After about 20 years Reinhard Rigling is back in Travemünde. For the World Championship of the Melges 24 he got to know the Baltic Sea area as an active sailor, now he is in the north as president of the Zürcher Yacht-Club, next to the Lübecker YC and NRV Hamburg one of the three organizing clubs, and enjoys the days to the Travemünder Woche.
„The World Championship was a great experience back then. It’s a unique ambience for Travemünde Week when you sail in after the regattas in the middle of the festival,“ the 64-year-old Swiss vividly recalls the World Championship days. The size of the event, with its combination of regatta and festival, still sparks Rigling’s enthusiasm. „For us as a club, this is an insane opportunity to present ourselves on an international stage. We have a few smaller collaborations with other events, but on this scale, like Travemünder Woche, it’s unique.“
The ZYC takes over the race management on the Delta course for the Travemünde Week, and is thus responsible for the North German Dyas Championship, the German Folkboat Championship and the World Yngling Championship. The threads for this run together with ZYC Regatta President Sascha Osterwalder. „Sascha did 90 percent of the preparation. That is a big effort in terms of organization and time. There is support for this from the club, both from the members and the board. I take my hat off to Sascha for the work he does,“ says Rigling.
The ZYC president sees the work for the Travemünder Woche very well integrated into the club’s work. „From my point of view, five pillars define the ZYC. That is, of course, sailing, but also further development in training. In addition, social life is important. In addition, we also want to train race committee members and umpires at the club. Our commitment to Travemünder Woche is perfect for this.“ The close connection between Travemünde and Zurich has been strengthened more and more since the beginning of the cooperation. Last year, Lutz Kleinfeldt, the chairman of the Lübeck Yacht Club, visited the friendly club in Switzerland with a delegation from the Hanseatic city.
In return, Reinhard Rigling feels very welcome in Travemünde: „I was received openly, I’ll stay until Monday and spend some nice hours here. For me, it’s more pleasure than work.“