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27 / 10 / 2011
The Success of the Berlin-Match Race is owed to its Initiators: Peter Barnikow (BYC) - Achim Kadelbach (VSaW)
They know each other since school days at the Dreilinden Gymnasium in Berlin-Wannsee and remained linked by a common passion for the sailing sport. Both are long-time institutions within their clubs. Achim Kadelbach, born 1939 into a sailing dynasty, and literarily grown up with his VSaW club. His sailing career for decades has been extraordinarily successful: Not less than 51 years lie between the bronze medal in the FD class at the Olympic games in Rome 1960 and the 2011 German Vice-Championship in the dragon class!
Peter Barnikow instead joined the Berliner-Yacht-Club without a genetic sailing heritage, and changed to the officials level towards the end of the seventies. From 1978 to 1989 he was the BYC´s race director, then vice president of the club.
As both of them met in winter 1991 / 92 during ice sailing on Wannsee, they talked about the upcoming 125th anniversary of both clubs. Both, Achim Kadelbach and Peter Barnikow expressed the idea, to acknowledge the anniversaries with a common sports event. With Peter Barnikow´s experience directing a "modest" match race on sprinta sports boats in summer 1991 the idea was soon born. The realization had to be adequate to the memorable anniversaries. 1992 was to be an Olympic year, and Achim Kadelbach as a life long sailing athlete was decided to invite to the Berlin-Match-Race the crème de la crème of the german sailing sport: the 1992 german olympic sailors.
Success and feedback in both clubs and in the world of sailors developed a process with its own dynamics. A singular anniversary event led to a particular story of success for the sailing sport not only in Berlin. 20 vears ago, Achim and Peter could not foresee such a success, all the more they can be proud of their original idea.
