The regatta of the 131st Kiel Week was opened on Saturday at the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre. Kiel's Lord Mayor Ulf Kämpfer, Schleswig-Holstein's Minister of the Interior and Sport Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, Kieler Woche Sportchef Dirk Ramhorst, 470er Vice World Champion Anna Markfort and Weller CEO Burkhard Weller gathered on the stage of the Sailing Centre in the heart of the well-attended harbour for the official starting signal at midday.
Kieler Woche: Eel regatta as a summer magnet
When Sabine Sütterlin-Waack described Kiel as the "World Sailing City", the record-breaking field of more than 200 keelboats had already been sailing for more than three hours at the Aalregatta. In a few knots of wind, the fleet, which was a picture-perfect sight for spectators, set course from Kiel's inner fjord to Eckernförde. "That was a great turnout in terms of quantity and quality!" said Kieler Woche sports director Dirk Ramhorst. Around 50 boats had spontaneously joined in the week before the Kieler Woche opening race. Many are likely to have followed the good weather forecasts.
Gerd Clausen's Maxi Dolphin 75 "Calypso" (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) was the "first ship home" of the 27.5 nautical mile Aal Regatta, crossing the finish line at 13.01 hrs after 3 hours, 58 minutes and 41 seconds, just before the official start signal for the Kiel Week Regatta.
However, Jens Kuphal from Berlin and his crew on the new XR-41 "eXciter" were the fastest in terms of calculated time, taking almost two and a half minutes off Danish professional Jesper Radich and his team on the identical "Formula X". This meant that the "eXciter" also took the lead in the International German Championship among the large yachts, while Torsten Bastiansen's "Sydbank" sailed to the top of the second group.
Ole Schweckendiek's home game at the Kieler Woche
The light winds had slowed down the Aalregatta crews a little on this summery Kieler Woche opening day, but could not stop them. Click here for the results of the Big Boats for the Aalregatta, but also for the classification of the International German Championship Inshore and the IDM Offshore. In contrast to the keelboat sailors, the Olympic sailors had to wait many hours before the first races took place late Saturday afternoon and in the evening. The Kiel Week aces did not let this spoil their good summer mood.
Ole Schweckendiek from Kiel was looking forward to the home match with a sunny disposition. The 2023 U19 World Champion, who shone in his first World Championships in the Olympic Ilca 7 this year with some top places, is pursuing three goals at Kieler Woche. "I've only just entered the senior ranks. I want to see how it goes, have fun and be as happy with myself as possible. Then, when I know that I have sailed well," said the 20-year-old helmsman, who is one of the great talents in the national sailing team.
Compared to top athletes such as Philipp Buhl, who has returned to competition after a long break, the young Scheckendiek still lacks around two kilos in weight, a little more strength and the broad range of experience of the best. The youngster wants to have made up for this small deficit by 2026. He is already enjoying working in the strong German training group. "When Philipp is in the group, the level is really good. I really appreciate his openness. You can really ask him anything, discuss anything with him. He has a well-founded opinion on everything."
Young KYC crews christen their boats
Ole Schweckendiek also shares a deep-rooted love of Ilca 7 sailing with Germany's most successful Ilca sailor, 35-year-old 2020 world champion Philipp Buhl. "All boats are the same here, it just depends on the sailor. It's the most difficult boat class because it's sailor against sailor. I enjoy being alone on the boat and being responsible for everything," says Ole Schweckendiek.
The Kiel high school graduate with an average grade of 1.9 is studying business informatics in his fourth semester and also enjoyed playing football as a schoolboy. He preferred to play as a fast centre forward until the risk of injury on the pitch became too great for competitive sailing. When asked about his strengths, Ole Schweckendiek replies: "That I always stay cool. And tactical sailing suits me quite well. You have to have a good overview for that." How did that work out at the start of Kiel Week? Not bad, because Schweckendiek was in the top ten of the largest fleet of 148 boats on the dinghy courses after the first two races in very complicated and shifty winds. The last Ilca 7 race was not finished until after 8pm.
Just one day before Kiel Week, two young and talented crews from the German Sailing Team heralded the home game with a small ceremony for their new skiffs: Anna Barth, also known as a strategist in the Germany SailGP team around helmsman Erik Heil, and her foresailor Emma Kohlhoff (Kieler Yacht-Club) christened their new 49erFX in Strande with the name "Moana". Their club mates Kjell Haschen and Iven Fromm will be racing their new 49er "Black Marlin" at the Kieler Woche. In addition to the Kiel Yacht Club, the Lübeck Yacht Club and other project sponsors also made a major contribution to the success of the projects. Click here for the Kiel Week results on the dinghy courses.
Kiel Week kick-off for board athletes postponed
The iQFOiL windsurfers and wingfoilers on the Osterufer in the area off Stein didn't get a chance at all on day one of Kiel Week. The wind was almost completely absent here on the midsummer Saturday. The start of the board sports had to be postponed by one day. The programme for the keelboat sailors, the Olympians and the 29er Euro Cup will continue on the first Sunday of the nine-day Kiel Week.
