Where is the wind? Where are the boats? The long-distance regatta at Travemünde Week turned into a real scavenger hunt on sea for the organising team and the crews of 13 yachts that set off for Fehmarn on Friday evening. As darkness fell, a heavy calm descended over the bays of Lübeck and Mecklenburg, forcing race director Jens Hahlbrock to change the original course to ensure that all crews would be back in port in time for the award ceremony on Saturday evening.
LYC Chairman Lutz Kleinfeldt (left) presented Lena Having and Eivind Boymo-Malm with the winner’s trophies as the fastest sailors in the long-distance race. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
Not around Fehmarn, but already at Fehmarnsund in the direction of Kühlungsborn to the south-east. After rounding a mark there, the course took the fleet back to Travemünde. Instead of 120 nautical miles, the sailors had only 80 nautical miles in their wake.
The Swedish crew of the ‘Mrs Freckles’, a Corby 33, completed the course the fastest. However, Lena Having and Eivind Boymo-Malm sailed largely unnoticed. Their AIS (Automatic Identification System) stopped transmitting data during the night off Fehmarn, so they appeared unexpectedly at 8 a.m. off the mouth of the Trave and crossed the finish line 16 minutes later. They therefore had to clear customs independently and were recorded with a sailing time of 14:01.30 hours. ‘We didn’t actually have any technical problems on board. I don’t know why the AIS wasn’t transmitting. These things happen sometimes,’ said Lena Having. She was completely satisfied with the sailing: “It was a good race, really tricky at times. But with a lot of experience and a bit of luck, we achieved a good result. The atmosphere here is very friendly among all the participants. We’re staying here all week because we’ve never sailed in regattas here before.”
It was another two hours before the next yachts appeared off the Passat. However, the wind conditions were also treacherous at sea. The ‘Fiefdeeler’, an X99 owned by Frank Michel (Travemünde), ran into a total calm three times and got stuck. As a result, the Lübeck crew crossed the finish line five and a half hours after the first yacht.
Adrian Backmann’s ‘UiJuiJui 4’ was badly battered shortly before the finish. It was the second yacht to enter the Trave, made a small turn to the north and then had to watch as its pursuers with better wind in the south pulled ahead.
Even after the calculated time, the Swedes were still at the front of the field, followed by Hinrich Klatt (Travemünde) with his ‘Bona Tempora’. For the Lübeck sailor, the race starting in the Trave was a special treat. “We’ve been working towards this for a long time, to start with a race at the opening of the Travemünde Week. I’m delighted that it worked out.‘ The Swedes’ victory came as no surprise to Hinrich Klatt. ’They’re in a different league.‘ Bøymo-Malm, who is from Gothenburg, has also been to the Lübeck Yacht Club for regatta training. ’We regularly invite professionals for this,” explained Klatt.
Third place went to Hendrik Decker’s ‘Playgirl II’, one of the two Mini 6.50s at the start, which are only half the size of the ‘UiJuiJui’, the largest yacht in the field. Decker was delighted to win the yardstick classification.
The crews of the H-boats enjoyed perfect conditions on the regatta course. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
While the yacht crews were already relaxing in the harbour, the sailors in dinghies, open keelboats and catamarans were just setting out on the regatta course. And the wind and weather conditions could hardly have been better for their start to Travemünde Week. It started with a light breeze from the east, which picked up during the day, allowing the Hobies to fly across the water in beautiful sunshine in the afternoon. The maximum programme was completed in all classes.
The Finn Dinghys form the largest fleet at Travemünde Week 2025 and got off to a perfect start in their series. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
The largest fleet at Travemünde Week, the Finn Dinghys, is led by Fabian Lemmel from Berlin. The former German champion arrived on the back of his victory at Warnemünde Week and immediately continued his success. However, he will have to hold his own against tough competition from the Netherlands over the next three days. His closest rival, Cees Scheurwater, is currently tied on points with Lemmel.
In the H-boats, the Berlin crew led by Jens Hanisch benefited from the most consistent series in the three races and leads ahead of their club mates around Holger Köhne, who scored two victories but also had to cope with a mistake.
Matthias van Holt/Jens Hedfeld from Lohheider See lead the competition in the Corsairs, while Ulf Hahn/Katrin Wiese-Dohse lead the Hobie 16s with an impressive series. The cats sailed four races, three of which Hahn/Wiese-Dohse crossed the line as winners.
The J/22s got to take to the course twice on Saturday. First, they sailed the first races of their German Open on the regatta course in Lübeck Bay, then it was off to the Trave for a show race.
The J/22s competed in close races on the Trave in front of an audience in the evening. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
While Reiner Brockerhoff (Duisburg) and his crew are clearly in the lead at the German Open, as was almost to be expected, Thorsten Spötter took victory in the Trave Races. In exciting races, he had the right instinct, bet on the side with the trade wind on the last cross of the final and, with the better wind, crossed the line as the winner. ‘The races in our class here at Travemünde Week are always exciting. It was great fun today,’ he said of his victory on the Trave, for which he and his crew collected three packages of Lübeck specialities. However, he still has room for improvement in the German Open standings. After three races, the Spötter crew is in fourth place.
