Already a multiple German Open winner and previous Kieler Woche winner, Germany’s Iver Ahlmann, did not disappoint this year at Kieler Woche, achieving 7 first place positions to ultimately win the MUSTO Skiff event title.
In this exclusive interview with Iver, he shares how he prepared for Kieler Woche and his experience of the regatta that was markedly different from previous years with the Covid-19 pandemic, but still delivered on a great sailing experience!
How did you prepare for this year’s Kieler Woche event with the added challenge of work, life and lockdowns?
The run up to the event was very different to other similar events in the past. Many harbours had been closed in Germany due to the lock down in spring. This caused the season to start much later than normal. Nowadays I am very regatta focussed, and as no regattas were on the horizon in the summer, I didn’t get any sailing done until just two weeks before the event. To be honest, nobody knew if Kieler Woche was really going to happen…so I pushed out the mini training campaign to the last minute…:-)
But once I do get out on the water outside a regatta, I tend to do very intense sessions, almost entirely focussed on manoeuvres. 20 tacks back-to-back, 20 gybes back-to-back etc…I usually pace myself to last an hour, and then my time is usually up anyhow…
With no sailing in the summer, I did some other exercises like cycling (endurance), and skiff sculling (bum, leg and upper body strength), I did notice very much that this helped in keeping a cool head during the racing.
What were the conditions like at Kieler Woche this year?
The conditions were rougher than in previous years since the race course was some way out of the bay of Kiel. The first day was a good 25 knots with wind against tide in shallow water. It reminded me of the nationals at Stokes Bay in 2014…sailing downwind was very hit and miss – literally!
Unfortunately, in the last race, Paul (Dijkstra) oversaw a Contender (who were course sharing with us) near the gate and T-boned him. Fortunately, no-one was hurt. Paul still made it into the finish with a broken Kite Pole, but was DSQ’ed later for the crash.
That day I only flew the kite once, which was slow and lame but paid out at the end of the day since I got consistent results. I never felt so embarrassed in my life as when I was going side by side a contender downwind! The next day it was less tide, less wind but still full on. Flying the kite put such a big smile on my face, it made up for the many miserable runs the day before!
Did the conditions feel different with the event being in September?
The conditions were no different really. The Kieler Woche is such an established event, always happening at the same time of the year. So it was a bit spooky that it was nearly three months later, with masks and temperature control everywhere.
You won an impressive number of races during the regatta! What was your strategy and tactics?
To be completely honest, I was very focussed on what Paul was doing. Actually, at no point were we match racing, but I was always keeping a very close eye on him, being the strongest contender. When I was behind him, I tried to put a lot of pressure on him and looked for small mistakes to slip past. At the same time, with 14 races scheduled and only one discard I was sailing relatively low risk at all times, since I knew that consistent results would get rewarded!
How was your overall experience at Kieler Woche this year?
I cannot rate the organising committee highly enough for being so brave in running this, in parts, very international event during the times we are in. It took a lot of nerve, time and courage to pull it off! Unfortunately the numbers were way down over previous years due to the clash with UK Nationals and Coronavirus. I look forward to bigger fleets again in the coming seasons!
This year’s regatta doubled up as the 2020 MUSTO Skiff German National Championships. How does it feel to be the German National Champion and win Kieler Woche in the same day?
It has always been very important for the German and international class to be part of the Kieler Woche, and I was very involved in getting us on board first time in 2011. Since then, Kieler Woche has always been an event where I try extra hard and have always gotten decent results. But being at the top of the Podium was very special. It put a massive grin on my face, which was obscured by the mask we had to wear during prize giving!
See the full event report here.
Feature image: Photo of Iver Ahlmann by Uwe Paesler – Kieler Nachrichten. (Courtesy of ACO Group).
