Wednesday, 12 noon on Travemünde Week: Traditionally, this is the day for the politicians’ showdown. Since 2004, Lübeck’s mayor has been challenging a fellow politician to a race in the “Volksbank Rotspon Cup.” This year, the prestigious city duel took place between the heads of the Lübeck and Kiel administrations.
Dr. Ulf Kämpfer, mayor of the state capital Kiel, competed in the match race on the Trave for the second time after his debut in 2014. On the historic twelve-meter yacht “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. It was a race on a knife’s edge, which was only decided in the last few meters in favor of the Kiel yacht.
Spectators were treated to some fantastic sailing from the Trave promenade. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
For Kämpfer, the 2025 Cup brought things full circle. He first competed in the race at the start of his term as mayor of Kiel, the state capital, and was defeated. Eleven years later, he finally got his revenge.
At the start of the Volksbank Rotspon Cup, the yachts appeared to be unstoppable. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
The race on the water turned into a tough battle, with both teams using every trick in the book. At the start, both teams were unable to hold their positions, either because they misinterpreted the preliminary information or because they were unable to hold their positions. The result? Ulf Kämpfer made a clear false start on the Trivia, while Jan Lindenau was just a few metres ahead on the Sphinx. Both crossed the line too early, causing the first race to be abandoned.
Once the horses had been reined in, the race restarted, with Jan Lindenau initially taking a clear lead. From the outset, the midnight blue ‘Sphinx’ was in the lead, extending its advantage throughout the race and never relinquishing first place. Spectators were anticipating a clear victory for Lübeck in the city duel, but they were proven wrong.
The city leaders of Lübeck, including Mayor Henning Schumann (centre) and Deputy Mayor Jan Lindenau (right), got off to a good start, taking a 1:0- lead. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
However, in the second race, the Lindenau crew misjudged the start in the dying wind. They were forced to chase Ulf Kämpfer, who had pulled ahead, but were unable to catch up, conceding the 1:1 draw.
A third race was therefore required to decide the outcome. It turned into an exciting showdown. At the start, the ‘Trivia’ outmanoeuvred the competition, gaining a narrow advantage and taking the lead at the first mark. However, the jury awarded Kämpfer a penalty for his start manoeuvre. This allowed the ‘Sphinx’ to catch up again. However, an attempted overtaking manoeuvre failed.
Ulf Kämpfer, the mayor of Kiel (in grey-blue), had a keen eye for the racing action. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
This gave the ‘Trivia’ a small lead at the start of the second lap of the third race. They found the better wind and seemed to be racing away again, seemingly unbeatable. But the decision was not yet made. On the downwind course, Jan Lindenau pushed the yacht to its limits, closing the gap metre by metre and eventually overtaking his competitor on the leeward side.
However, choosing the wrong side to overtake proved costly. At the mark, the ‘Sphinx’ was in the outside lane and had to give way to the ‘Trivia’ with Ulf Kämpfer. In the duel to the finish line, it remained close, but bow to bow, Ulf Kämpfer was able to celebrate with only a few metres to spare.
The two yachts fought a close battle on the Trave during the Volksbank Rotspon Cup. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
Jan Lindenau had to let the close start of the last race sink in before he said: “A lot of things came together: unusual weather, changing winds, and some special moves by the Kiel sailors at the start. But in the end, it was a very close race. That shows that we were on equal footing. And Ulf should have another success at the end of his term in office. But I’m sure we’ll see each other again in a different constellation.“
The victorious mayor of Kiel beamed: ”It’s a regatta that’s supposed to be fun, but you could see that both teams wanted to win. In the end, it was very close. I had to get used to the boat first. Of course, there was also a bit of luck with a photo finish. We are naturally proud that we did it. Especially because I still had a score to settle with the Cup after 2014.”
At the award ceremony with the crews and the Volksbank board members, Ulf Kämpfer was delighted to receive the imperial magnum bottle of Lübecker Rotspon as the winner’s prize. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
Volksbank Lübeck board members Christian Mehrens and Bernhard Rogge, who sailed separately on the two twelves, presented the imperial magnum bottle of Lübecker Rotspon from the Melle winery to winner Kämpfer as a trophy and a smaller bottle to the runner-up Lindenau. The crews also got to enjoy 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, which made the 20th Rotspon Cup of the modern era an unforgettable experience.
Kielzugvögel sail three races
In addition to the Volksbank Rotspon Cup, it was the Kielzugvögel who provided sailing action on the water on their first day of the Travemünde Week regatta. While the fleet of Varianta sailors preferred to stay in the harbour during the strong gusts, the Kielzugvögel sailed three races – with a clear result for the day: Axel Fischer/Michael Schiermann (Gifhorn) took the lead with two wins and a second place.
