Little water and initially far too little wind: as if the Rhine wasn't already demanding enough as a sailing area with its current and commercial shipping, the participants in this year's Rhine Week were faced with additional challenges.
Even craning in the boats of the crews, some of whom had travelled from far and wide, proved difficult because the water level was quite low not only on the river itself, but also in the Oberwinter starting harbour. Furthermore, there was not even a breath of wind on the first day. As a result, the regatta organisers cancelled the first race to Mondorf near Bonn.
In tow past the Siebengebirge
The boats were towed through the Middle Rhine Valley and past the Siebengebirge. Simply letting your boat drift with the current is not permitted on the Rhine for safety reasons.
Helge von der Linden told YACHT that this did nothing to dampen the good mood. Together with Andreas Wiebeck and Christoph Zander, he forms the board of the Regattagemeinschaft Rhein, which organises the Rhine Week is organised every year. We reported extensively on the 100th Rhine Week three years ago in the magazine and on yacht.de.
The commitment of many of the participants is remarkable, Helge von der Linden continues. "Some are prepared to make long journeys to be here." The entry list included crews from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, from the Baltic Sea and also from the Netherlands. A group of sailors from the Rheingau even made the journey on their own keel. The two participating Assos also had to be craned into Koblenz and then motored to Oberwinter.
Many old hands, but always newcomers at the start too
"Most of them take part every year. But we always have a few participants who are taking part for the first time," says von der Linden. "This time, for example, an Ilca 7 sailor from near Tübingen."
However, the experienced Rhine Week sailors are by no means just crews from the clubs based in the Middle and Lower Rhine region. Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, for example, has also been among the illustrious field of participants in previous years. This year, he and his five-man crew from the Bavarian Yacht Club won the Blue Riband for the fastest sailed times with the Asso 99 "König Ludwig".
The second Asso crew would also have had a good chance of doing so had they not run aground on a sandbank in between. "The Rhine just has its pitfalls," smiles Helge von der Linden.
Local heroes secure overall victory
However, Prince Luitpold and his men did not manage to achieve the calculated overall victory across all classification groups. This was secured by the Wesel local heroes Ralf Teichmann, Jos Vaes and Theresa Neu on the Yngling "immer süd³".
A single-handed sailor took second place overall: Frank Suchanek from Segelsportklub Uerdingen completed the Rhine Week in a D-One skiff. Third place went to the Zugvogel crew Jörg Friedlein and Jan Beyer, who started for Segel-Club-Hattingen.
The windless start was followed by four races with more wind. "Fortunately, it was even against the current or at least blowing from the side. That makes sailing with the current much easier," explains area expert von der Linden. However: "Beginners on the Rhine sometimes find it difficult to really steer the boat downhill in this constellation. Instead, they cross from one side of the river to the other for fear of losing the pressure from the sails. But then they hardly make any distance to the destination."
Porzer Club für Wassersport invited to the 100th anniversary party in the "Grotte"
From Mondorf, we first travelled on to Cologne-Porz. The local Club für Wassersport Porz e. V. 1926 is 100 years old. Hosting the Rheinwochen sailors was the highlight of the anniversary celebrations for the people of Porz. "The party was held in the former ice cellar of a brewery, our "Grotte", which now serves as a boat hall for our club," reports Friedrich Wilhelm Teutschbein. He is a board member of the CfWP and was the Porz organiser of the Rhine Week 2026.
"The stop in Porz and the party there was great," enthuses Helge von der Linden. "The atmosphere was fantastic and it was great to cool off in the hall in between the hot temperatures."
Further stops were the harbour in Leverkusen-Hitdorf and the Düsseldorf Yacht Club. On Whit Monday, the fleet finally set course for its destination in Duisburg. The sailors were accompanied during the days by a passenger ship, the "Eureka". This served as a supply station and night-time dormitory for the dinghy sailors. It also housed the regatta office.
Considerable organisational effort, but one that pays off
The sailors were also accompanied by several DLRG boats. "The organisational effort is not insignificant, and we can only manage the Rhine Week financially thanks to our sponsors," emphasises von der Linden. Above all, these include the boot Düsseldorf, Pantaenius and from the Lindens own company.
Despite the lower number of participants than in the years before the coronavirus pandemic, the time and work that the volunteers put into Rhine Week is still worthwhile. Von der Linden: "For many sailors, it is a cherished tradition." And when, as was the case this year, some boats are crewed by grandma, son and granddaughters from different generations, he has few worries about the future. "The next generation is already on board with many crews. So I'm confident that the Rhine Week will be around for a very long time."
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Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
