After a day with slightly less wind, Travemünde Week is back on track for a packed day of regatta racing. Although the weather forecast predicted another difficult day in the morning, a good sailing breeze eventually set in, allowing the Finns and Corsairs to complete three races to determine their winners. The Topcats even extended the day’s work with the Trave Races in the evening, and the Variantas started their competition in the afternoon.
Despite old, faded sails, brothers Sascha and Rene Treichel are leaving the competition behind in both the European Championships and the Trave Race. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
For Finn winner Fabian Lemmel, the Travemünde Week was the latest in a series of successes. He had just won the Warnemünde Week and finished 13th in the European Championships in Naples in April, making him the best German. In Lübeck Bay, neither his national rivals nor the starters from Denmark and the Netherlands could catch up with the Berliner. On shore, his opponents admitted: ‘You can sail as well as you like, but in the end Lemmel is always ahead.’‘ He had good reason to smile after his clear victory with six individual wins in the eight races. ’I started training early this year, went to a training camp in Portugal at the end of January and had my first races on Lake Garda early on. I also have a new sailing sponsor who has built me some very fast sails. That gives me a good feeling,” said Lemmel, who admitted: ‘When the speed is right, it makes the tactics easier.’
The Berliner always enjoys coming back to Travemünde: “The area is always fun. We had everything from sun and rain to light winds and a good breeze with decent waves. Another great sailing trip to Travemünde. And the location here on the Mövenstein is fantastic, with plenty of space for lots of people. Only the ramp is a bit tricky when the wind is onshore, but everything else is great.” This means that Travemünde is also an option for future championships, according to Lemmel, who secured the TW gold medal with a clear lead over Ronald van Klooster (Netherlands), who managed to overtake his compatriot Cees Scheurwater on the final day.
Fabian Lemmel is currently dominating the Finn class in Germany. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
Despite their five wins in the series, the Corsair class winners had to wait until the last race to secure victory. This was because they had made a mistake on the first day and could not afford to make any more. However, Dirk Braun and Jürgen Kruck from Wuppertal kept their pursuers under control at all times, showing nerves of steel, and were delighted to finish in first place, ahead of Matthias van Holt and Jens Hedfeld (Lohheider See) and Dieter Hafenmair and Jonna Braun (Bad Wörrishofen).
Just as golfers read the green, Sascha and René Treichel read the blue of the water perfectly. The 50-year-old twins from Wolfsburg sailed to victory in the K1 Topcats European Championships after five races, and then secured another win on the Trave. Despite the heavy rain, the 2018 and 2022 world champions won the evening show races in front of the ‘Passat’ and the president of the international class association, Mathias Equiluz, with his crew member Susanne Wallner. The Austrians are also second in the European Championship standings. Third place in the European Championship standings is held by the Chiemsee team of Sebastian Pohl and Marco Schleich.
The German leaders in the International Championships in K2 and K3 are Robert Zank and Tim Stiegler, who are comfortably ahead in K2. Zank is a Berlin native who now lives in Bavaria. Paul Säger took the lead in the K3 field.
Frank Schönfeldt and Gerd Becke take the lead in the Variantas at the start of the German Championship. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
The Variantas are back on course for Travemünde Week. However, the size of the fleet is disappointing.
Only twelve teams are at the start. This means that the regatta, formerly advertised as the German Championship, has lost its official championship status and is now only a German championship. Frank Schönfeldt (Hamburg), also known as the singing pirate, is sailing towards this unofficial title alongside Gerd Becker.
Will there be a hat trick at the Volksbank Rotspon Cup?
When Mayor Jan Lindenau and his challenger Ulf Kämpfer, Lord Mayor of Kiel, compete against each other in the match race for the Volksbank Rotspon Cup on Wednesday, 23 July, a third contender will have the chance to win for the third time in a row.
Mayor Hennig Schumann (2nd from right) has already celebrated victory in the Volksbank Rotspon Cup twice. Photo: Christian Beeck/TW
Lübeck’s mayor Henning Schumann won in 2023 alongside Minister President Daniel Günther against Jan Lindenau. Last year, he successfully stood in for the ill head of Lübeck’s administration in the duel against Mecklenburg’s then Minister of Economic Affairs Reinhard Meyer. Now Schumann is calling the shots alongside Jan Lindenau. If Lindenau wins, it would be Schumann’s hat trick – a first in the history of the cup. No one has ever won three times in a row before.
The results so far:
Record Mayor Bernd Saxe (6 wins, 8 losses)
2004: Defeat against Kiel’s mayor Ronald Klein-Knott
2005: Victory against the district administrators
2006: Defeat against Stormarn district administrator Klaus Plöger
2007: Victory against Rostock mayor Roland Methling
2008: Defeat against Hamburg’s First Mayor Ole von Beust
2009: Defeat against Hamburg’s First Mayor Ole von Beust
2010: Defeat against Lübeck university professor Peter Dominiak
2011: Victory against Kiel’s mayor Torsten Albig
2012: Defeat against Interior Minister Andreas Breitner
2013: Defeat against Kiel’s mayor Susanne Gaschke
2014: Victory against Kiel’s mayor Ulf Kämpfer
2015: Defeat against Minister President Torsten Albig
2016: Victory against Interior Minister Stefan Studt
2017: Victory against Interior Minister Hans-Joachim Grote
Record of Mayor Jan Lindenau (1 victory, 1 draw, 2 defeats)
2018: Victory against Interior Minister Hans-Joachim Grote
2019: Defeat against Finance Minister Monika Heinold
2022: Draw against Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack
2023: Defeat against Minister President Daniel Günther
Record of City President Henning Schumann (2 wins)
2023: Victory alongside Minister President Daniel Günther
2024: Victory against MV Minister of Economic Affairs Reinhard Meyer
Children’s Olympics, discounts and a TV star
The Lübecker Nachrichten newspaper celebrated its premiere with the LN Family Day at Travemünde Week. The programme included games of skill for children, an interview with actor Cem Ali Gültekin, known from various crime series, and a discount campaign.
Actor Cem Ali Gültekin in casual conversation with LN editor Lars Fetköter on stage during the LN Family Day. Photo: Katrin Heidemann
Ring toss, hula hooping, rope skipping, tin can throwing, diabolo and Viking chess were among the tasks at the LN Children’s Olympics. The focus was on participation, and everyone was a winner. LN bucket hats and street chalk were up for grabs. The Lübecker Nachrichten was also on site at the beach promenade with the LN Buzz. Those who downloaded the LN news and podcast app saved money. By downloading the app, visitors received a 20 percent discount on all food, non-alcoholic drinks and children’s activities at numerous stands upon presentation.
A very well-attended LN highlight awaited visitors to the LN Family Day on the König Pilsener stage at the Nordermole: the TW Talk with actor Cem Ali Gültekin from the television series ‘Nord bei Nordwest’, followed by an autograph session. Gültekin plays the energetic small business owner Mehmet Ösker in the fictional Baltic Sea village of Schwanitz, who comes up with a new business idea in every episode of the series. In a talk with LN editor Lars Fetköter, Gültekin spoke to a packed audience about the cult series, other film roles and his comedy school, and revealed that he is not particularly fond of being the centre of attention in his private life.
