Meike Schomäker and Holger Jess have won Kiel Week for the first time. And Schomäker is also the first female helmswoman to win the title in the challenging planing dinghies at the world's largest regatta. The European champions also stole the show from record winner Wolfgang Hunger and his coxswain Julien Kleiner, who wanted to claim the 22nd Hunger victory on the fjord, but in the end had to be satisfied with second place, two points behind.
"The light to medium winds played into our hands," said Schomäker, "but after second and third places in previous years, perhaps it was just our turn for once. It's an incredibly good feeling." The duel between Schomäker/Jess and Hunger/Kleiner remained exciting right to the end. Initially, Hunger and Kleiner thought they had won after the ten races. However, after factoring in the two instead of just one strike announced on the notice board, Schomäker/Jess were ahead at the bow. Hunger/Kleiner submitted a protest in which they accused Schomäker/Jess of an excessively tight tacking manoeuvre at the start. However, it was rejected after the hearing and Meike Schomäker and Holger Jess were finally able to celebrate.
They were joined by seven other German crews who sailed to the top of the podium in the 16 international classes in the second part of the Kieler Woche in a total of 250 races. However, eight-time Kieler Woche winner Frank Schönfeldt missed out on the title with a botched penultimate day of racing. The Hamburg sailing and songwriter and his J24 team were not quite able to make up the lost points on the final day. The "Clowns" were beaten by Ian Southworth's British team by two points.
The favoured brothers Helge and Christian Sach were unbeatable in the Formula 18 catamaran. Fabian Kirchhoff from Herford won the Europe series. Shmuel Markhoff and Michael Happich won the FD. Ulf Kipcke, Dieter Kipcke and Gero Martens won the Folkboat with a one-point lead over Siegfried Busse's team. Peter Zauner from Munich and his H-boat crew also scored one point to win the class. Detlef Mohr and Karen Wichardt from Reinfeld were unbeatable in the Hobie 16. Julia Büsselberg from Berlin was the fastest in the Laser 4.7. The 15-year-old only switched to the Laser 4.7 this season. Other victories were secured by teams from the USA, Great Britain, Slovenia and Denmark. Sailors from 41 nations took part in the second half of the Kieler Woche.
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Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
