Dear readers,

What a sailing year! Rarely have we been moved by so many events, topics and people as in 2024. Not everything was good, but some things were better.

It was a super sailing year for all sports enthusiasts. Starting with the Olympic sailing regatta in Marseille. Despite difficult wind conditions and high temperatures, some German athletes were able to achieve remarkable performances. Leonie Meyer and Jannis Maus both secured fifth place in the Olympic premiere of kitesurfing, which were the best placings for the German team.In the 49erFX, Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille achieved a respectable sixth place.Windsurfer Theresa Steinlein was also able to fight her way to sixth place. Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer, the bronze medallists from Tokyo, finished in eighth place in the Nacra 17.Despite these good individual results, the German team remained without a medal in sailing for the first time since the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The 37th America's Cup in Barcelona proved to be a fascinating spectacle of high-performance sailing. The revolutionary AC75 yachts, which flew across the water at speeds of over 100 km/h, put on a breathtaking show for the spectators. In the final, the defenders from New Zealand met the British challengers from Team Britannia. Despite initial doubts about the excitement of the competition, the teams delivered thrilling duels. However, the New Zealanders led by skipper Peter Burling showed their class and prevailed with a 7:2 victory.

For German Cup enthusiasts, the principle of hope remains when it comes to participation. At least the junior teams are involved in the Youth America's Cup and the Women's America's Cup. And Germans, especially helmsman Erik Heil, are also gaining experience in high-tech foiling at the Sail-GP. However, in view of the multi-million euro budgets, the technical challenges and the obvious need for experience, it is unlikely that a German team will make it to the starting line in the medium term.

As the year draws to a close, the tenth Vendée Globe circumnavigation is not only fascinating regatta sailors. Although Boris Herrmann is not currently sailing in the top group, the number of hits on the daily articles and the ticker is above average. Many observers are clearly not primarily interested in the rankings. It is the dramatic moments, extreme weather conditions and the incredible resilience of the sailors that fascinate.

The year was also turbulent for German sailors away from the international regatta courses. After the devastating storm surge in October 2023, many harbours on the German and Danish Baltic coast showed remarkable resilience and commitment. During the winter months, intensive work was carried out to restore the infrastructure in order to be able to open in time for the 2024 sailing season. The Großenbrode Yacht Club provided an outstanding example of community spirit and drive. The members took the reconstruction of their badly damaged harbour into their own hands. In an impressive joint effort, they invested over 7,000 hours of labour to renovate and reinforce the jetty.

The Olympic harbour in Kiel-Schilksee, one of the worst affected harbours, was repaired in good time despite the enormous damage. However, not all harbours were able to complete their repairs. The harbour in Hesnaes, Denmark, for example, remained closed for the time being. The harbour in Lippe is also facing closure due to undermining. On the other hand, the opening of the new island harbour in Prerow was a positive development.

Environmental and climate protection was once again a much-discussed topic. Following the rejection of the concept for a Baltic Sea National Park in 2023, the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Environment presented the "Baltic Sea Protection Action Plan 2030" in 2024. This 16-point plan envisages the establishment of new nature reserves covering around 12.5 per cent of Schleswig-Holstein's Baltic Sea. Important for water sports enthusiasts: year-round navigation bans are not planned. In addition, marinas will remain accessible all year round.

The interactions between orcas and sailing boats, particularly around the Strait of Gibraltar, have once again caused a stir. Although there was a significant decrease compared to 2023, scientists are still looking for explanations for this behaviour.

Harbour porpoises are fighting for survival in the Baltic Sea. They are threatened by gillnets, underwater noise and overfishing.In order to protect the animals, a code of conduct for water sports enthusiasts has been introduced for the northern part of the Little Belt, where a dense population of harbour porpoises lives. At the same time, sailors are reporting unusual sightings in the Baltic Sea. Tuna have returned to the Öresund, with an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 specimens, and orcas and a humpback whale have also been spotted there. A German crew observed dolphins playing off the island of Ærø. Despite these positive developments, the Baltic Sea suffered from excessively high water temperatures in 2024. This led to a severe blue-green algae bloom towards the end of the season, which resulted in bathing bans in many municipalities.

New regulations for the purchase of antifouling containing biocides also have to do with environmental protection. This will become more complicated from 2025. The last chance to buy as before is on 30 and 31 December.

These are just some of the highlights of 2024. You can find a complete review here on yacht.de!

• Review of 2024: the most eventful sailing year ever?

What will the year 2025 bring? Regatta racing will be a little quieter. But with the arrival of the Vendée Globe in January, the Ocean Race Europe with Boris Herrmann, the Sail GP with Erik Heil and an event off Sassnitz as well as the Mini-Transat with German starters, there are still plenty of highlights.

Like these regatta dates, it is also clear that the economic situation in Germany will have an even greater impact on the sailing industry than before. This is already evident from the filling used boat market and the emptying order books of some large-scale shipyards, as well as the tense booking situation in the charter market, especially for Croatia.

In uncertain times, people tend to keep their money together rather than spend it on dreams. But whatever happens, sailors have a big advantage over most people. Undoubtedly without being blessed with the talent of great German poets, I try to put it poetically.

The water will continue to flow.

The wind will continue to blow.

Fortunately, we can enjoy both.

The world will not end.

With this in mind, a happy new year 2025, yours

Lars Bolle

Editor-in-Chief YACHT Digital

Click on it to see through:

The week in pictures

Recommended reading from the editorial team

Vendée Globe

The race in the live tracker

The live tracker of the Vendée Globe 2024/25: This tracking shows the race of the tenth edition of the round-the-world regatta - with Boris Herrmann!

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