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​Sailing at the FinalsGerman Championships live on TV

Jan-Ole Puls

 · 22.07.2026

The Flying Dutchman field at the starting line. It will look much the same on Lake Steinhude.
Photo: 2026 Die Finals

​This year, for the first time, sailing is part of the Finals programme and thus part of Germany’s biggest multi-sport event. From 23 to 26 July, a total of 143 German championship titles will be awarded in Hanover and the surrounding region. The sailors will compete on Lake Steinhude, where the German Flying Dutchman Class Championship is taking place.

The racing will take place in the Flying Dutchman, one of the most traditional two-man dinghies. What makes it special is that the FD was actually developed in Lower Saxony back in 1951. It’s effectively a home race for the entire class. Furthermore, because the Flying Dutchman was an Olympic class for over 30 years, the standard of competition remains very high. This promises exciting races, even if not too much wind is forecast. As of 22 July 2026, the teams can expect winds of around ten knots – accompanied by glorious weather and sunshine. So if you haven’t made any plans for the weekend yet, why not come and watch the regattas from the shore? At the Yacht-Club Niedersachsen (Weidenbruchsweg/Uferweg 1), all races and other final competitions will be shown on a large LED screen from 23 to 26 July, daily from 11 am to 6 pm.

Up close

Anyone who wants to watch the races up close can get a free ticket for a sightseeing boat. Steinhuder Meer Tourismus GmbH is making this possible. Tickets are available here.

Even if you can’t make it to Steinhuder Meer yourself, you don’t have to miss out on the title matches. ARD and ZDF will be providing extensive coverage of the finals on all four days of the event. In addition to the TV broadcasts, there are numerous live streams available in the media libraries and on sportschau.de and zdf.de. The Flying Dutchman races are scheduled for Saturday. That is when the German championship title will be decided in the final three of a total of eight races.

Significance for the sport of sailing

For the sport of sailing, making its debut at the Finals is a huge opportunity. The event brings together numerous Olympic and non-Olympic sports on a single stage and ensures that the Flying Dutchman class is also showcased to a much wider television audience.

Other sports, such as windsurfing and triathlon, also take place at the same time at Steinhuder Meer. Here Click here to visit the event’s website.

More about the Flying Dutchman class

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Jan-Ole Puls

Jan-Ole Puls

Editor Test & Technology

Ole Puls was born in Schleswig in 1999. He quickly swapped the football pitch for the Schlei and grew up sailing a wide variety of dinghies and tall ships. From his grandfather's self-built wooden opti and a Europe to a 49er and an X362 Sport, there was a lot to choose from. After leaving school, Puls decided to train as a boat builder at the high-tech shipyard Knierim Yachtbau in Kiel in 2016. He successfully completed his training in 2020 and stayed at the shipyard as a bachelor. In 2022, he decided not only to build boats, but also to test them. Since then, he has been working for Delius Klasing Verlag in the Test & Technology section of BOOTE magazine. The training he received and the eye for detail and quality of workmanship he acquired help him immensely today. Even though he is a regatta sailor with heart and soul, he feels right at home on motorboats and enjoys separating his professional and private lives and yet combining them. Because we all know one thing: there is simply no better place to be than on the water.

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