"I am delighted that the 86th Warnemünde Week went so well. Everything went wonderfully, all the programmes were very well received. A personal concern of mine is the good combination of the land and water programme. Visitors should experience something of the sailing sport and, conversely, the sailors from all over the world should also see something of the town, feel at home and hopefully share their positive experiences of our town with the world," said Matthias Fromm, Rostock's tourism director and Warnemünde's tourism director, on the final Sunday of Warnemünde Week.
All weather at the Warnemünde Week
"Warnemünde Week was characterised by all kinds of weather conditions. We had strong winds of up to force seven for the first two days, but were still able to complete all the races. But we also had calm days on which we had to keep the athletes ashore. And at the end we had perfect conditions," said Peter Ramcke, the chief race officer. His team was able to offer the almost 900 athletes from 28 nations a full programme. Peter Ramcke said: "All in all, we were able to organise all the necessary races in all classes and thus determine world champions, European Cup winners and German champions. It was a successful Warnemünde Week."
A total of 95 races were completed by the eight race officer teams in cooperation with the race committee, the situation centre, the jury and the Warnemünde Week helpers on the safety boats, the navy and in close coordination with the water police. In addition, the Sailing Champions League qualifier took place on the first weekend of Warnemünde Week and the second season summit of the German Sailing League this year on the second weekend.
Peter Ramcke's conclusion was correspondingly positive: "The feedback from the athletes was consistently positive. This is real praise for the race officer teams, who are all very experienced. This applies to the European Cups of the Ilca, the 505s, the Zoom8 World Championship and especially the 29ers, who were here for the first time with their Euro Cup." Ramcke announced a similarly exciting programme for the coming year: The 505s and the Ilca fields will be back with their Europe Cup. The Zoom8s announced right at the award ceremony that they want to return to Warnemünde with their World Championship. And with the Open Skiffs, another youth class wants to host a major event for the 87th Warnemünde Week from 5 to 13 July 2025.
250 volunteers for the Warnemünde Week
Looking back over the past few years, Peter Ramcke was able to realise that Warnemünde Week has taken the path towards ever greater professionalism. "We have been able to sustainably demonstrate that we can organise high-quality regattas - and that for the sailors in a familiar environment for the entire volunteer crew. That is important to us. We see this holistically and we want to maintain this. That is one of the advantages of Warnemünde Week."
The regatta organisation will receive a further boost in the future. The new sports school will provide improved framework conditions for the processes. In order to keep the water work at a high level, the race organisers want to continue to critically scrutinise themselves in the future. "Everything worked really well once again. Our partners contributed just as much to the success of this year's Warnemünde Week as the commitment of almost 250 volunteers," said Warnemünde Week Chairman Ralf Bergel.
For the 29er crews, it was worth getting up early on the final day of the 86th Warnemünde Week. The 31 youth skiff crews were able to complete three fast races in good conditions before the wind became inconsistent again. This was felt by the other classes, which were sent out onto the water after the 29ers. They struggled to complete their races. In the end, however, all sailors were able to enjoy a great day on the water. The prizes for the best were awarded in the afternoon.
British dominance in the 29er
The Brits James Crossley/Sam Webb made it clear once again in the 29er final why they are at the top of the field. They quickly put the two slip-ups from the previous day behind them and returned to the harbour with three race wins. The runners-up, the American-German mixed crew of Truman Rogers/Paula Lepa, paid tribute to their outstanding performance. "The British were simply superior today, we couldn't keep up. These wind conditions actually suit us, but the wave was short and steep. And we made a few wrong decisions," said Paula Lepa from Potsdam.
I love it here. It's a great neighbourhood and a great city" (Jesper Armbrust)
Her American helmsman, with whom she is only sailing for this summer, was delighted with his stay in Germany: "I love it here: great weather, great food. We've worked well together as a team, but we've had to overcome the language barrier over the past few weeks." That is no longer the case. The team is now aiming for a top 25 finish at the World Championships in Aarhus. Dutch sailors Lenny Hofmann and Rens van der Heiden sailed to third place at the Warnemünde Week.
For the Contenders, two more races were completed for the classification of the International German Championship. Jesper Armbrust from Denmark took the title ahead of Pim van Vugt (Netherlands) and Markus Maisenbacher from Bremen. "I love it here. It's a great area and a beautiful city. I already became European Champion in Warnemünde in 2021. So it all fits together," said Jesper Armbrust. Armbrust wasn't the only one missing German world champion Max Billerbeck. He had registered, but then had to withdraw due to illness. "It's a shame, Max is always a strong competitor," said Armbrust.
FD world champions Lüdtke/Schäfers dominate
Another German title was awarded in the still young Beneteau First 18 class. In the field of ten teams, the new title winners Jan Wilkens/Tobias Rieger (Hohen Wieschendorf) recorded their worst result in the final race. It was a third place, which documented the duo's superiority. They were followed on the podium by Walter Wüllenwever/Martin Schmidt (Hamburg) and former champions Thomas Jungblut/Martin Schmidt (Bremen).
In addition to the title fights, four ranking list regattas were also completed. In the Finn Dinghy - the former Olympic class for the big athletes - Berlin's Fabian Lemmel was not quite able to bring his attack on first place to a successful conclusion. A slip-up in the last race cleared the way for the Pole Bartosz Szydlowski, who won ahead of Lemmel and the Dane Otto Strandvig. The medal ranks in the second one-person class were also a colourful international mix: Úlli Kurfeld from Wismar catapulted himself to the top spot on the podium in the OK dinghy. With two race wins at the end, he overtook Jörgen Svendsen from Denmark. Third place went to Greg Wilcox from New Zealand, who lives in Berlin.
In the two harness dinghies Flying Dutchman and Korsar, the German victories remained unchallenged. The FD world champions Kay-Uwe Lüdtke/Kai Schäfers (Berlin/Hanover) could even afford to forgo the last race without relinquishing their commanding victory. They were followed by Poland's Tomasz Kosmicki/Adrian Gorka and Berlin's Markus and Joshua von Lepel. In the Corsair, the Berlin couple Uti and Frank Thieme only allowed themselves one fourth place over the course of the eight races. In the other seven races, they crossed the finish line in first place and thus naturally took the top spot on the podium of the Warnemünde Week winners. They were flanked by Dirk Braun/Jürgen Kruck (Wuppertal) and Silja and Jonna Braun (Berlin).
