85th Warnemünde Week: Weather chaos and thrilling medal fights at the anniversary event
Max Gasser
· 10.07.2023
From 1 to 9 July, the 85th edition of Warnemünde Week brought almost 600 sailors from 20 nations with almost 300 boats to the courses for exciting competitions. "The Warnemünde Week has proven that it can organise top-class sailing competitions even in difficult weather conditions," says Sports Director Peter Ramcke with satisfaction. Nine challenging days lie behind him and the entire organisation team with almost 300 volunteers. At the beginning of the week, strong winds and heavy seas dominated the action on the water, while in the second half of the week the high pressure caused light winds. However, in close consultation with the athletes and the weather experts from the German Weather Service, all planned competitions were successfully completed.
Home win for Hannah Anderssohn
However, the start of the Rund Bornholm long-distance regatta had to be postponed by 24 hours for safety reasons. Contrary to the name of the classic race, the race organisers also had to shorten the course to be sailed considerably and forego the rounding of the island of Bornholm. This meant that the traditional regatta could be completed safely, which was also a success for the organisers in view of the extreme weather conditions. In the ORC classification, Max Schuberth's crew (Rostocker Segelverein Citybootshafen) sailed to victory on their quarter-tonner Hiddensee, which they also secured at the Bäder Regatta. Last year's winners, Uta Ihlenburg (FF95) from the Mecklenburg Yacht Club Rostock, once again won the Yardstick classification.
One of the highlights on the triangular courses was the four-day Europa Cup in the three Ilca classes, which has been an integral part of the regatta week for years. In stormy conditions, the 139 sailors from twelve nations were able to complete a total of 13 races. While victory in Ilca 4 went to Thailand to the 2022 Opti World Champion and in Ilca 7 to the Norwegian Uffe Tomasgaard, whose brother Hermann Tomasgaard sailed to bronze at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Hannah Anderssohn from Warnemünde secured victory at home in Ilca 6.
Warnemünde Week inspires with sunshine and lots of programme
In the second half of Warnemünde Week, there was considerably more sunshine for sailors and visitors, but significantly less wind. In addition to numerous events, free concerts and performances were organised daily for visitors in the Kurhausgarten. "This year's mix was incredibly well received by the guests. We were able to offer something for all ages and interests," summarises Ingeborg Regenthal, office manager of the Warnemünde Association.
While the numerous guests on land enjoyed the summery temperatures, the sailors on the water had to exercise patience time and again. In the end, however, the race organisers in Sport Director Peter Ramcke's team managed to get enough races to the finish line. Among other things, a new European champion was crowned in the Soling class. Kristian Nergaard and his fellow sailors brought another gold medal and the title to Norway with a consistent series and four daily victories, while the only German team with helmsman Michael Dietzel from the Bayrischer Yachtclub finished in ninth place.
Kohlhoff only just misses out on a podium place
The Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship also brought together many of the world's best Star boat sailors in Warnemünde. 32 crews from eight nations took to the starting line, with Max Kohlhoff and Ole Burzinski finishing in fourth place, the last race having cost the team a place on the podium. Sports Director Ramcke was delighted with the regatta: "It was great to have the Starboat class in Warnemünde. We saw exciting races over four days from a field of participants that brought many top sailors to the starting line here."
He also gave an initial insight into the sailing programme for the coming year: "In addition to our classics such as Rund Bornholm and the Ilca Europa Cup, there are already some sailing events that we are very much looking forward to. I would like to emphasise the 505 Europe Cup, the International German Contender Championship, the European Championship of the Seascape 18, the Zoom 8 Worlds and the fact that we will be welcoming the German Sailing League and the Sailing Champions League." The 86th Warnemünde Week will take place from 6 to 14 July 2024.
