North Sea Week: 100 years: The North Sea Week in modern times

Part 4: The change to a folk festival

The island responds to the changing public and organises the "New North Sea Week" in 1993 - a folk festival with all-day leisure activities. A circus tent takes centre stage as a sailors' get-together, with street music, cabaret and fireworks. In terms of sailing, the 25th Edinburgh Regatta stands out in the same year with a record entry of 85, with "Container", "Pinta" and "Rubin XII" qualifying as the fourth and last victorious German Admiral's Cup team at the new North Sea Week.

The following year, there is no longer an IOR classification, but a high number of 168 yachts take part. The Skagen Race has a new sponsor in the form of yacht insurer Pantaenius. Its boss Harald Baum not only still holds the course record, he has also been competing himself for years with his Swan 48 "Elan". Racing is his great passion. "We have a rarely beautiful regatta course," says Baum on the occasion of the 75th North Sea Week, "which demands great performance from everyone." Baum speaks from experience. In 1996, the very second race after he became a sponsor, only nine of the 48 starters arrived in Kiel.

In the mid-1990s, the image of the fleet competing for qualification for the Admiral's Cup also changed completely. This year, yachts in the IMS 44-50 class, the standardised Mumm 36 class and the ILC 40 construction class are competing. In addition to the traditional and AC elimination regattas, the 1999 North Sea Week programme also includes the X 99 German Cup, the ILC 30 District Championship and the German IMS Championship. Organisationally, the event is restructured with the founding of the Regattagemeinschaft Nordseewoche in 1998. Previously, the management changed every year, but since then there have been two long-standing organisation managers - Bernd Jörg until 2014 and his successor Marcus Boehlich - and the experience they have gained. "Today we have an excellent team where everyone knows what they are doing," says Boehlich. Around 50 people come together, all volunteers, says Boehlich, whose entire family is involved when it comes to Whitsun on Heligoland.

Since the Regatta Association was founded, the North Sea Week has been adapted several times to meet the changing needs of participants. For example, the North Sea Cruiser Cup was created for regatta beginners, prize money was awarded and various championships were organised.

Today, in addition to the usual feeder races and the traditional Rund Helgoland race, there is the Early Bird Series for professional crews, which was organised for the first time in 2008 and includes a night race. With the Helgoländer Acht, a race around the island and dune has been added. And since 2005 there has been the Family Cruiser Cup for ambitious cruising sailors. No measurement is required, the race organisers led by Albert Schweizer provide a race value that "cannot be discussed" according to the announcement. Schweizer took over from long-standing race director Stefan Lehnert in 2017. Both have sailed on various regatta yachts for decades. "The North Sea Week is a part of my life," says Schweizer, who has been involved since 1976, and that he has also grown very fond of the island itself.

What is important to Boehlich and Schweizer is that the sailors are at the centre of their event today. "There's no more noise in the marquee next to the boats where the athletes want to sleep, we've outsourced the partying to the North Sea Hall," says Boehlich. "Our dealings with the participants are customer-orientated. Even if they don't pay us for it. We explain everything. It's not simply: Read your rules! We have a friendly atmosphere, with a lot of good humour." Albert Schweizer agrees with him. "As race director, I'm a service provider. I have to prepare well for weeks, get up at four in the morning and deal with the weather and plan the day from the perspective of the whole fleet."

In the anniversary year, Schweizer and his team colleagues have a little more to do than usual with the International German Championship in the ORC See Double Hand class and also two races for classic yachts and veterans from the Cupper era. But the anticipation is great.

Due to the pandemic, the 86th North Sea Week in 2020 only took place in the form of a virtual Skagen Race. More than 25,000 sailors took part in this first German online long-distance ocean race. The following year, the traditional regatta event was cancelled completely for the first time since the Second World War, partly because the Skagen Race is only held every two years.

But although there will be real sailing again this year, there is the virtual edition again, this time even with a separateYACHT rating! You can join the YACHT group with a special code. Only in this group are there valuable prizes to be won by the top ten participants. Information on registration, participation and prices can be found here... (click)

This article is part of the new YACHT 12/2022, available at newsagents from 1 June or can be ordered digitally.