Olympic medal glamour at the Kiel Week

by SVG Verlag on 15 May 2017 From the historical 12mR class to the DJI Speed Challenge with foiling kites, from the public fun run under sails, the 'Aalregatta', up to the appearance of the German Sailing Teams, from the National German Sailing Team 'Bundesliga' up to the Olympic glamour in the 49er as well as the Paralympic gold medal winners in the Skud and the 2.4mR - Kiel is once more offering the whole variety of the sailing sport.

Approximately 4000 active sailors from more than 60 nations are expected to be sailing in 50 different categories including the sea going yachts at the Kiel Week. More than 400 starts will take place on nine days, before the Medal Races in the Olympic classes will be the finish of the event on the last Sunday, the Super Sunday.

'The Kiel Week is filled with many highlights. On the one hand, we want to enable the ambitious sailors from the region to participate at the Kiel Week in the 'Aalregatta', on the other hand, we also want to help the World Sailing Association to reinstate sailing as a Paralympic sport by hosting the Para World Sailing Championships at the Kiel Week. Thus we are presenting the whole variety of the sailing sport with our cumulative sailing programme', explained the Head of Organisation of the Kiel Week regattas, Dirk Ramhorst (Kiel Yacht Club), at the press conference in the Gaastra show room in Hamburg. The spectators can experience all that and many other highlights of the biggest sailing event worldwide live and up close in the 'Audi Sailing Arena' in Kiel-Schilksee, on TV or on the web.

As the beginning of the sailing activities at the Kiel Week, there will again be the Welcome Race on the inner fjord in Kiel. On Saturday at 9:30am, the first group of the yachts with an ORC rating will be sailing across the start line in front of the Kiel Yacht Club. The ORC racers will be followed by the cruisers. The Aalregatta, which is again part of the Kiel Week, is a public fun run under sails. 'We want to give every big boat sailor the chance to participate at the Kiel Week', said Ramhorst. The cutter regattas on the first weekend and the tall ship regatta at the end of the event are further highlights on the inner fjord in Kiel.

The beginning in Kiel-Schilksee will be the National German Sailing League starting for the first time during the Kiel Week from Saturday until Monday. 15 international classes in the first part (17. until 20. June) will follow, before the Olympic classes are part of the game in the second part (21. until 25. June) and the sailors with disabilities are competing to win a World Championship medal in the Para World Sailing Championships (PWSC).

Scheidt is travelling to Kiel with five medals in his luggage: In the skiff, Brazil will play an important role in the men's fleet. Robert Scheidt, five-time Olympic medal winner in the Laser and Star (two-time gold in the Laser), has changed the boat for this season and now wants to attack in the 49er - together with his crew Gabriel Borges. And the 44-year old sailor has an experienced skiff sailor at his side. At the Olympics 2016, Borges has still been sailing with Marco Grael, the son of Torben Grael (two-time Olympic winner in the Star boat), and did finish on rank eleven. Marco Grael has also registered for Kiel and will be sailing with his new partner Carlos Robles. However this meeting alone will be an exciting top class event.

The contest with Robert Scheidt is also a special challenge for Justus Schmidt from Kiel. „Scheidt is a legend. The fact, that someone with his background and his age dares to get into this class, is fantastic. We will see, how he performs, because it is very important in the 49er to be well in shape. But Scheidt is an incredibly hard worker. If someone can make it, it is him', says Schmidt, European Champion 2015, who has not sailed any 49er race with his partner Max Boehme since last summer.

The motto for the young German crew Tim Fischer/Fabian Graf (NRV) is not to fear any big names. The two students from Kiel became Vice Junior World Champions in the previous year and did demonstrate their capability to sail into the top ranks in the World Cup, becoming seventh in Palma and 14. in Hyères this year. 'We have seen Robert Scheidt for the first time in the 49er in Palma. He is a legend like Ben Ainslie. His professionalism is of course remarkable. A successful sailor like him will for sure adapt to the 49er after a certain time. The respect is also huge. But in Palma, we managed to be in front of him', said Fischer.

Under the wing of national coach Max Grey, Fischer/Graf are also looking at the Olympics. 'Maybe we can also create a moment of surprise in 2019 and make Justus/Max and Erik/Thomas nervous. Regarding the training schedule and material, we have to continue working on our financial situation. Since we are a very young team in the Olympic sailing sport, we do not have to worry about our age for a start. We are definitely candidates for a continuing campaign until 2024', Tim Fischer is looking into the future.

For all five teams, the Kiel Week is also a good preparation for the 49er Europeans (27. July until 4. August) on the sailing territory in Kiel, before the German crews will be sailing to get into the squad at the Worlds four weeks later.

National German Sailing League 'Bundesliga': After the first match days of the National German Sailing League ('Bundesliga') on the Chiemsee and Lake Constance, the J/70 fleet is going to the North. The third location of the 1. National German Sailing League is Kiel. It is the first time, the 1. League will be sailing at the Kiel Week. The 18 best club crews will be competing against each other from Saturday to Monday on the bay in Strande, before the fleet is moving on via Travemuende and Gluecksburg to the finals in Berlin.

On the territory in Kiel, the two-time German Champion, the 'Norddeutscher Regatta Verein' (NRV), is among the favourites. Together with the Hamburg Sailing Cub and the Luebeck Yacht Club, the NRV is representing the teams from the North of Germany in the first quarter of the fleet, where also clubs from Berlin and the South of Germany take a strong position.

'We are delighted to be able to extend the Kiel Week by another top-class part of the regatta sport', said Dirk Ramhorst, who has organised with his team to have the National German Sailing League races close to the spectators on the bay of Strande. And the 1. League will als be a part of the KielerWoche.TV programme on all three days powered by Audi, also shown in the Audi Sailing Arena.

With the team of the Hamburg Sailing Club, Silke Basedow (formerly Silke Hahlbrock) wants to demonstrate the women's power. Five women are in the crew of the HSC. 'The sailing sport is one of the few sports, where women and men can compete against each other with minor limitations. We did sail on lake Chiemsee with three women and one man and could not feel any disadvantage. Therefore we are planning to start also with three women at the upcoming regatta. The percentage of women in our DSBL team (National German Sailing League team) is more than 50 percent. We are currently testing, whether a women's team with four or five female sailors can be competitive, since the weight distribution plays a major role on the J/70', said Basedow, who does not want to hear anything about a 'men's league'. The experienced female match race sailor will definitely be with the crew in Kiel, either as a sailor or as a trainer. 'The Kiel Week is always a highlight in the regatta calendar, and a place on the podium during the Kiel Week is always a great feeling for each sailor', said Basedow.

DJI Speed Challenge: The pleasure of speed is marking the DJI Speed Challenge. On the round about 500 metres right in front of the Southern mole in Kiel-Schilksee it's all about speed on Friday, 23. June, from 6pm. Whether it is a 12mR classical yacht, a catamaran or foiling kites - the winner is the one, who has sailed the course in the shortest time.

At the first Kiel Week Speed Challenge in 2015, the kiter Roy Rodwald did win, flying across the course in 39.69 seconds. 12mR yachts, Extreme 40 and the Nacra 20 of the brothers Helge and Christian Sach did lose out. But after the start was not possible last year due to storm gusts, the brothers from Zarnekau/Germany want to take revenge in the second run and get the title. 'Maybe we will be starting with our M32 'itelligence', said Helge Sach, who is sailing together with his brother Christian with his catamaran at the 'Bodensee Rund Um' (a race around Lake Constance) eight days before. The catamaran experts and foiling pioneers are taking guests on their high speed rocket, taking it all around Europe. 'We have commitments at Lake Constance, so maybe we will not be able to participate at the Kiel Week in the F18', explained the professional sailor. The subscribed winners (nine Kiel Week titles in the previous eleven years) did only have to admit defeat to Joerg Gosche/Hannes Pegel (Bremen) twice since 2006. But in 2017, the name Sach will then not be found on the list of the F18s.

But completely without Kiel Week is not an option for the brothers Sach. The DJI Speed Challenge at the second weekend is a fixed date on their schedule. They will cross Germany with their catamaran on the trailer after their regatta at Lake Constance to be part of the game in Kiel. We will see, whether the M32 or the Nacra 20 has a chance against the foiling kites.