In three days, on 18 July, Travemünde Week will officially start off its 136th edition. Along the Trave and beach promenades, in the sailing areas on the Mövenstein and on the Priwall, the event hosts and organisers are preparing for the arrival of almost 800 sailors and hundreds of thousands of visitors. Travemünde Week will be opened in traditional style by Lübeck’s mayor, Jan Lindenau, with the signal ‘Heißt Flagge!’ (Raise the flag!) at 6 p.m. on 18 July. Immediately afterwards, Minister President Daniel Günther will give the starting signal for the first race of Travemünde Week, the long-distance regatta around Fehmarn.
The programme for the 136th TW was presented at the press conference (from left): Frank Schärffe, Managing Director of Travemünder Woche gGmbH, Uwe Bergmann, Managing Director of the event agency uba, Christian Mehrens, Board Member of Volksbank Lübeck, Lutz Kleinfeldt, Chairman of Lübecker YC, Jens Kath, Sports Director of Travemünder Woche, Holger Ambroselli, Managing Director of Agentur Khulula, Ralf Schulte, Organiser of the 7T SUP Race. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW.
At the press conference, the regatta and festival organisers provided information about the programmes for 18 to 27 July. Three international championships and five German title competitions are on the regatta schedule from 18 to 27 July, albeit with small fleets. Of course, the Volksbank Rotspon Cup is a must. This year, Lübeck’s mayor Jan Lindenau will be challenged by Dr Ulf Kämpfer, mayor of Kiel. For the first time, there will be a SUP race in Lübeck to make Travemünde Week visible in the city centre.
The festival programme offers two large festival stages, a big screen, dazzling lights, stands for feasting and shopping, and a special children’s and family day. The sustainability campaigns for Travemünde Week will be intensified.
Comments on Travemünde Week:
Lutz Kleinfeldt, Chairman of Lübecker YC: “It is the support of partners and sponsors from the public sector and industry that makes an event like Travemünde Week possible. We would therefore like to thank our 36 supporters – from the main sponsors boot and König Pilsener to the numerous suppliers – for their commitment. This year, we are celebrating ten years of partnership with Volksbank Lübeck. We are very pleased about this.‘
Christian Mehrens, Member of the Board of Volksbank Lübeck: ’We are delighted that this partnership has now been in place for a decade. For us, the Volksbank Rotspon Cup is always a social highlight of the year. There is hardly a better way to demonstrate our connection to the region.”
Jens Kath, Sports Director: ‘We are missing the large number of registrations this year, as we have smaller but excellent classes at the start. These fluctuations in the number of participants are particularly noticeable at the moment. Next year, the picture will change and we will have numerous large classes at the start.’
Frank Schärffe, TW Managing Director: ‘We had to react to the lower number of registrations, as this also means a loss of income for us. We have made a number of adjustments – both on the water and on land. We will be using fewer lanes and will not need to use the mooring area on the green beach. This will enable us to make up for the loss of income.’
Uwe Bergmann, Managing Director of event agency uba: “We want Travemünde Week to become a bigger part of the festival again. To this end, we have prepared an extensive programme with two stages that will be in use every day and offer a wide range of music. We don’t have all the official permits yet, but I’m assuming that we’ll be able to put on an evening laser show at the Passat from Monday to Saturday at 10.45 p.m. and the big closing fireworks display on Sunday, 27 July. We’ll also have a shopping and food mile, the Andechs monastery beer garden and two beach clubs.”
Holger Ambroselli, Managing Director of Khulula: “We have prepared many activities for the Travemünde Week sustainability programme, which we are now supporting for the third year. Children can take part in a climate captain training course, and we have a travelling exhibition on pollution in the Baltic Sea in our pagoda. We are participating in Geomar’s measurement campaigns and the TransOcean association’s #catchoftheday campaign run by the TransOcean association.‘
Ralf Schulte, organiser of the 7T SUP Race: ’We are delighted to be part of Travemünde Week with the premiere of the Seven Tower SUP Race. We have received entries from the best athletes in the SUP scene, but amateur athletes will also be taking part in the half-distance race. The race can best be followed from the start and finish line at the marina “The Newport”, but also from the banks and bridges along the Untertrave and Obertrave.”
HighSpeed at Travemünder Week
Speed is king! at Travemünde Week 2025, there will be numerous classes that rely on this simple formula for victory. In five catamaran classes, speed and boat control are more important than tactics or boat-to-boat manoeuvring duels, with early strategic decisions playing a key role.
Formula 18 boats bring speed to Travemünde Week, Open Skiffs determine Germany’s best in the youth class, and Topcats come to Travemünde for their international championships in three classes.
Photo: segel-bilder.de Open Skiff
But in all other classes, too, there will be a fierce battle for every decisive metre, because success at Travemünde Week looks good on any sailor’s sporting CV.
Topcat-KV (Topcat)
Twenty decisions will be made during the regatta week from 18 to 27 July – three international, five German and one North German title will be awarded. And with the start of the long-distance regatta immediately after the opening ceremony on 18 July, the first sporting showdown will now take place on the first Friday of Travemünde Week.
Regatta programme
International championships
21–26 July: World Cup and European Championships Topcat K1
21–26 July: International Championship K2
21–26 July: International Championship K3
German title competitions
19–21 July: German Open J/22
22–25 July: Int. DM Varianta
24–26 July: Int. DM Dyas
24–27 July: German Open Skiff Class Nationals
25–27 July: German Open Seascape 18
North German Championships
20–21 July: NDM Dyas
Ranking regattas
19–20 July: Hobie 16
19–21 July: H-Boat
19–22 July: Finn Dinghy
19–22 July: Corsair
23–26 July: Kielzugvogel
24–26 July: 470
24–26 July: Olympic Dinghy
24–27 July: Formula 18
Seebahn ORC/Yardstick
18/19 July: Long distance (around Fehmarn)
20 July: Up & Down
26/27 July: Medium distance
