For half a century, the men had made it easy for themselves to defend their self-created domain at the traditional Eisarsch of the Lübeck Yacht Club: Women were not even allowed to take part. Since 2019, however, they have also been taking part in the pre-Christmas fun on the Wakenitz.
The cult regatta has always been held there on the first Saturday in December since 1969. Whether it is actually held or only organised: The hosts count every edition and, to the delight of many sailing angels, Father Christmases and Father Christmases, were on their 57th Eisarsch mission. It was down to business for the often much too tall helmsmen and helmswomen on Optimists.
57th Eisarsch: Marzipan for the best outfit
This year, the pre-Christmas fun at the Lübeck Yacht Club, where the best Christmas outfits are rewarded with a marzipan prize, fell on St Nicholas' Day. "Suitable adults" between the ages of 21 and 99 were allowed to take part, manoeuvring their children's dinghies more or less elegantly across the Wakenitz. The Eisarsch also has a tradition of charging participation fees plus an Opti hire fee of 30 euros per kilogramme of body weight: 40 cents per kilo.
Eleven women were among the 61 starters this year. Two of them made it onto the podium. One of them secured the historic first victory for a female helmswoman in the cult regatta with the somewhat unconventional, but therefore very well-known, winner's trophy: the ice arse. Undine Höfener from Dessau showed outstanding speed and perfect tactics on the Wakenitz. Undine Höfener from Seesportclub Ueckermünde "Vorpommern" e. V. sailed past everyone in her Opti "Ströper" and crossed the finish line in first place.
In the last of three rounds, Ulrike Höfener and her Opti "Ströper" were able to overtake the long-time record winner Sven Kruse from Hamburg. She then extended her lead and won the Eisarsch by a wide margin. For his part, Sven Kruse from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein managed to defend silver ahead of Linn Welzel from the Lübeck Yacht Club, who was the second helmswoman to finish on the podium of the regatta founded by her home club.
The time is ripe for an "Eisarsch" winner
A look at the recent past also shows that the podium sailor has a good command of sailing in the children's dinghies: in 2024, Linn Welzel came close to triumphing in second place, but was beaten by record winner Sven Kruse in his sixth victory. This year, the woman from Lübeck was the first to congratulate her rival, saying: "It's about time a woman won the Eisarsch!"
"Eisärschin" Undine Höfener was taking part for the first time and said: "Of course I had hoped that I would be sailing at the front, but it's great that I managed to win straight away." She grew up sailing in Ueckermünde and is one of Germany's top sailors in the Ixylon with her father. Now a quartet of participants had travelled from Western Pomerania. Among them was Undine Höfener's father Silvio Schäffner, who came ninth on the Wakenitz.
Undine Höfener won the race with a smart strategy: Initially sailing in the top five, she was able to make up metres with a wind shift off the western shore of Lübeck's inland waterway and steadily work her way into the lead. What's more, in the light winds on this St Nicholas Day, Undine Höfener was able to generate a speed advantage from her 50-kilogram body weight as the lightest starter.
Lübecker SV wins "The three arses" club trophy
Sönke Boy from Lübeecker SV just missed the podium in fourth place ahead of the Eisarsch winner from 2004 and 2007: Bernhard Krüger from Segeberger SC sailed to fifth place. "20 kilograms less weight would have been helpful, but it was great sailing, it was fun," he said with a smile. The cheerful Christmas atmosphere at the 57th Eisarsch could only be confirmed by the cheerful organisation manager Jan Stemmler.
It was fresh on the Wakenitz, but the predicted rain avoided us except for a few drops. With a field of 61 Optimists on the line, we had a great starting field. The fact that many sailed in Father Christmas outfits gave the event a great setting," said the Eisarsch conductor from the Lübeck Yacht Club. In addition to the many red coats, there was also an angel costume worn by Heike Gercken, who competed in the 57th Eisarsch edition all in white and with golden wings.
She was awarded a special prize for this, as was Peter Zoernack, who climbed into the Opti as a Christmas grinch. The final award ceremony for Undine Höfener turned into a trophy party. She not only received the pink ice arse as the winner, but also the special prizes for best woman, the award for lightest female sailor and the family winner prize together with her father. The "Three Arses" prize, however, remained in Lübeck. With Sönke Boy (4th), Ingo Hüter (8th) and Nick Kössling (10th), the starters from Lübecker SV showed the greatest performance density at the top.
