​Kieler Woche 2026: Calm winds slow down the FD World Championships; Poland leads in the 29er class

Kieler Woche 2026 begins with a wait for wind

On Thursday 25 June, the 2026 Kiel Week in Schilksee initially called for one thing above all else: patience. Less than half of the regatta programme took place because the wind failed to materialise for a long time. It was only when a light north-easterly breeze picked up in the afternoon that things started to get moving on the courses.

Poland makes its mark in the 29er Eurocup

The Polish duo of Blanka Sójkowska and Julia Nagórska made the most of these conditions in the 29er Eurocup. The pair won all three races in their group and will therefore head into the second day of racing on Friday, 26 June as the leading crew.

Close behind them are the Argentinians Felix Llauro and Lucas Cozar, with two race wins and a fourth-place finish. In third place are the Australians Mia Austin and Zara Marks. For many crews, the 29er event ahead of Kiel is more than just a Eurocup. The World Championships are due to take place at the same venue immediately afterwards.

From a German perspective, too, it was a successful start. Quirin Waizenhöfer and Cassian Bötsch secured their first race victory. However, the best overall German position after the first day was held by David Plettner and Moritz Aigner from Bavaria, who finished twelfth.

The FD World Championships won’t get underway until this evening

The start of the Flying Dutchman World Championships proved even more protracted. It was only after a change of course and a wait of around seven hours that the FD fleet finally got to race. In the end, Jørgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller from Denmark came out on top. Szabolcs Majthenyi and András Domokos from Hungary took second place, whilst Markus and Joshua von Lepel from Berlin finished third.

The fact that the FD class features several big names in the field adds to the excitement. Among the favourites are the defending champions, Kilian König and Johannes Brack from Hanover. Here is some background on their World Championship campaign: Kieler Woche 2026: Kilian König ahead of the Flying Dutchman World Championships.

The J/70 and J/24 are also gaining momentum

In the J/70 class, German and Danish teams were in the lead after two races. Kai-Uwe Holweg from Bremen was level on points with Sten Mohr at the top of the standings. Behind them were Willy Sörensen, Kim Gardø Christensen and Severin Gericke.

In the J/24 class, Dutch sailor Dirk Olyslagers got off to the best start with first and second places. Frank Schönfeldt and his Hamburg crew kept pace with the leaders, finishing fifth and third.

Several other classes failed to record any results. Wingfoilers, OK dinghies and Contenders were unable to compete on Thursday, as were the ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 Open classes, which had set sail but were forced to return without having completed a race.

By Friday, the situation could well have changed again

The outlook for Friday, 26 June, is much better. According to Kieler Wetterwelt, the high-pressure system is set to move away quickly, bringing a fresh south-easterly breeze in its wake. This could be the best day of the Kieler Woche before thunderstorms threaten to arrive at the weekend.

Thursday’s highlights

Is a day with no wind at a major event just frustrating, or is this very wait part and parcel of Kiel Week? Feel free to leave a comment below the article.