They already served up the crowd-pleaser of Kiel Week in 2011 and they are doing it again: the Laser duel between Olympic hopeful Simon Grotelüschen from Lübeck and his sparring partner Philipp Buhl seems like a patent recipe for high-quality top-class sport against the threat of boredom in the extremely weak first Olympic half of Kiel Week. Most fan eyes in Kiel and on the screens on the Internet are focussed on the battle between the two Laser up-and-comers, who are tied on points at the top of the field after the second of five regatta days and five races.
After Philipp Buhl had initially taken the lead in the field of 73 starters from 20 nations at the start, Simon Grotelüschen returned to the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre on Sunday with his thumbs up from Bahn Echo. His counterattack in stormy winds of around four Beaufort was impressive: With two race wins, the 25-year-old came out on top - level on points with Buhl.
Ben Ainslie praises German laser sailors
Simon Grotelüschen describes the duel situation with his training partner Philipp Buhl as "an absolute stroke of luck for both of us". "Working with Philipp is very, very valuable for me," says the helmsman from the Lübeck Yacht Club, "when I'm close to Philipp, I know I'm on the right track. The reverse is also true, of course." The partnership is also so valuable because they represent different sailing styles. Grotelüschen explains: "In the past, Philipp was more of a risk-taker, while I was more conservative in regattas. In the meantime, we have both learnt from each other. Philipp sails more results-orientated, I sometimes take calculated risks in a race." The two German up-and-comers recently received praise from three-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie, who won his first Olympic silver medal twelve years ago in Sydney and went on to win gold four years later: "I don't know Simon and Philipp personally, but I've heard a lot about them recently. It's perfect that they can train and sail together at a high level. This is exactly how it has been working very, very well and successfully for us in Team GBR for a long time. We have a handful of world-class people in the Finn dinghy alone who make each other strong. I also benefit from that."
Olympic year takes toll on Kiel Week
In other Olympic classes, however, there is a lack of excitement in front of Kiel. Due to a lack of numbers, only six of the ten Olympic disciplines will be contested for Kiel Week victories. The fields - for example with twelve boats in the women's 470 - are frighteningly small. In total, only 242 boats with 332 sailors will be sailing in the first Olympic half of Kiel Week. The well-known Olympic candidates are already training in the Olympic area off Weymouth, while some of the German national sailing team are still gaining regatta practice at their home event.
The German Olympic hopefuls Tobias Schadewaldt and Hannes Baumann from Kiel are still looking for their form, but after an unsuccessful start they moved up to third place with good performances on the second day. Olympic starter Franziska Goltz from Kiel took the lead in the Laser Radial. The VSaW crew Annika Bochmann/Elisabeth Panuschka share the lead in the 470 after five races, level on points with Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke. The 470 duo Lutz/Beucke, who narrowly lost out in the national Olympic qualification, announced their imminent switch to the new Olympic discipline 29erXX during Kiel Week. "The boat is very interesting for us and fun to sail," said Susann Beucke from Kiel, "but we are keeping the final decision on our choice of boat open for the time being, as we can always go back to the 470."
Speeding "big boats" catch the head of the lake railway
Things were even stormier than for the dinghies off Kiel-Schilksee on the racecourse on Sunday. Sea course manager Eckard von der Mosel reported: "The start under spinnaker was already furious in five to six winds with the first sun shooters. There was real excitement in the fleet. And then two yachts shot out of the field - you have to experience that: The two 50-footers "Varuna" and "Info AG - Info CS" were so fast at 20, 22 knots that I couldn't keep up with my motorboat..." The middle distance Kiel-Eckernförde was won in ORC Club I (red) by Jens Kellinghusen's Hamburg Kerr 51 "Varuna" ahead of Ulrich Münker's Kiel J 125 "Needles & Pins" and the TP52 "Info AG - Info CS" with sailing pro Tim Kröger. In ORC Club I (green), Claus Bressler's Swan 56R "Chrila" won ahead of Sören Zopf's Nissen 55 "Peter von Danzig" and Tim Tröber's Swan 60R "Highland Fling". In ORC Club II, Martin Lutz's Bavaria 38 Match "Lutzifer" was the fastest yacht after 21 nautical miles. Jens Findel's Grand Surprise "Sprizz" from the Kiel Yacht Club won ORC III.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
