New Moon III (BAH 25, Jürg RYFFEL, Christoph BURGER, Peter VLASOV) has won the 2026 5.5 Metre German Open on Chiemsee after winning both final races on Saturday in a very unstable and shifty breeze. Ali Baba (GER 125, Wolf-Eberhard RICHTER, Beata KALKOWSKI, Jörg GRÜNEWALD) ended up second with Criollo (GER 30, Andreas CHRISTIANSEN, Felix CHRISTIANSEN, James CHRISTIANSEN) third.

After a short delay when the morning breeze died, it came back from the north-west for long enough for two races, but they were two very tricky races, with huge shifts, holes in the wind and pressure changes. While New Moon III led all the way in the opening race, Arcano (AUT 24, Dirk HARMS, Steffen GRÜNEWALD, Eugen KOSSINA), led the second race for a while until New Moon came past for a fifth win of the event. Many boats had turns near the front as the wind confounded and rewarded many crews.

After the second race the wind completely collapsed and an hour later the fleet was sent ashore, with racing abandoned for the day a few hours later.

For Jürg Ryffel, the championship was his third event in the boat as a ‘guest’ helm on New Moon III. It was also the team’s third win together.

He said, “It was very nice regatta. We had a very nice first day. Four races, three bullets and a third, but it was quite difficult. It looks not so difficult, but the first day was quite difficult because of the wind shifts and these wind holes, it was not so constant, the wind, and quite tricky.

“And today it was even worse. We had two races and it was not bad for us. I mean, we got two bullets and it was not bad at all. But it was quite difficult. There have been some wind shifts and we had to be between the mark and the other boats, so did quite well here.”

On the 5.5 Metre, “It's a very nice boat, and actually I have a very nice crew, and a very good crew. Next we go to the Garda Lake at, Malcesine, in a week, and that's our next race.” And long term? “I decide after the next race. I will tell you then.”

Mine Köster and Nele Schuster sailed on Singora and picked up third placed Evolution in the event. They are part of a growing group of youth sailors in claas.

“Today we finished two races. We had not that much wind, but it was possible to race. But after those two races the wind dropped, died, and there was nothing. So we went back to the harbour and waited.

“It was great sailing, a little bit tricky with the shifty winds, but it was nice. It was very warm and very nice. We had a great dinner last evening and the sun was shining today.

“We really love these events, the boats are great and we love to race against each other. It's always a lot of fun.”

The host club, Seebrucker Regatta-Verein, did an amazing job on and off the water, with generous sponsors for free beer, gifts and a constant supply of food and drinks. It was a great model for perfect event management, complementing the great camaraderie and friendships within the fleet.

Next up for the class is the inaugural and innovative Multi-Nations taking place in Malcesine, on Lake Garda, Italy, in two weeks’ time, before the fleet heads to Athens for its first ever World Championship in Greece.

Final results after six races

1 New Moon III (BAH 25, Jürg RYFFEL, Christoph BURGER, Peter VLASOV) 5
2 Ali Baba (GER 125/184, Wolf-Eberhard RICHTER, Beata KALKOWSKI, Jörg GRÜNEWALD) 12
4 Criollo (GER 30, Andreas CHRISTIANSEN, Felix CHRISTIANSEN, James CHRISTIANSEN)18
3 randale 5.5 (GER 86, Frank STEIN, Giacomo CINTI, Nico GERIN) 19
5 Manuela V (ITA 36, Guido TOMMASI, Matteo BARISON, Andrea RACCHELLI) 22