Like a tiger ready to pounce, Germany's Sailor of the Year circled the regatta office at the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre on Sunday morning after his botched Kiel Week opener on Saturday, waiting for the race committee's decision. While one Olympic and Paralympic discipline after another had to be cancelled due to stormy conditions, Buhl is promoting his sport and his class. For the Lasers, the 15 to 20 knots of wind, the gusts of 30 knots and more that came out of nowhere over the fjord and the piled-up wave crests were no problem. This was also the view of the race organisers: at 2 p.m., the hopes of the 24-year-old sports soldier from Sonthofen for a chance to make amends were finally fulfilled. Race director Peter Ramcke and his team sent the Lasers as the only dinghy class of the day onto the short TV course between Strande and the Olympic Centre.
Philipp Buhl took the opportunity to catch up and improved from 48th to sixth place. From this position, the World Championship bronze medallist and Germany's Sailor of the Year will be aiming to win Kieler Woche for the third time in a row when the final series begins on Monday. However, in addition to serious international rivals, Buhl is now also facing competition from a team-mate who has just returned to the Laser: Tobias Schadewaldt from Oldenburg is in third place after five races. The Olympic bronze medallist in the 49er has opted for another Olympic campaign in his former boat class. "I just enjoy sailing in the Laser so much," said Schadewaldt, "I know that Philipp is significantly better than me at the moment. But should that stop me? I want to grow and have fun. We'll see if I have another chance at the Olympics."
Naturally, the sea sailors had fewer problems with the rough conditions. Although there was plenty of breakage on the 40 nautical mile medium distance for the participants in the International German Championship of Sea Sailing, there was also great joy in the challenging conditions. The fastest IDM yacht on Sunday was the "Platoon" of Hamburg skipper Harm Müller-Spreer. The chartered Carkeek 47 raced around the course and reached the finish line after just three hours and 37 minutes. Not even a broken backstay could stop the crew of Markus Wieser, Thomas Auracher, Matti Paschen and many other well-known sailors, as a result of which the team had to lower its mainsail. The smallest yachts did not return to Kiel-Schilksee until the evening and so there were no results at first. Kai Mares from the J/V 49 "IMMAC One4All" reported: "Today we pushed our personal speed record up to 20 knots with our comparatively old boat. I'm really very proud of my young people!"
The return regatta from Kiel to Eckernförde started at the same time as the IDM middle distance for all other "big boats". Once again, the unrivalled trimaran "Musandam-Oman-Sail" impressed with top speeds of up to 39 knots with one reef. Irish skipper Damien Foxhall and his crew of six, including Hamburg circumnavigator Tim Kröger and Anna-Maria Renken from Bremen, completed the 20 nautical mile storm sprint in just 52 minutes and 33 seconds. The Oman ambassador on three runners was honoured for her dominance on the first weekend of Kieler Woche with the Krupp Trophy, among other awards.
An unusual project with a lot of marine value will be presented by Kiel Week partner Veolia at the Olympic Centre. The waste disposal company, which also supports laser helmsman Philipp Buhl, will be holding a live demonstration throughout the week to draw attention to the pollution of the Baltic Sea and its environmental services. Berlin artists Sabine and Sandra Wiesthal will be working on their artwork at the Olympic Centre, and visitors will be able to witness its creation.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
