The traditional showdown between politicians at the Volksbank Rotspon Cup took place on Wednesday at 12 noon during Travemünde Week. Lübeck's mayor has been challenging a fellow politician in the match race on the Trave since 2004. This year, Dr Ulf Kämpfer, Lord Mayor of the state capital Kiel, competed for the second time after his debut in 2014. On the historic twelve-seater "Trivia", he faced off against Lübeck's mayor Jan Lindenau, who, together with city president Henning Schumann and his crew, sent the "Sphinx" into the race. The duel developed into a knife-edge contest that was only decided in favour of the Kiel yacht in the final metres.
Double false start and race cancellation
The race developed into a tough battle with all the tactical finesse. At the start, both teams were unable to hold on or interpreted the pre-start information differently. Both Ulf Kämpfer with a clear early start on the "Trivia" and Jan Lindenau with a few metres on the "Sphinx" had crossed the line too early and thus provoked a cancellation of the first race.
After the restart, the race continued with a clear victory for Jan Lindenau. The night-blue "Sphinx" was already ahead at the start, continuously extended its lead and did not allow itself to be pushed out of the leading position on the entire course. The spectators already suspected a clear Lübeck success in the further course of the city duel, but were proved wrong.
In the second race, the timing at the start was not right at all for the Lindenau crew in the fading wind. They had to start chasing Ulf Kämpfer, who was well behind, but were unable to catch up and conceded the 1:1 equaliser. So a third race had to bring the decision.
And it turned into a showdown that lacked nothing in terms of excitement. At the start, the "Trivia" outmanoeuvred her rival, gaining a narrow advantage and arriving at the first mark in the lead. But the jury played an extra card, awarding Kämpfer a penalty for the start manoeuvre. The required curl allowed the "Sphinx" to catch up again. But it did not work out with an overtaking manoeuvre.
Dramatic finale
The "Trivia" maintained a small lead at the start of the second lap of the third race, found the better wind and already seemed to be racing away unassailably. But the decision had not yet been made. On the downwind course, Jan Lindenau got everything out of the yacht, came closer metre by metre and even overtook her rival downwind. However, his choice to overtake on the right-hand side proved to be a serious mistake. At the mark, the "Sphinx" was on the outside lane and had to give way to the "Trivia" with Ulf Kämpfer. Although the race remained close in the turning duel to the finish, it was Ulf Kämpfer who was allowed to celebrate with a lead of just a few metres.
Jan Lindenau had to let the tight start situation of the last race sink in before he said: "A lot of things came together: special weather, changing wind and some special actions by the Kiel team at the start. But in the end it was a very close race. That shows that we were on an equal footing. And Ulf should also have another success at the end of his term of office. But I'm sure we'll meet again in a different constellation."
The victorious mayor of Kiel was beaming after the race: "It's a regatta that's supposed to be fun, but you could see that both teams wanted to win. It was very close in the end. I first had to find my way around the boat. Of course, it was also a bit of luck with a photo finish. We're obviously proud that we made it. Especially because I still had a score to settle with the Cup after 2014."
Award ceremony and prizes
For Kämpfer, the 2025 Cup was the perfect way to complete a circle. He competed in the race for the first time at the beginning of his term in office as Lord Mayor of the state capital of Kiel and was defeated. Eleven years later, he has now equalled his record.
Volksbank Lübeck board members Christian Mehrens and Bernhard Rogge, who sailed separately on the two twelve-man boats, presented the imperial magnum bottle of Lübecker Rotspon from von Melle as a trophy to the winner Kämpfer and a smaller bottle to the losing Lindenau. The crews were also delighted with the fine wine. Wilfried Beeck, owner of the "Trivia", and Anna Frank, daughter of the owner of the "Sphinx", were rewarded with Rotspon for their efforts in making the 20th Rotspon Cup of modern times an unforgettable experience.
