125th Kiel Week: The favourites are in command before the final

Some have won six out of a possible seven, others five out of seven: Axel Seehafer's X-41 "Sportsfreund" with Gordon Nickel at the helm and Kai Mares' Italia 9.98 "Immac-Fram" set the tone in the Kiel Cup and sailed towards the class victories in ORC I + II and ORC III in the final of the short races for the big boats of Kieler Woche on Tuesday. The Sieghamsters also sailed with concentration on the third day of the 125th edition of the world's largest regatta week, although the sports friends "afforded" themselves a fifth place on Monday and "Immac-Fram" also added a third place to their almost clean slate. These are still placings that others would like to have.

His crew regrets that "Sportsfreund" owner Axel Seehafer (Heiligenhafen) had to forego his own Kieler Woche start this year for professional reasons. "That's a great pity, because we would have loved to sail with our regular helmsman. But of course it's great that Axel is still making it possible for us to start here," says crew member and RVS Vice Bendix Hügelmann. Gordon Nickel, however, is a replacement with a great reputation at the helm. Last year, Nickel sailed the "One Spirit" to the German championship title in the ORC III classification group, and now he is confidently steering Seehafer's X-41 at the helm.

Behind it, however - in contrast to the Maior - Jens Kuphal's Landmark 43 joins the field of other X-41 yachts. The "Intermezzo" is always the fastest boat on the course and also plays a calculated role in the top ranks. The "Halbtrocken 4.0" of Michael Berghorn (Kiel) and the "Sydbank" with Torsten Bastiansen (Flensburg) lurk closely behind.

In the ORC III class, the "Immac-Fram" maintained its top position from the Maior, even though its sister ship "OneSpirit" occasionally managed to cross the finish line ahead of the Mares crew. The young crew has thus managed to turn the complete reorganisation of the team compared to the previous year into a success. In 2018, "One Spirit" won the German championship title. Sören Brandt (Kiel) has taken over the skipper position and has found a good attitude for the boat and the team. Behind the duo of the two Italia 9.98 yachts, Knut Freudenberg, the 2013 German champion, has established himself in third place with his "Halbtrocken" crew.

According to the weather experts, the Baltic Sea will give its regatta sailors a Caribbean day on Tuesday for the Kiel Cup final: less wind than on the previous days, but plenty of sunshine. While the top podium places seem to have been decided and the favourites are in command, the battle for the other podium places is likely to be exciting.

Here to see the results.