In Strander Bucht, the Olympic classes struggled through flat winds on the third day, while the larger yachts had to contend with a surprising 25 knots of wind. The fresh winds out at sea came so unexpectedly that some of the crews were travelling in sailing gear that was too light. Two collisions in the first race showed that the ORC classes were up for grabs. On the evening of the third day of the regatta, the new Kieler Woche organisation manager Dirk Ramhorst was also able to take stock with satisfaction: "Our concept has worked very well so far. We were able to complete the full programme again today."
A curiosity occurred in the ninth and final 49er race of the day, when the boats in second to fifth place crossed the finish line at exactly the same time and all four were awarded 3.5 points. Also involved in this unusual situation were Kiel's confident leaders Justus Schmidt and Max Böhme, who have already built up a clear lead of 23.5 points over their second-placed team-mates Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel. This means that Schmidt/Böhme are sailing within striking distance of the Berlin European champions, who have so far mostly been superior and more experienced, just in time for the start of the national Olympic qualification in the 49er and raise hopes of an exciting duel for the ticket to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "We're on a good run at the moment and can see that the boys are also beatable," said helmsman Justus Schmidt. "That won't dampen the good mood of our training group in any way. We have the common goal of winning a 49er medal in Rio. We are working hard together to achieve this. You can see the result in the good results here at Kieler Woche, among other things."
In addition to the successful German 49er sailors, the young Kiel catamaran mixed crew Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner also continued their successful course on Wednesday. The duo lead the Nacra 17 rankings by 27 points ahead of their Italian pursuers Francesco Porro/Laura Marimon Giovannetti. In the absence of the entire world elite, Kohlhoff and Werner are consistently utilising their now vastly increased international experience.
The third German leader is Laser helmsman Tobias Schadewaldt. The Oldenburg native leads the field of Olympic single-handed sailors with six points and the same number of points ahead of Denmark's Michael Hansen. However, the most successful Kiel Week sailors in the Olympic section up until Tuesday evening were the Austrian 470 World Champions Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar, who are trying to get back into shape in the small Kiel Week field after Vadlau has just recovered from a second torn ligament. Vadlau/Ogar have only sailed to first places in six races. "We want to get some sailing practice back here in Kiel before we fly to Rio after Kiel Week to test our equipment," explained Vadlau. The Austrians will not be taking part in the 470 European Championships because, according to Vadlau, "we don't feel fit enough to defend our title after my injury".
While the traditional sailors' breakfast on Monday morning centred on the joint Olympic bid in talks with Kiel's Lord Mayor Ulf Kämpfer and Hamburg's Senator for the Interior and Sports Michael Neumann, the big yachts were setting the tone out at sea. However, as errors had initially crept into the lists, there were still no reliable results in the evening.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
