Kieler Woche: First IDM gold awarded - hail of criticism after race cancellations

40 knots in some peaks, repeated gusts of 30 to 35 knots and average winds in the mid-twenties - the sailors at the International German Championship had their hands full again on Tuesday while "sledging" on the fjord. Many crews enjoyed the sporting challenge. First and foremost the new inshore champions: Jesper Radich's team on the XR41 "Formula X" in ORC A&B and Torsten Bastiansen's crew on the X-35 "Sydbank" in ORC C&D.

IDM silver and bronze went to Pietro Bianchi's XR41 and Erik Stannow's team on the youngest XR41 "Dixi 5" in the large ORC division. In the group of smaller boats, Patrik Forsgren's modified First 36.7 "Garmin Team Pro4u" and Jürgen Klinghardt's Italia 9.98 "Patent 4" sailed to the podium behind the "Sydbank" from Flensborg Yacht Club.

IDM Inshore: small shackle, big effect

The race was another tough challenge for the IDM participants. A shackle burst on Jens Kuphal's XR41 "eXciter", which was still sailing on the runner-up course the day before, in the final race of the IDM inshore series of all things. "This caused the jib to come from above," says Kuphal. The crew had to abandon the race and bid farewell to their podium dreams. "And that in the last race of the regatta - no words," commented Kuphal on the mishap.

In the conditions, however, he didn't want to pull anyone into the mast to retrieve the halyard, said Kuphal. The Berliner continued: "It's very annoying that we lost the medal due to the damage and a poor race. But that's the way it is: sailing is a technical sport." Instead of a podium, fifth place was the final result.

Erik Stannow's "Dixi 5", sailing strongly with a Danish-German crew, continued its conspicuous upward trend on day four of the Kieler Woche at the IDM Inshore. The crew picked up their new XR41 from the shipyard just a week ago and brought the boat up to ball height with the other XR41 sisters at an impressive pace. Gordon Nickel, RVS boss Bertil Balser and Bendix Hügelmann are among the pacemakers here.

Kiel Week Sailing: first early start, then powering ahead

Gordon Nickel said after the last race: "We were informed one minute after the start that we were early starters. We rectified that and then really pushed hard. That was definitely our best race today." Owner Erik Stannow said: "We are super happy. We have all worked twelve or more hours a day to get the new boat to the start line here in this form. The result is a testament to the performance of this team."

Erik Stannow only bought the XR41 in November after careful consideration. The president of Helsingør Sejlklub and co-organiser of Seeland Rund had previously successfully sailed the X-41 "Dixi 4" with the team. "We made lists with a view to this season and the World Championships in Tallinn in August, listing the pros and cons for and against a new boat. In the end, the pros outweighed the cons. And we also accepted it as an exciting challenge to get the boat fit within a very short time."

The boat is as fast as a rocket ship." Erik Stannow

After the first regatta, all "Dixi 5" sailors are delighted. Erik Stannow said: "The boat is fast, super stable and a lot of fun to sail. We sailed downwind at twelve to 17 knots today." Erik Stannow was diplomatic in his response to the hail of criticism on the racecourse and the dinghies' difficulties with anchoring. Because the starting boats repeatedly broke loose, only one race was held on the sea course on both Monday and Tuesday.

Displeasure among the sailors

Erik Stannow said: "Normally it is always very good in Kiel. Here, people in the race committee invest their holidays so that we can sail our races. You could at least give them boats with which this is possible. We also invested a lot with eleven crew members and brought our boat here so that we could race. We are a little disappointed that there weren't more races."

"patent 4" owner Jürgen Klinghardt, who followed the fortunes of his crew and skipper Oliver Voss from afar this time, was more than disappointed. After two days of racing with only one race each, Jürgen Klinghardt wrote: "We feel cheated out of the chance to decide the IDM Inshore in our favour."

The criticism was only initially directed at the race committee led by Stefan Kunstmann, but they were powerless with the given starting boat and had even made intensive efforts into the evening after the short programme on Monday to replace the boat, which according to Pricipal Race Officer Eckart Reinke was not suitable for strong winds. But the exchange did not materialise.

Buhl criticism of the Kiel Week

Eckart Reinke said: "That hit me right in the heart today. I, who am known as a strong-wind man, can't be the first to go in! We actually stand for the opposite and are in the same boat as the crews."

There was also displeasure in the Ilca 7 class because the starting ship was "drifting around" in crisp but manageable winds for the Olympic dinghies, as Philipp Buhl reported. The class of the 2020 world champion therefore had to wait so long after just one race on Tuesday that the sailors sailed back to the harbour on their own, almost like a boycott. The race committee followed suit, Buhl told us.

The Ilca-7 sailors had already prepared for four races the day before with plenty of provisions on board, but were sent back to the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre after two races in what Buhl described as "the best conditions". Buhl's conclusion: "This is a tragedy and not fit for the Olympics. People come here from far away, young sailors beg their parents and sponsors, invest a lot. And then they don't sail because there is supposedly too much wind, even though it is very feasible for our class. Or because the anchors don't hold. I don't want to blame the race organisers for that, but it's just not good."

Kieler Woche head of sport Ramhorst admits "construction site"

In the morning, Philipp Buhl, like other Ilca 7 sailors, had refused to take an onboard camera because there was no counterweight available for boats without a camera. "I want justice. Marcus Baur (editor: former 49er Olympic participant) once bought such weights for reasons of fairness. They are in his cellar. You would just have to pick them up."

The criticism regarding the starting boats was answered by Kieler Woche sports director Dirk Ramhorst on Tuesday evening in Kiel: "We do indeed have a construction site on the subject: Which boats do we have? Which anchor chains do they have? And ultimately also owners who say no under certain conditions. For example, we had sub-optimal conditions on the sea track today. It's not a new issue and we're thinking about perhaps acquiring a boat with several clubs in the future."

Ten German boats and boards in the "KiWo" final

The German Olympic sailors and windsurfers will enter the medal races and finals series on Wednesday with ten boats and boards. Sophie Steinlein/Catherine Bartelheimer (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), the leaders in the 49erFX, and - 6.3 points behind them - the Olympic sixth-placed Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille from Mühlenberger Segel-Club will be fighting for Kiel Week gold. 16.3 points behind the leaders, Katharina Schachhofer/Elena Stoltze, in fifth place after nine races, could also make it into the medal ranks. Lucas and Moritz Hamm are also in the final as a junior crew in the FX field.

In the Ilca 7, Philipp Buhl finished fourth in the Medal Race, three points behind third-placed Finn Lynch from Ireland. Justin Barth (Berliner Yacht-Club) also qualified for the top ten medal race in ninth place. Jacob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger are third in their 49er final, 5.4 points behind France's Erwan Fischer/Clément Pequin, if they want to get their hands on Kiel Week gold. Kiel windsurfer Fabian Wolf enters the iQFOiL final series as a strong frontrunner, which Max Körner (Münchner Yacht-Club) has also reached. iQFOiL ace Sophia Meyer from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club goes into the windsurfing final on Wednesday in second place.

Click here for the results of the Olympic iQFOiL windsurfers.