Kiel Week thrives on wind, water and waves. Who else epitomises the cosmopolitan sporting spirit better than the diversity of athletes from well over 40 nations on nine regatta courses off Schilksee. 14 international boat classes, peppered with the Folkboat Gold Cup in the first part and then the 11th ACO Musto Skiff World Championships, as well as eight Olympic disciplines guarantee top-class sport in a class of its own. Although the races take centre stage for more than 4,000 sailors, it is also the encounters, both chance and planned, that are of great importance to them this year.
After the two September editions in 2020 and 2021, the traditional date at the end of June feels right again. Head of organisation Dirk Ramhorst: "We thrive on being close to the many guests and want to enjoy the new, old freedom with them." This also includes the summer festival in the city centre, which was sorely missed twice.
The period between two Kiel Weeks has never been shorter than from 2021 to 2022 - a challenge for the entire organisation team. The number of participants proved once again that Kiel is on the wish list of many crews from Germany and abroad, whether with or without World Cup status in the Olympic disciplines. Some classes are experiencing a run. "This is the highest level of recognition for the performance and commitment of the volunteers," says Ramhorst, who as DSV Vice President of Competitive Sports also feels: "Kiel remains a milestone on the way to the Olympic Games."
When a red line appears in the Manage2Sail entry system, the capacity limit has been reached. For the 49ers, the maximum number of participants in both classes was significantly increased, such was the rush for the Olympic skiffs. Almost 100 men's crews are seeking admission to Kiel Week. "We have also increased the number of regatta courses for the planing dinghies to three," explains chief race officer Fabian Bach, "because 75 women were also quickly on the list for the 49er FX." Just as with the Nacra 17 catamarans, which were increased to 40, the subsequent European Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, have a pulling effect.
For the German silver medallists from Japan last year, the first appearance after the triumphant race in Enoshima will also be a very special one emotionally. "Yes, it will be our last regatta together in the 49er FX," revealed foresailor Susann Beucke from Strande at the pre-event press conference in the Komodo Hall of the Kiel Yacht Club. After careful consideration with helmswoman Tina Lutz, the decision against another Olympic campaign was made. From now on, Beucke will devote herself to ocean sailing. Lutz has gained a professional foothold in personnel management at a major Swiss company in Austria.
"We had a wonderful time together with lots of highs and left the lows behind," said Susann Beucke four days before her 31st birthday, "when things are at their best, you should set off for new shores." Those who know her believe she will one day win a world race. But before that, they both want to "enjoy our favourite regatta to the full". Lutz/Beucke will be competing in their Olympic boat once again at Kieler Woche. They will be recognisable by their transparent sails, as the south-north combination will no longer be able to cope with the change to the new FX rig with black sails. Beucke: "That's why we have no sporting expectations, we just want to have fun." Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke, who met at a press conference at Kieler Woche, won the class premiere in 2013, as well as in 2016 and two years ago, so they are returning as defending champions.
The 49er vice world champions Tim Fischer and Fabian Graf will be competing for the Kieler Woche co-organisers Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee. The duo from Kiel dominated the world elite at the World Championships in the Sultanate of Oman in November before robbing themselves of the gold medal with an early start in the final. On their home turf, they will have a rematch with world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken from the Netherlands. "It doesn't matter to us whether we're the hunter or the hunted," says the helmsman, "we're not putting ourselves under any pressure."
Relaxation with an intelligent sailing style is the recipe for success, just don't tense up. In their seventh year together in the boat, Fischer/Graf have learnt from past mistakes when they sometimes overdid it. This season, Tim Fischer is focussing on his master's thesis in business administration at Kiel University, while his foreskipper is now a sports soldier. Together with Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club and Max Stingele and Linov Scheel from the Kieler Yacht-Club, they form a strong training team under coach Max Groy.
And where are the two-time bronze medallists from the 2016 and 2021 Olympics? "We won't be back until the World Championships in autumn," explains Thomas Plößel. After completing his studies as a mechanical engineer, he works at Reckmann on furling systems for large yachts. Helmsman Erik Heil is continuing his medical studies. After winning their first medal in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, the pair had already impressively demonstrated that a longer break from training and competition does not have to mean an interruption to their success story.
Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer have also set their sights high on their own doorstep in the foiling twin-hull boat. For the Northern Lights, it was already clear immediately after Olympic bronze: "We're going full throttle until 2024." World Championship bronze, also in Oman, was the first strong sign. However, the ambitious helmsman also has a new focus. In May, Paul Kohlhoff became a father for the first time and now enjoys "every free minute that we are not on the water".
On the final day of the Medal Races (26 June), he will celebrate his 27th birthday and, with his current foresailor, perhaps even his third overall victory after 2015 and 2016 (then with Carolina Werner). However, the competition will be tough. Long-time Italian rivals Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti are also in the mix, as are John Gimson and Anna Burnet from Great Britain and Argentina's sailing legend Santiago Lange with Victoria Travascio.
Kieler Woche will see a premiere in the return of the 470 dinghy. After the Nacras, it offers the second mixed discipline at the Olympic sailing competitions. Anastasiya Winkel, sixth at the Olympics on the fore sheet of Luise Wanser, is now trimming aboard her husband Malte. Born in the Ukraine, she has defied a double burden since the start of the war, as she is heavily involved in helping refugees. "Among them are some sailors, some of whom have come with their families," reports the 28-year-old. The Kiel Yacht Club and the North German Regatta Club also help with training opportunities.
Anastasiya Winkel also keeps in daily contact with her mother and 90-year-old grandmother, who is no longer able to leave Alchevsk due to her advanced age. The industrial city is located in the Luhansk region only around 50 kilometres from the embattled metropolis of Sjewjerodonezk. Of its former population of more than 100,000, only around a third are still there. Winkel: "So far at least, my home has not been bombed. I sincerely hope that it stays that way."
Given these circumstances, it is difficult to concentrate on competitive sport. A 20-day training camp in Marseille offered a welcome change before Kiel Week. Anastasiya Winkel's Olympic helmswoman Luise Wanser (Hamburg), who was one of the few women to remain at the tiller in the new discipline, was also there, now with Philipp Autenrieth in the trapeze. "Exchange and comparison within the national team and with other countries are the only way to establish ourselves among the world's best," says Malte Winkel, "which is why we play with open cards as long as we can." The Winkels won one of the training regattas in the south of France and gained self-confidence on the way to their dream of representing the German colours in Paris the year after next.
"With Tokyo 2021, we are basically just at the beginning of the one-year shortened Olympics, but we are already in intensive preparations," says DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner, who would like to fill all ten sailing disciplines and sees "potential everywhere". However, the national qualification will already be a higher hurdle than before because the total number of athletes in sailing has been further reduced by the IOC.
Among the international boat classes, the 11th ACO Musto Skiff World Championship and the Gold Cup for Nordic Folkboats stand out this year with around 50 starters each. Among the single-handed sailors, Iver Ahlmann has a double home game. The 2011 European Championship runner-up is coming as the 2020 Kieler Woche winner and managing partner of the Büdelsdorf-based ACO Group, a leading international company for drainage technology and wastewater treatment. After ten years of ACO Musto Skiff World Championships, the company is also a sponsor of Kiel Week. "Our claim has recently been 'we care for water', which fits very well with sailing," explains Iver Ahlmann, "and sustainability, which is also emphasised by Kieler Woche, has always been an ideal match for our values."
The KiWo title defender fears that he will probably have to cut back on his sporting endeavours. "My preparation was more like damage limitation," says the 39-year-old; building a house and having a fourth child have demanded other priorities. Ahlmann names the Brits Jamie Hilton, Dan Vincent and Robbie Wilson alongside sailing pro Peter Greenhalgh and the South African Andy Tarboton, international class president, as World Championship favourites. In light winds, he himself, weighing just 68 kilograms, could perhaps make his mark.
In addition, the 29ers are once again calling for the Euro Cup in Kiel. With around 150 youth skiffs, they make up the largest field of participants at Kiel Week. After the sensational win in 2021, the junior team of the year comes from the village of Zarnekau in East Holstein. Helmsman Anton Sach and his brother Johann are 14-year-olds and one of last year's youngest winners ever. The top talents also won the KYC's YES regatta (Young Europeans Sailing) at Whitsun as a dress rehearsal and can therefore claim the only German starting place at the Youth Worlds in the Netherlands (8 to 15 July).
With more than 160 entries already, the sea sailing is also proving very popular. The opening race on Saturday morning (18 June) to Eckernförde, which will now be known as the traditional Aalregatta, is enjoying the greatest popularity. For the Kiel Cup (Monday to Wednesday), the organisation is breaking new ground and opening up the classic short races to yachts with a yardstick rating, including a comparative calculation with ORC. In addition to the daily up-and-downs, there will also be medium distances around fixed sea marks. The Senate Prize on Thursday and Friday has once again been specifically tailored to two-person crews (double-handed), while the Silver Riband will take place one day later overnight around the northern tip of Langeland.
