Unstable winds are keeping the Kieler Woche organisers under pressure: a warm front and light rain initially led to postponements in the programme on day three of the world's largest sailing series. "We are doing our best, but the wind is now playing along again," Kieler Woche sports director Dirk Ramhorst was finally able to announce on Monday afternoon.
Then the previously unused iQFoil windsurfers were finally able to get in on the action with reigning world champion Sebastian Kördel from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein. The man from Radolfzell opened the Kiel Week in the best possible way with three victories in three races.
I'm glad that we got three races through in just one and a half hours" (Sebastian Kördel)
The opening dominator's impressions of the course: "I pretty much dominated the first two races, there was some wind. Then the wind died again in the last one. I was fifth at the last buoy, but I got them all. So it was a pretty cool start overall. The seaweed also worked in the start area. I had good speed and hit the laylines well. I'm happy that we got three races through in just one and a half hours tonight."
Other classes had already completed their daily programme by then. In the Nacra 17, however, Olympic bronze medallists Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer from Kiel had not yet finished higher than third place after six races. "We are disappointed with ourselves. As has been the case since the beginning of the season, we are once again being tested by light wind conditions. We allowed ourselves too many unnecessary mistakes today," said helmsman Kohlhoff self-critically.
False early start signal from the tracker
The successful Kiel duo of recent years continues to work on its Achilles heel on the 2024 Olympic course: its notorious weakness in light winds. On paper, Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer should have dominated the Nacra 17 field, which was very weak due to the proximity to the Olympic test regatta in Kiel. Instead, the normally fast catamaran experts from Kiel got stuck on a buoy three times on day three and even had to jump into the water to free themselves.
In the third race of the day, the tracker attached to the bow of the Nacra, which displays the time and is used by the race organisers to identify early starters, among other things, had also indicated that the Olympic aces had started early. On this basis, Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer decided to take more risks in what they considered to be a "lost" race anyway. However, the early start indication later proved to be incorrect. The race result was categorised as seventh place and became the provisional stripper for the Olympians.
The 470 mixed crew with a good nose
On Monday, Theres Dahnke/Matti Cipra from the Plauer Wassersportverein took the lead in the new German showpiece discipline 470 Mixed after six races ahead of the runner-up European champions Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) and the sailing couple Malte and Anastasiya Winkel (Schweriner Yacht-Club/Norddeutscher Regatta Verein). "Theres and Matti have a good nose for the wind here," attested Malte Winkel to his former co-skipper Matti Cipra and his coxswain.
The reigning world champions Luise Wanser/Philipp Autenrieth (NRV/Bayerischer Yacht-Club) moved up to sixth place after a botched start. In the absence of any real international competition in Kiel, the four best 470 mixed crews in the German Sailing Team's world-class group are focussing on themselves on the fjord. "We are always 'on fire' when we compete with and against each other," said Malte Winkel, whose crew has qualified for the Olympic test regatta off Marseille in July.
The big goal is the Olympic Games. It's a good advantage to be able to take part in the Olympic test regatta" (Anastasiya Winkel)
Would they swap their "stage win" of participating in the Pre-Olympics on course for the 2024 Olympics for the World Championship gold of Wanser/Autenrieth or the European Championship silver of Diesch/Markfort? Anastasiya Winkel shakes her head: "Not really. The big goal is the Olympic Games. It's a good advantage to be able to take part in the Olympic test regatta and gain this important experience in the Olympic area."
In the Ilca 6, Julia Büsselberg from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club is in fifth place after three races. Theresa Steinlein is the best German female windsurfer in the iQFoil in second place after two races. In the 49er FX, Maru Scheel and Freya Feilcke from Kiel are in the lead after two races. In the Ilca 7, one of the two qualifying groups was one race ahead of the other on Monday evening, which is why there were initially no comparable results. The 49ers were still sailing at 7.30 pm.
