17 July 2020
The
regatta season for big boat sailors has had a late start. The corona
pandemic has so far restricted sports competitions with more than
two people on board. Now Kiel Week (5-13 September) offers big boat
sailors the opportunity to measure their strength against each
other. The international German championship of ORCi sailors and
double-handed sailors are certainly the highlights in a regatta
offer that offers something for everyone: from family fun to
professional sailing, from weekend missions to sailing during the
entire Kiel Week.
"We have prepared a wide range even in difficult times. The safety
of the participants is of course in the foreground, and therefore we
will strictly adhere to all hygiene regulations and distance rules,”
said Dirk Ramhorst, organizer of the Kieler Woche regattas. “It is
crucial that you can sail. With the admission of the larger crew
(more than double-handed), the decision was also made that the
J-Classes (J/24, J/70 and J/80) can take part in Kiel Week.”
With the necessary safety distance, the start of the big-boat
regattas can be witnessed live on Dussernbrook's opening Saturday of
September 5 in Kiel. From 9 a.m., the multihulls (with already five
entries in the Welcome Race), the yardstick-measured yachts for the
Aalregatta, the ORC Club participants in the Welcome Race and the
participants in the ORCi-IDM start in front of Kiel Yacht Club.
Restrictions due to the corona pandemic regulate the registration
numbers. In order to comply with the regulations, not all big boats
are included in Schilksee. “We have to strictly limit the number of
people in Schilksee, health comes first, ”said Ramhorst. People will
understand the organizers' approach, which, thanks to the
postponement of Kiel Week, will make it possible for big boat
regattas to be possible here.
While the ORCi yachts will return to Kiel on Saturday, the
participants of the Aalregatta and the Welcome Race will moor in
Eckernförde. "Whether in the marina, at anchor or with the stern at
the pier, we still clarify with the authorities," said race manager
Ralf Paulsen. In any case, as in Schilksee, there will also be no
side events in Eckernförde. The number of registrations for these
regattas (Aalregatta: 80, Welcome Race: 45) is limited. The Senate
Prize on Thursday of Kiel Week (September 10th) and the Silver
Ribbon from Friday to Saturday (September 11th and 12th) will also
be shown around Schilksee. The participants of the IDM Offshore
(Saturday to Tuesday) and the IDM Doublehand (Thursday to Saturday)
are located in Schilksee.
The IDM starts on Saturday with the middle distance race. Moved to
the Aalregatta, the participants will start in front of
Düsternbrook. "We also fulfill the wish to bring sailing into the
inner fjord," said Dirk Ramhorst. In order to meet all wind and
weather conditions, there are three different courses on offer,
which can be sailed as required. "The main goal is to offer the
athletes fair conditions and high quality regattas," explains race
officer Eckart Reinke, who has made all arrangements with the DSV,
the Regatta authorities and the athletes. A maximum of eight short
races will follow from Sunday through Tuesday. The first start is
from 11 a.m., the last start is possible on Tuesday, September 8,
until 2 p.m., so the award ceremony in Schilksee is scheduled for 4
p.m.
The top names in German big boat sailing will be there, including
the defending champions from the previous year, "Intermezzo" (Jens
Kuphal, Berlin, ORCi I / II), "Immac Fram" (Kai Mares /
Dänischenhagen / ORCi III) , "Nemo" (Uwe Kleinvogel / Rostock / ORCi
IV) and the first German master in offshore double-handed sailing,
"Halbtrocken" (Knut Freudenberg / Nils Reichert / Flensburg).
“I'm looking forward to the connection between Kiel Week and IDM.
Kiel Week is a classic, and the IDM could almost be called Classico
in football jargon,” said Bertil Balser, head of the
Regatta-Vereinigung Seesegeln, at the beginning of the year. “The
Stollergrund and the experienced race management around Eckart
Reinke are always worth a trip,” according to the 2019 European
champion on board the "Sportsfreund" (Axel Seehafer /
Heiligenhafen). "We are hot for the IDM in Kiel," said Balser. In
the previous year, the “Sportsfreund” had to be satisfied with
second place at the IDM, so reparation is the order of the day. “The
title of German Champion is still the undisputed crown in German big
boat sailing. I think we have a small bill open, ”said Balser,
looking towards the season highlight. It is not certain whether
there will be further regattas - a planned Baltic series, consisting
of Swedish, Danish and German championships, has become difficult or
impossible in 2020 and may be postponed to 2021. The reigning German
champion in class ORCi III, Kai Mares, is also looking forward to
the first regatta start in 2020.
The skipper of the "Immac Fram" describes it like this: "Our crew is
already scratching their feet and is happy to finally get started.
We started training on July 1st, three months later than normal.” Of
course, defending the IDM title is high on the agenda of the
Hamburg-based sailing team. This is followed by the start of the
second postponed regatta, the Palma Vela. The regatta off Mallorca
was moved from spring to late October. "That fits now. We were
planning to move the boat to Mallorca anyway, to train there in
winter, spot new talent and spend the season on the Mediterranean in
2021. Junior work is the main topic of the Immac Sailing Team around
the new managing director Nic Breuer. But first of all, it is
necessary to connect to 2019. Last year "Immac Fram" won all races
of the IDM before Travemünde.”
Jens Kuphal, owner and skipper of the "Intermezzo," is pleased to be
able to tackle the title defense of the IDM (ORCi I / II): "First of
all, we are pleased that it is even possible to hold the Kiel Week
and the IDM. And if you can get something positive out of the
pandemic from a sporting point of view, then surely its the quality
of the field. Many teams are obviously hungry to have another
highlighted event for this season.” In any case, Kuphal focuses on
repeating the success of the previous year when“ Intermezzo ”sailed
their first national title before Travemünde: “Why not? We will
fight for it and also count on realistic chances.” The team's level
of performance is still unclear after the months of being at a
standstill, but the yacht, a Landmark 43, should be ready for
training in mid-July. "We hope that this will once again improve
performance. And the team is well staffed.” In addition to tactician
Robert Stanjek (star boat Olympic champion from London) and yacht
optimizer Max Gurgel in the trimmer position, two-time British
circumnavigator and Olympic athlete Annie Lush joins the team.
Kuphal: “We are happy to have her on board as a pit woman. So we
have a top line-up - even if we will probably only have ten men on
board because of Corona, although we usually sail with eleven. ”
The appearance of the new "Halbtrocken 4.0" certainly deserves
attention. Owner Michael Berghorn from Kiel Yacht Club has exchanged
his X41 for a Mills 45. The offshore racer was designed by Mark
Mills and was built at PCT in Dubai. In recent years, the Mills 45
has sailed under the name "Concubine" in major regattas in the
southern hemisphere off Australia. The yacht came to Europe from
Adelaide and is now waiting for its first use. Among their big goals
are offshore regattas like participating in the Fastnet Race, and
before that, Up & Down racing now in front of Kiel.
After the IDM with a full crew, the duo Knut Freudenberg / Nils
Reichert (SV Flensburg) jumped into the next IDM with a First 36.7
because in the second part of Kiel Week the double-hand fleet is
starting. The new Olympic discipline "Mixed Two Person Offshore
Keelboat" (in 2024) is still in the construction phase. Offshore
regattas with small crews (one-handed and two-handed) are very
popular, but the cornerstones for Olympic offshore sailing are still
vague. In addition to Knut Freudenberg / Nils Reichert, Max Gurgel
and Robert Stanjek from “Intermezzo” are also sailing a second shift
by racing in the German offshore championship double hand in the
second half. Max Gurgel is sailing with Lena Weisskichel on the L30
"Sharifa", Robert Stanjek and the Minitransat hero Morten Bogacki
will launch a new Dehler 30od from Offshore Team Germany.
In contrast to the 2024 Olympic competitions, the International
German Championship was not only offered as mixed gender. "All
two-handed crews, whether mixed or not, can compete at the IDM,"
says Bertil Balser. However, there will be an additional mixed
classification. On Thursday, the two-handed crews start at 10.30
a.m., and from 11 a.m. the participants in the Senate Prize go on a
60 nautical mile long course. On Friday there will be 150 nautical
miles on the program: the long-distance overnight journey starts at
5 p.m. in Strande and ends on Saturday at the Kiel lighthouse.
At the moment, the German champions Freudenberg / Reichert are
facing five registered competitors. “Sailing for two has been
enjoying increasing popularity for a long time. The time of the big
crews is over. Social developments make it increasingly difficult to
get larger crews to commit to sports, ”Eckart Reinke says describing
the popularity of double-handed sailing.
The goal of the Dehler 30od class association, which is also started
in parallel with the Senate Prize and the Silver Band, is a separate
rating. The class has big goals and is "applying" for Olympic status
for the Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat discipline. The class
association expects eight boats in Kiel. Although 14 boats have
already been sold in the Baltic Sea region, not all of them are
ready to start. "But there is the possibility for non-owners to
charter a competitive Dehler," said Felix Hauss from the class
association. It is planned that the Dehler 30od yachts will have a
standard ORCi measurement certificate at Kieler Woche, in order to
be able to intervene in the fight for the title of the German
championship.
It is not only a special Kiel Week for the sailors, as the race
management also faces new challenges. “Race managers have to train
just like the athletes. Recognizing windshifts, realigning lanes and
initiating appropriate maneuvers under time pressure, all of this is
part of the task. Due to the closed ports and unusual regattas, the
race management crews face the same challenges as the participants,
namely without having to immediately perform perfectly without a lot
of training,” says Principal Race Officer Eckart Reinke.
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