Dennis Conner knows exactly what it feels like to overtake a larger monohull yacht with a speedy little catamaran. The scenario in the Kieler Woche Welcome Race from Kiel to Eckernförde was somewhat reminiscent of the 1988 Miss Match, when Conner defeated Michael Fay's 27-metre "KZ-1", the white giant, to win the America's Cup.
Off the coast of Eckernförde, it was less about glory and honour for the fastest boat to the finish line today. However, the 20th triumph after 19 "first ship home" victories in 19 regatta starts was denied to the "Esimit Europe 2" under the command of Germany's most successful sailor Jochen Schümann. The fast catamaran "SAP Extreme 40" thwarted "Schümann's" 18-strong crew in an unequal duel just a few minutes before the finish and crossed the line a few hundred metres ahead of the 30-metre European maxi monohull yacht.
There were also some surprises on the Olympic courses at the start of the 119th Kiel Week: In the 49er, Jan Hauke Erichsen and Max Lutz from Flensburger Segel-Club consistently catapulted themselves to the top of the well-staffed field with seventh, first, third and second places, although the strongest Britons and Danes were missing due to the European Championships taking place in Denmark after Kiel Week. Third place was secured by Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel from Berlin after four races in fresh and gusty winds. In the early evening, not all groups of the almost 50 starters had yet sailed. The results will therefore only be reliably comparable in the following days. However, this does not detract from the strong opening performance of the two top German teams in the Sailing Team Germany.
In the Laser, European champion Philipp Buhl and double Olympic champion Robert Scheidt initially fought the expected duel before Buhl, after a strong win on the day and fourth place in the third and final race of the day, made a small blunder with twelfth place. "I was already on the wrong side at the start and then the wind shifted. I still could have done better in the course of the race, but I didn't sail optimally in this third race either. Overall, I'm not entirely dissatisfied with the day. It could have been worse, but it could also have been a bit better. But we now know that the new rules still leave a lot of room for change."
For the time being, five-time Olympic medallist Robert Scheidt topped the Laser field on the evening of the first day of the regatta after two second places and a win on the day. Scheidt's performance is admirable, because until recently Brazil's sporting hero was still sailing in the Star boat. Because the two-man keelboat was cancelled for the Olympic Games in his home country of all places, Scheidt wants to give it another go in his flagship Laser class, in which he won two Olympic gold medals and one silver.
Buhl will start his race to catch up after his guest appearance on Aktuelle Sportstudio tonight at 11pm on Sunday from fifth position. Buhl told YACHT online shortly before taking off for Mainz on a plane chartered by ZDF: "I'm really looking forward to the Aktuelle Sportstudio. We don't have time to be excited. But it's good that Erik Heil is on board."
Once again, Heiko Kröger wants to be the undisputed 2.4mR king of Kiel. The 46-year-old Paralympic champion from the Norddeutscher Regatta-Verein successfully laid the foundations for victory on the Kiel Fjord at the start with two race wins and a third place.
In the new Olympic discipline 49er FX for women, the German women dominated the small field of 13 participating boats with strong Australian competition. Victoria Jurczok/Anika Lorenz (Berlin), Tina Lutz/Susann Beucke (Bergen/Strande) and the Kiel twins Jule and Lotta Görge are in first, second and fourth place after the first two races. 337 boats and a total of almost 500 sailors will be battling it out in the Olympic boat classes until 26 June for the Kiel Week titles and valuable points for the Eurosaf Champions Cup.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
