On Monday morning, weather expert Meeno Schrader called the approaching storm front a "poison dwarf", which prompted Kiel Week boss Jobst Richter to order the dinghy sailors ashore for a few hours at midday. However, the storm only grazed the Kiel Fjord, poured over the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre once and then moved on.
This meant that the races that had already started in the morning could still be continued in most classes in the late afternoon. The sailors had to deal with stormy conditions and winds of up to 30 knots, and even more in gusts, especially on the sea course, but also on land. This resulted in spectacular images on the courses. The live broadcast of the 470 men in particular captivated the spectators on the big screens on land. "It looks like the boats are flying," was heard again and again.
Master of synchronised sailing
On the water, the two laser sailors Simon Grotelüschen and Philipp Buhl once again delivered two almost synchronised races. The first was won by the younger Buhl, the second by Olympic starter Grotelüschen. The German hopeful and his sparring partner lead the field of 73 Lasers from 20 nations on equal points.
Overall, members of the German national sailing team are leading in five of the six Olympic disciplines held in Kiel. With their usual strong wind skills, Tobias Schadewaldt and Hannes Baumann from Kiel took the lead in the 49er and will start the final rounds on Tuesday in the yellow jerseys of the front runners. "Things are going well for us again after the not-so-successful start," said Schadewaldt, "we're happy."
Two days before the end of the Olympic half of Kiel Week, the 470 crews Magnus Masilge and Moritz Klingenberg as well as Annika Bochmann and Elisabeth Panuschka from Berlin and the Laser Radial helmswoman Franziska Goltz from Kiel are also in the lead.
Final decision: Olympic Games out for Matthias Miller
On the sidelines of the races in Kiel, it was announced that there is no longer any hope of Finn sailor Matthias Miller being re-nominated for the Olympic sailing regatta. Although the Olympic Sailing Committee (OSA) had recommended a subsequent nomination to the DSV Executive Committee - not unanimously - the DSV Executive Committee rejected the proposal. Although the Laupheim native had previously secured a place for Germany in the Finn Dinghy, he had clearly failed to fulfil the national criteria for a nomination.
Matthias Miller, who is in fifth place at Kiel Week, said: "I had hoped that the DSV Executive Committee would go along with the OSA proposal. Of course I'm sad, but I can accept the decision. I still have one more option, because I want to continue sailing in the Finn until the 2016 Olympic Games."
The first three races in the International German Sailing Championship - Inshore were not Olympic, but just as spectacular. In the lead in ORC III/IV after three races is Oliver Leus' X-332 "Blond" ahead of Max Gurgel's X-332 "RubiX" and the X-332 Sport "Patent 3" with Jens Tschentscher. No titles were awarded in ORC I and II due to a lack of participants.
However, the large yachts are competing for the Kiel Cup in the same races and are organising a German Best in Class competition. In ORC I, the TP52 "All4One" with Jochen Schümann had the lead after the first day with three daily victories ahead of Dennis Gehrlein's Evento 42 "Silva Hispaniola" and the XP 44 "Xenia" with helmsman Ralf Lässig. The fastest of a total of 6 45-foot swans on Monday was the "VanUden" with helmsman Harm Tiddens. In the ORC II classification, the Flensburg "BM-Yachting" is in the lead.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
