The Kiel Week once more offers the whole spectrum of the sailing sport from 16. until 24. June. Moorings are reaching their capacity limits. “All in all we are talking about a record number of 1900 registered boats from about 60 nations. This is great”, said the Head of Organization of the Kiel Week Regattas, Dirk Ramhorst, on Monday at the third press conference before the event in the imperial hall (“Kaisersaal”) of the Kiel Yacht Club. Registration numbers are on the one hand a feedback for the good work in the previous years, “but we also are aware of the tail wind we are receiving from the Worlds in Aarhus”, stated Ramhorst.

More than 4000 active sailors want to prove their abilities in Kiel. The Olympic classes are set up with international and top-level sailors. Above all the teams from overseas, from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the USA also use Kiel as a general trial for the Worlds in Aarhus taking place five weeks later. For the German National Team it is in the end about qualifying to participate in Denmark. With the World Championship of the Laser Radial Men, the Eurosaf European Para Sailing Championship, the big boat regatta “Aalregatta”, the worldwide first event of the Women’s Campions League and the start of the Nord Stream Race, the Kiel Week again has many high-level sailing events on the program agenda in its 136. year. “The completion of the Kiel Week with one to two special events is our clear strategy. We are making up our mind to bring the right highlights to Kiel”, explained Ramhorst the integration of World Championships for a further upgrade of the Kiel Week.

More than 4,000 regatta participants, 1900 boats, more than 400 starts, active sailors from about 60 nations, 42 classes/disciplines, ten race courses on nine days – those are the numbers of the Kiel Week 2018, where 3.5 million visitors are expected, among them 400,000 visiting the sailing games in Kiel Schilksee.

The innovations in the surroundings and ashore also fit to this huge event which is happening on the water during the Kiel Week. The new RFID system (radio frequency identification) will provide more safety. Each crew checks out, when going on the water, and checks in, when they are back ashore. And the cooperation with the new supporter Remonds will improve the sustainability. No straws, waste separation, fast degradable coffee cups and on-site information about waste avoidance are the first steps this year.

The Kiel Week is above all pure sailing. Even before Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be giving the official starting signal with the typhoon for the biggest sailing event in the world on 16. June, fireworks will begin on Saturday morning in Kiel Schilksee and at the water front “Kiellinie” together with the “Aalregatta” and the Welcome Race.

Multi-hull on the rise

Apart from three-digit registration numbers for the “Aalregatta”, the number of 13 multihulls at the Welcome Race sounds more humble. But it shows a trend. After eight trimarans in 2016 and only four last year, it is the first time, there will be 13 multi-hulls participating. The registration record has a name: Christiane Waldmann. The former wind surfer, who has worked several years as a surf coach on Sylt and lived a long time in the South of Spain, in California and Hawaii, continuously looking for the best waves to surf down, now is a Dragonfly sailor. “At the trade fair Boot Duesseldorf 2014, we were standing in front of a Dragonfly 28 and have immediately decided: this is our solution! A multihull, that is fast and very sporty and at the same time suitable for ‘camping on the water’”, explained the sailor from Kiel-Gettorf, who is sailing the trimaran “Flotten 3er” together with her husband Kai Seemann and Thomas Kunze.

Asking Christiane Waldmann about the advantages of a trimaran and precisely about those of the Dragonfly, you can expect long exciting speeches. “A trimaran is not heeling over, will be lying with five degrees on the leeward hull, is using the whole pressure for speed and accelerating at lightning speed. Our maximum speed is around 18.7 kn. With ten knots of wind or above, we always did overtake each 40 feet yacht. Those are just some of the endless arguments. So no wonder, that Christiane Waldmann has managed to get twelve trimarans from Germany, Denmark and Switzerland to Kiel to participate at the Kiel Week.

For the sailor from Gettorf it was clear, that she wanted to sail the Kiel Week. “I have already sailed the Welcome Race on an Albin Ballad just to be part of the Kiel Week. So it was clear, that we would register for the multihull class”, said Waldmann. And the trimaran also brings the married couple together in the regattas. While Kai Seemann has successfully sailed many Kiel Weeks in the Formula18, Waldmann was on the monohull. “We both always enjoyed the speed, and my husband easily gets sick on a monohull”, Waldmann is happy about the Kiel Week participation together with the “Flotten 3er”.

Twelve trimarans and the foiling cat “intelligence” of the brothers Sach (Zarnekau) will be opening the Welcome Race on Saturday.

Kiel Week (16. until 24. June)

Part 1 (16.-19. June):

• 29er (Euro Cup, 18 races), 505er, Albin Expreß, Contender, Europe, FD, Folkeboot, Formula 18, Hobie 16, J/24, Laser 4.7, Laser Radial (Open), OK-Jolle (alle 11 races).

Part 2 (20./21.-24. June):

• Olympic classes(20.- 24. June/EUROSAF Champions Sailing Cup /10 races + Medal Race): Laser Std. Männer, Laser Rad. Frauen, 470er Frauen, 470er Männer, Finn (+ masters), 49er Männer, 49erFX Frauen, Nacra 17 Mixed.

• Eurosaf Para Sailing EC (20.-24. June/10 races): Hansa 303, 2.4mR (Open, with extra-EC-ranking)

• International classes (21. – 24. June/11 WF): 420er, J/70, J/80, Melges 24.
• Laser Rad. WC of the man (20.-24. June).

Offshore (16.- 23. June)

• Aalregatta (16./17. June), without measurement (Yardstick) and Rendezvous of the Classics.
• Welcome Race (16./17. June): ORC Club I-IV, Albin Ballad, Multihull.
• ORC Baltic Pre Worlds (Kiel-Cup/18.-20. June/9 races): ORCi I-IV + IRC/group ranking.
• Senatspreis (21. June): ORC Club I-IV
• Silbernes Band (22./23. June): ORC Club I-IV
• North Stream Race (24. June): Club Swan 50