Kieler Woche: "We finally want to win together again"

Record winner Wolfgang Hunger is once again on course for the title at the 125th edition of Kieler Woche after a dry spell of six years. The 58-year-old seven-time world champion from Strande and his co-skipper Holger Jess from Eckernförde are in a commanding lead at the halfway point of the international part of Kieler Woche in the 505 with four daily victories in six races. Three-time Olympic participant Hunger is fighting for his 22nd Kiel Week title in his home waters on his own doorstep.

"We're already trying hard," said the helmsman, who is rather reserved on land and competes for the Potsdam Yacht Club. He was once world class in the Olympic 470. Today, with five 505 World Championship titles alongside the Swede Krister Bergström, he is one of the two most successful helmsmen in the history of the fast and challenging planing dinghies. Anyone who knows Hunger a little knows that he really wants this 22nd title - just like his former regular cox Holger Jess, with whom Hunger is now back in the same boat. "It was another marvellous day of sailing in Kiel's imperial weather," said Holger Jess, himself a four-time 505 World Champion and Hunger's long-time companion, on Sunday evening. "We will continue to attack. We want to finally win Kiel Week together again after more than ten years." Hunger and Jess have sailed to seven Kieler Woche victories together in the past, before they also won the world's biggest sailing week with other partners. The eighth joint triumph is the current goal of the orthopaedic surgeon and the boat dealer.

In the 2.4mR keelboat class, which is open to sailors with and without disabilities, Heiko Kröger, another well-known player on the German sailing scene, will also be setting the tone: The Paralympics winner has won five of his six races so far. At the European Championships for OK dinghies during Kiel Week, the Swedish Starboat Olympic champion Freddy Lööf successfully defended his half-time lead over Jan Kurfeld from Wismar with two more victories on the day. However, the German, who is six points behind, knows where he can still improve: "I started too defensively after I suffered two early start disqualifications at the World Championships. After that, however, I worked my way forwards. The speed is right, I'm on the same level as Freddy. So the motto for the next two days is: attack!"

On the Kiel Inner Fjord on Sunday afternoon, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder gave the starting signal for the eighth edition of the Nord Stream Race from Kiel to St. Petersburg. A team from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein with skipper Sven-Erik Horsch started the first leg of the 1000 nautical mile Baltic Sea rally to Copenhagen under the German flag. After six hours, the team was in third place. The fleet of five boats from Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Finland and Germany is expected to arrive in the Danish metropolis on Monday.

Here here are the results of the 75 (!) starts that took place on day 2 of the Kieler Woche - an impressive performance also by the helpers and race officers on the courses.