The registration portal for the 128th Kiel Week is open!: The Kiel Week organisers' declaration of love to the sailors

The Kieler Woche organisers have reacted to the ongoing slump in the German sailing regatta landscape and restructured their offer to the "big boats". The published press release reads like a declaration of love to the sea sailors, whose favour is being actively and intensively courted with several measures. TheYACHThad made the dwindling number of participants in many of the once heavily attended sailing regattas the subject of its report "Countering the crisis" in issue 23/2021. The Kiel Week organisers are determined to reverse the negative trend.

Germany's largest regatta week in the world is coming up with numerous targeted changes to revitalise the offshore sector. Additional motivation for this was provided by the realisation that although the number of starters at regattas in the entire Baltic Sea region has weakened considerably recently, there is also a consistently high level of interest in uncomplicated Wednesday regattas organised by clubs, where sailing is possible according to yardstick and without an ORC measurement certificate. "Many of the potential participating crews don't yet have a measurement certificate for their boats," says race course manager Eckart Reinke, "they have been sailing according to yardstick until now. In addition to the official ORC measurement, this is now possible for the next two years as a trial during the entire Kieler Woche." The lowered entry hurdle should make the Kieler Woche start easier for many teams.

"More challenge, adventure and net sailing time"

And for the larger yachts, this will once again begin solely with the eel regatta, which will no longer be called the Welcome Race. The decades-old flagship race starts on Saturday morning (18 June) in Kiel's inner fjord and is rewarded with a smoked eel at the finish by the Eckernförde Sailing Club. After the return race on Sunday, only two instead of three races per day will be on the programme for the three-day Kiel Cup. The first will be an up-and-down course lasting around two hours; the second will take three and a half hours around fixed navigation marks in the Bay of Kiel and will also challenge the crews in terms of navigation. "New formats were requested in surveys as well as more challenge, adventure and net sailing time per day," say Reinke and the Kieler Woche team, reflecting the wishes of the majority identified by both the Regatta Association Sailing (RVS) and the DSV Sailing Committee, whose new chairman Eckart Reinke has just been elected, as well as the Kiel Yacht Club (KYC). The common goals of all: to try out new formats and broaden horizons.

Kieler Woche is also catering for another trend on Thursday, when the Senate Prize is exclusively for two-handed teams. After a race that is also exciting from a navigational point of view, the teams will spend the night at the mouth of the Schleim before returning to Kiel on Friday morning. The Silver Ribbon starts there at 7 p.m.: the classic race takes crews around Langeland overnight and is open to both larger teams and duos. These offshore races are also organised according to yardstick and both ORC handicaps, each with their own prizes for the best. What's more, all races will also be scored on a mixed basis. There will also be results for the Yardstick boats together with ORC Club and the latter in a ranking with ORC international. "We offer these comparisons as a service to revitalise and unite the sailing scene, which should sooner or later inspire more teams to take part in ORC measurement," says Reinke, explaining the concept, which is also planned for Kiel Week 2023.

The aim is to re-establish the sense of community that used to be so evident around the Seebahn. The diverse regatta in four parts is to become a "WE week". "In addition to the sporting value, the recreational fun was named at the top of the list in the surveys," reports Reinke. This includes the "third half-time" with festivities around the event area on the harbour apron in the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre, which was visited by around 80,000 guests and sailing fans last year under mild coronavirus protection measures. In the 140th year of Kiel Week - 50 years after the 1972 Olympic sailing competitions in Schilksee - the 128th edition should be no less cheerful.

"Kiel Week stands for cosmopolitan sporting spirit"

In the hope that pandemic restrictions will not have a major impact, Kiel Week will take place on its regular date at the end of June for the first time after two postponements to September. "We are sailing at full sail towards a regatta week of proven and coveted standards," says Head of Organisation Dirk Ramhorst. "Kiel Week stands for cosmopolitan sporting spirit and this year, more than ever, it will once again be an event of encounters and diversity."

The first, so-called international part of the Kieler Woche (18 to 21 June), which is being co-hosted by the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) and the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee (VSaW) on a total of nine courses, includes the Gold Cup as the World Championship for Nordic Folkboats and the Euro Cup for 29ers. 200 boats are expected on two dedicated courses for the youngsters' last test before the European Championships in Copenhagen. The classes 2.4mR, Contender, Europe, Finn, FD, ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 (open m/f) as well as OK dinghy and, after 2021, the spectacular flying Waszp again. The 420s, J/24 and J/70 will start in the second part (from 23 June).

From Wednesday (22 June), the Olympic sailors whose medal races will be broadcast live on the final day (26 June) on the TV track just below land in front of the Schilksee Olympic harbour will be in action. "Thanks to the World Sailing Association's date protection, we are expecting a large international audience at both the top and bottom levels," says Ramhorst. High-ranking title fights will not clash with Kiel Week in this year's calendar. With just two years to go before the next Olympic Games, the best are already stepping on the accelerator again with a view to the upcoming Olympic qualifiers. For the first time, the new mixed crews in the 470 will present themselves on course for Marseille 2024, including several promising duos from the German Sailing Team.

After the successful debut in September with much praise from the local overall winners Lena Erdil and Sebastian Kördel, the iQ foilsurfing for women and men remains set in Kiel. In addition to the individual events of the ILCA 6 (women) and ILCA 7 (men), the focus will be on the competitions of the three German medal classes from Tokyo in the 49erFX, 49er and Nacra 17. There will also be another exciting summit, as the international Musto Skiffs come to Kiel for their eleventh World Championship. Click here for the Kieler Woche homepage, the invitation to tender, the first entries and further information (please click!).