June 27, 2026
3 minutes reading time
Kiel Week: Sailing like in the Caribbean
Temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius above the water and a moderate easterly breeze created ideal, Caribbean-like sailing conditions at Kiel Week on Friday (June 26). Almost the full regatta program of 48 races was completed across all nine international boat classes on seven racecourses. In the Flying Dutchman (FD) World Championship, Szabolcs Majthenyi and András Domokos from Hungary took the lead ahead of Kay-Uwe Lüdtke and Kai Schäfers (Stechlin/Hamm). Blanka Sójkowska and Julia Nagórska from Poland remained in the lead of the 29er Eurocup, narrowly ahead of Australians Mia Austin and Zara Marks. Kiel Week continues until Sunday.
The world’s best 29er crews currently come from three continents. At the World Championship dress rehearsal, Poland is ahead of Australia and Argentina on the interim podium, before they have to sail against each other for the first time in the Gold Fleet of the best starting Saturday. With two race wins in the last two of four races, the Bavarians David Plettner and Moritz Aigner are holding their own in fourth place overall, ten points behind Maximo Baudoino and Juan Ignacio Cernadas.
Kay-Uwe Lüdtke and Kai Schäfers currently have the best German chances of winning their third world championship title after 2022 and 2024 in the Flying Dutchman class. The crew from the Yacht Club Berlin-Grünau and the Hanover Yacht Club sailed to second place in the three races held today. Multiple world champions Majthenyi/Domokos lead the class after two race wins. Nicola and Francesco Vespansiani from Italy are in third place. Brothers Jørgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller from Denmark dropped from first to fifth place.
ILCA 6 talent Erik Scheidt aims to follow in the footsteps of Olympic gold medalists. At least, the son of Brazilian ILCA legend Robert Scheidt (five Olympic medals) took a step in that direction at Kiel Week. Scheidt Junior sailed consistently in the heat on Friday, securing two race wins in four ILCA 6 open races, and will wear the yellow jersey on Saturday.
“The conditions out there were very good,” Scheidt said about the race day. “There’s still a lot of work to be done before I can achieve the same level of success as my father,” the 16-year-old admitted with a smile. But he will give it his all. Viktorija Andrulyte (Lithuania), who also sails the ILCA 6 very successfully in the Olympics, and Viktor Elfving (Sweden) are lurking in second and third place. A short distance behind, the best German sailor in the class so far, Luisa Helene Kloss from the Müggelsee Sailing Club, is in fourth place.
Quirin Klapper of the Munich Yacht Club leads the ILCA-4 class after the first four races. However, Klapper was disqualified in the fourth race for a premature start and can no longer afford any mistakes. Behind him are Nikos Beckmann from Kiel and Clara Mattik from Hamburg.
“That was absolutely fantastic today, I had a blast,” exclaimed Heiko Kröger after his OK debut. “I was even in second place for a long time in the third race.” The Paralympic gold medalist and 2.4mR record holder at Kiel Week wants to prove himself in the dinghy class this time. The Ammersbek native is currently 17th out of 47. Surprisingly, Sebastian Schmidt-Klügmann from Dortmund is in the lead, ahead of Danes Jesper Bendix and Steen Christensen. The overall Contender lead is held by Italian Marco Ferrari, followed by Max Billerbek from Bokholt-Hanredder and Australian Mark Bulka.
A Danish duo dominates the J/70 class. Kim Gardø Christensen and his crew are tied on points with Sten Mohr. Willi Sörensen from Hamburg knocked yesterday’s leader, Kai-Uwe Hollweg (Bremen), off the podium, who is now fourth. In the J/24 class, the Dutch crew led by skipper Dirk Olyslagers is in the lead.
“Three great races in slightly gusty winds, and I had to give it my all to finish at the front,” Yannik Holste summarized the wingfoilers’ short program, because “suddenly the sea breeze disappeared and the gradient didn’t return.” Ten races were planned. The Kiel native finished with a 50 to 100-meter lead each time, “but any tactical errors along the way were immediately punished.” His goal: a test event in Gdynia, Poland, in mid-July, where the joint World Championships for Olympic two-person classes will take place next year. For the wingfoilers, Kiel Week is the only qualifying regatta. The German Sailing Federation (DSV) awards three male tickets and one for the best woman. That spot is currently held by Jette Koep (also from Kiel). “I’ve already tentatively requested vacation time,” said Yannik Holste, who later learned that the third race was canceled because no one had sailed the correct course.
Text and images courtesy of Kieler-Woche.