Dear readers,
I don't know what came out of your lead casting on New Year's Eve, but with a lot of imagination I was able to recognise a sailing boat. My takeaway from this is that in the new year I will try to get out on the water even more often than I already do - that really is a good resolution.
The new year has only just begun and after the "super sailing year 2024" with the Olympics, America's Cup and the start of the Vendée Globe, the bar is set high for 2025. Even if the year that has just begun will probably not quite be able to keep pace, further highlights await us with the Ocean Race Europe and the new SailGP season.
The offshore highlight of 2025, the Ocean Race Europe, will even start in Germany's "Sailing City", Kiel. Hopefully the German fans can once again create a very special atmosphere at the fly-by, as they did in June 2023. From Kiel, the race will sail via Portsmouth in England, the Spanish coastal city of Cartagena and Genoa in Italy to the Bay of Kotor. This is located on the Dalmatian-Montenegrin Adriatic coast and is the destination for the race, for which eight teams have already confirmed their participation. Among the eight teams that have already registered is another German team alongside "Team Mailizia" led by Boris Herrmann. Who will it be? We can't wait to find out! His former co-sailor, Rosalin Kuiper, will also be battling Boris Herrmann on the starting line. She had already signed on with the Swiss team Holcim PRB in September 2023 and supported Herrmann's former navigator Nico Lunven in his participation in the ongoing Vendée Globe. At the start of the Ocean Race Europe on 10 August, the likeable Dutchwoman will take over the helm and responsibility on board the Imoca "Holcim - PRB". It remains to be seen who will end up at the top of the podium after the four stages.
Less than a week after the start of the Ocean Race Europe, the sailing world will once again be looking to Germany. The "Formula 1 of sailing", the SailGP, will be staging an event in Germany for the first time. The "home game" for Erik Heil's "Team Germany" will take place in Sassnitz on the island of Rügen. At the 9th of 14 stops, the focus will be particularly on the German team around the 49er Olympic medallist from Rio and Tokyo. The anticipation ahead of the match day on Rügen is likely to be particularly high among both the team members and the fans of the German team.
So there you have it, the two "big" highlights of the 2025 sailing year. But you can also look forward to many small and big moments on the water away from the big stage. Maybe we can be a part of it with the YACHT one or two times, let us be part of it!
Finally, here are my three hot takes ("optimistic predictions") for 2025:
- Boris Herrmann and his team on the "Mailiza Seaexplorer" win the Ocean Race Europe
- The German team led by skipper Erik Heil succeeds in winning their home event in Sassnitz
- Kiel Week reports an absolute record number of participants
I wish you all now and no matter where your cruises take you, always a hand's breadth of water under your keel and only the best for 2025.
Nils Leiterholt
YACHT volunteer
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The week in pictures
Recommended reading from the editorial team
Vendée Globe
The race in the live tracker
The live tracker of the Vendée Globe 2024/25: This tracking shows the race of the tenth edition of the round-the-world regatta - with Boris Herrmann!
Malizia 4
First the damage to the foil, now the mainsail has torn
First the damage to the foil, then broken hull reinforcements, and now a tear in the mainsail. Two new videos show how Team Malizia is repairing and further developing the IMOCA ahead of the Route du Rhum.
Silting up of the Elbe
Small ports are fighting for every metre of water depth
The Lower Elbe is silting up, time windows are shrinking and ports are becoming difficult to reach. With flat-bottomed boats and homemade dredgers, sailors are fighting to preserve their fishing grounds.
Propulsion
Max Bianchi variable-pitch propeller, which adjusts its pitch whilst the aircraft is in flight
A variable-pitch propeller that automatically adjusts its pitch whilst in flight: this is what Max Prop’s Max Bianchi model is designed to achieve in powered flight and motor-sailing.
Interview
What is it like to work on board the ‘Thor Heyerdahl’?
The ‘Thor Heyerdahl’ has been sailing the world’s oceans for more than 40 years. YACHT editor Fabian Boerger explains why this historic vessel remains relevant.
Hurricanes 2026
Dramatic rescue off the coast of California – El Niño shapes the storm season
A lifeguard rescues a sailor from a partially flooded yacht off the coast of California. Why the 2026 hurricane season is turning out so differently between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Blue-water yachts
These five are heading to the ends of the earth
Five blue-water yachts, five designs: the Boréal 56, Kraken 58, Pure 49, Stem 50 and Breehorn 55 demonstrate their strengths and weaknesses on a long-distance voyage.
Record low water level in Lake Zurich
Sailing yacht flown by helicopter to its winter storage facility
Water levels in Lake Zurich are below the previous record low. Because his sailing yacht was stuck in the shallow water and in danger of capsizing, a 65-year-old owner had his boat airlifted out by helicopter. The operation cost around 2,000 francs and highlights just how much the exceptionally low water level is now affecting navigation.
Series of thefts continues
Thieves make off with two 300 PS outboard motors from Wieltsee
Thieves have struck again at Wieltsee: they have stolen two boats and removed heavy outboard motors. This is already the fourth such incident in three months.
Second-hand boat of the week
Arietta 31 – the dawn of an era
A narrow waist, mahogany hull and elegant overhangs: the Arietta 31, designed by Olle Enderlein, prioritises balanced lines and seaworthiness over maximum living space. As a forerunner of later Scandinavian cruising yachts, it is now an interesting classic for sailors seeking a traditional, compact cruising yacht.
Breehorn 55 review
Is it the ideal home at sea?
A pilothouse, teak fittings and an unusually accessible service tunnel: this is how the Breehorn 55 works below deck, and these compromises remain.
Newsletter: YACHT-Woche
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