49er camp. Several 49ers, apparently gathered from all corners of southern Germany, were hastily made race-ready! It also took a while with my sheet until the sheet was tapered, the rubber grommet sewn, and the figure-eight knot for stopping was in the right place. With the rain starting again and getting heavier on the wet meadow, I still got quite wet from the knee down: rubber boots would have been the right footwear!
Over pizza and beer, we chatted in the clubhouse with a relaxed, mixed group of Musto 49ers and dried off!
Forecast with wind and rain for Sat + Sun:
The forecast predicted quite a bit of precipitation for Saturday and Sunday – luckily coupled with the prospect of a fresh breeze! And that’s exactly what happened. Saturday began with rain. But between 9 a.m. and departure around midday it stayed dry. With a westerly wind, the start is only 200 meters from the clubhouse, so we went almost directly from the slipway into the first race in a somewhat gusty but still comfortable trapeze breeze.
I had a very good start, but then I weakened a bit compared to Karsten and Roger and changed to half leg. It turned out that Susanne, who tacked to starboard immediately after the start at the starting boat, was initially well in front with good pressure. However, this initial momentum ultimately carried her into a sudden lull in the wind, which I was briefly affected by myself. The front half of the field passed us on the left. But we were still to be reckoned with. A second time at the windward mark – and low and behold: the gusts took their toll, I was able to collect a few windfalls, and somehow there were also boats that were off course (…who sailed towards the finish line for a while after the first lap?). Anyway, with a good portion of luck on my part, I ended up in fourth place. Great for me!
By now you could see a few darker clouds gathering in the sky. In fact, even before the first signal for the second race the wind suddenly started blowing quite hard. Hardly any of the 49er/FX teams had the “stick in the air” anymore. But some of the Musto sailors also changed their training program: swimming training. An orderly race was out of the question for the time being, and landing would have been too risky. I thought the safest thing would be to put as much distance as possible from the leeward shore.
A few strong gusts later, when we reached the windward mark, the rain came. With the rain the wind remained quite strong, but the more brutal gusts passed and it became sailable again. Fabrice and Alex had already reached the windward mark. Under Geni’s guidance we sailed back down the Alpsee – since there were hardly any surfers, wing foilers, pedal boats, fishing boats or other obstacles on the lake in the awful weather – it was actually a carefree pleasure.
Near the starting boat, a few boats had still capsized, and some had even landed. To keep warm, I decided to spend a few more laps on the race course. However, the starting boat signaled that it was time to head back to shore. And so it remained a single race. It’s a shame, really, because after the terrifying 20 minutes of turbulence, the wind remained sailable in retrospect. But the race committee’s decision was entirely understandable.
Sunday: The race committee postponed the race for a little over an hour to check how strong the wind was blowing and to assess whether it would be sailable. Meanwhile, Ludwig fearlessly undertook such a check himself and set off. From the outside, it seemed like there was plenty of pressure, and Ludwig was battling with shifting and choppy gusts! The conditions didn’t seem to be easy. In the end, he soon made it back to shore. While I assumed it would stay too strong for the time being, just an hour later Alex, Karsten, and Fabrice fearlessly pushed into the water. Even now, wearing a wetsuit, I still had to check how the first 5-minute start went before slipping. Now, hurry: raise the sails and launch! Not so easy in the shifting gusts at the clubhouse, but thanks to Stefan, who had already lined up behind me, and Susanne, I got into the water safely.
The race had already started, but since the start was not far from the slipway, I was able to start normally, even though I was a few minutes behind. Stefan also made it across the starting line in time. Neither of us could close the gap, though; the wind was now perfectly sailable.
By the second race of the day, the wind had died down a bit, so the fleet grew again for the third race, while the 49ers preferred to stay on dry land. During the break between the second and third races of the day, Fabrice joked that the wind had died down a bit too much. Apparently, Saint Peter had heard this and ordered a good dose of wind for the third race. The third and fourth races were then held under so much pressure that even the wind-tested leaders briefly refused to raise their gennakers.
I can’t really recall exactly how the races went: I was simply too busy keeping the boat under control. But I managed quite well in the first three races. Unlike the last race, a lot of things went wrong. For example, I had to hoist a huge water bladder in the gennaker, which was extremely strenuous because I had messed up the gennaker hoisting. Somehow, the jibes didn’t work as usual, and I capsized several times before reaching the finish line. And so, after the fourth attempt, I arrived at the finish line a bit emaciated. Enough for today: the daily target of four races had been met, and it was time to head back ashore. Gusts of up to 31 knots were recorded at the clubhouse that day!
Over coffee and cake late Sunday afternoon, we watched the 49ers race in what was now a milder trapeze wind. At Lake Alpsee, the sailing action isn’t far from the shoreline, so we occasionally shared in the excitement or evaluated the manoeuvres or tactics of individual 49er crews. Finally, everyone was back on dry land, dinner was served, the evening sun slowly disappeared, and the familiar fire in the garden fireplace provided warmth until late into the night.
Calm forecast for Monday:
Monday finally started with a summery warm day. Perfect for drying all the damp clothes and gennakers. But it certainly didn’t look like there would be any wind. The race organisers were hoping for wind until it became clear that they wouldn’t be able to get a start before the last possible start. And even after the decision, the wind remained calm. The boats were packed up and the awards ceremony took place.
It was great! Many thanks to the SCAI, the tireless efforts of Philip Kyewski, its first chairman, and also to the entire regatta crew, on land and at sea!
Original report is available on the German Class Association website here.
An event report from SCAI is available at www.scai.bayern
SWISS MSCA Report
Skiff Weekend Alpsee: Alpsee is only once a year
Report by Alex Greil (Swiss Musto Skiff Class Association)
This year, a few crazy Musto and 49er sailors met up at Alpsee. Like every year, it’s the same people who come. But don’t forget, Alpsee only comes once a year. This year we were even able to welcome two women to the start.
Tamara Baumann showed up on the Swiss class charter boat and started with the small sail. The small sail makes getting started in the class much easier; even light sailors have the option of sailing a Musto with the small sail and not coming in dead last. The speed difference between the large and small sail is there, but not huge. The more wind there is, the smaller the speed difference. If you capsize less because of the small sail, you are significantly faster. Susanne Sailer, the second woman in the fleet, bought a boat on Lake Constance the evening before and took part. Karsten Groth also came from Holland, which is a long trip to Alpsee.
On Saturday the wind was between 8-12 knots during the race. After the race, a small front moved over Lake Alpsee. Most of the boats capsized and waited, the others sailed quickly. After the front, there was no more sailing, but we ate well.
On Sunday morning there was already a lot of pressure in the air. At midday the wind was strongest at around 30kts. After the front, the tough guys set off, of course only a few Musto’s. The wind was not that strong anymore, a comfortable 15kts, maybe 20 in the gusts. Once we saw that the wind was good for sailing, more and more Musto’s joined in. In the third and fourth races there was real pressure again, sometimes up to 28kts. Downwind I was able to sail 19.6kts on the race course.
After four races, we were able to watch the 49ers racing over dinner, which was very nice. On Monday there was no more wind but lots of sun.
Alex Greil SUI 486
Original report is available on the Swiss Class Association website here.
Overall Results
Final results for the Musto Skiff class at Alpsee Skiff Weekend 2025
- 1st – Alex Greil SUI
- 2nd – Karsten Groth NED
- 3rd – Gilbert Brietzke GER
- 4th – Fabrice Kohler SUI
- 5th – Roger Oswald SUI
- 6th – Stefan Scheidmadel SUI
- 7th – Bend Jahn GER
- 8th – Tamara Baumann SUI
- 9th – Ludwig Braun GER
- 10th – Susanne Sailer GER
- 11th – Dominik Voll GER
- 12th – Oliver Jeker SUI
Full results via Manage2Sail:
https://manage2sail.com/de-DE/event/6d6f4e01-fb9d-4b4a-9706-912ca423bb25#!/results?classId=b481aa39-a62f-4206-847c-86fea7303eea
Photo Credits: © Dominik Voll, Bernd Jahn, Susanne Sailer, Alex Greil
