A thrilling climax saw the regatta come down to the final race to decide Act 1 of the SAILING Champions League. The Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) from Hamburg won the decisive race in St. Petersburg Russia. The NRV managed to handle the difficult conditions best with shifty, weak winds on the Neva River in the city center of St. Petersburg. “We were of course hoping to reach the podium. During the qualifying races, we became more and more relaxed and stayed confident even in these difficult currents,” said helmsman Johannes Polgar. Frederikshavn Sejlklub from Denmark finished second ahead of the hosts, Saint Petersburg YC. The FS from Denmark lost their overnight lead to the NRV. Helmsman Kris Houmann commented, “In the decisive race, unfortunately the NRV overtook us and due to the wind shifts, we could not control them anymore. We are still very happy with second place and are looking forward to come to St. Petersburg again.” The last race of the event was extremely thrilling as the hosts from Saint Petersburg YC (SPBYC) sealed the final podium spot. “It was an incredible race. After our terrible start, I never thought we would win this race. A huge thanks to my wonderful team,” commented a relieved Anna Basalkina, skipper of the SPYC team. Twenty-one teams from all over Europe were trying to qualify for the finale of the SAILING Champions League in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. The races in St. Petersburg on the J/70s were extremely short and close to the audience on-shore. The SAILING Champions League will continue in September in Switzerland. Act 2 will take place from September 1-3 in St. Moritz. Then, the second group of the best international clubs will fight to qualify for the final of the SAILING Champions League in Italy. In Porto Cervo, the best teams from Act 1 and Act 2 will fight for the title “Best European Sail Club” and for the silver bowl by Robbe and Berking. As a technology partner of the SAILING Champions League, SAP is providing professional livestream coverage with expert commentary along with live results of the events: https://www.sapsailing.com/gwt/Home.html. For more SAILING Champions League information, visit http://sailing-championsleague.com/act-i-st-petersburg.