Champagne sailing in Kiel
Kieler Woche as German Open and EuroCup
After a couple of years of absence at the Kieler Woche, the MUSTO Skiffs were back again in 2019 with 22 sailors representing 5 nations to fight for the title of the Kieler Woche, German Open and EuroCup. Most sailors were conveniently combining it with the worlds logistically, or at least using it as a warm up regatta.
As established for many years, 12 people stayed at the ACO sponsored accommodation in “ACO Land“, as some sailors affectionately call it.
Kieler Woche is known for many favorable things, but the weather: this time round, the competitors were blessed with plenty of onshore wind, blue sky and sun throughout the regatta promising good sailing and the right setting for the boat park on the beach.
Day 1 was a gorgeous day with the sun burning so hard that what was under 20 degrees felt like 30. There were light to moderate winds with generous Kieler Woche chop generated by the wind as well as the 2000 fellow sailors in the bay. Iver Ahlmann did not hesitate and pulled out all stops to secure bullets in all three races. Once ashore, the fleet embarked on an evening outing to the 2020 Worlds location of Segeclub Eckernförde (SCE) only 20km away. There, the fleet was spoiled with beers in the sunset overlooking the bay of Eckernförde from the elevated club terrace. Dinner and a tour of the club facilities concluded the day.
Day 2 dawned with a bright blue sky and as forecast, it had got breezier at 12-18 knots. The course was shifted to another part of the bay, an area with relatively shallow water. This turned out to amplify the chop and hence at the first windward mark the fleet looked down the course with a mixture of excitation and hesitation. Over the course of the day, the fleet got acquainted with the bumpy ride upwind and downwind. Only Paul Dijkstra didn’t need any warm up securing line honours in all 4 races, thereby pushing into first in front of Rick Peacock and Iver Ahlmann.
Following some beers on the peer, the hungry sailors were treated to a fantastic BBQ sponsored by the German Class Association, big thanks for the hospitality!
Day 3 promised to be another glorious day with champagne sailing, offering a slightly more modest breeze of 12-15 knots. The trend of exclusivity on line honors was broken and there were three race winners, two bullets went to Peacock.
During the whole regatta, the MUSTO Skiffs were course sharing (with a separate windward mark) with the Moths and Waszps, 20 of which entered the regatta. By the end of day 3, only 6 foilers were still racing while 18 MUSTO Skiffs were still going, a great testimony to the endurance of the MUSTO Skiffs and their sailors!
Day 4, the wind was light at about 5-8knots. At the same time, the day was promising temperatures well beyond 30 degrees. The racing was done on the so called TV course, featuring full live coverage thanks to Drones, boats with specially hinged cameras, onboard cameras and a TV Mastering and Commentator studio ashore.
Two more races were set out and the top of the podium was to be decided between ex 49er squad sailor, Rick Peacock, and two times German Open Champion, Paul Dijkstra. Third place was between Jamie Hilton, Iver Ahlmann and Jono Shelley, all only two points apart.
Peacock took line honors in the first race securing him the title, while Dijkstra took a BFD. The final and 13th race of the series was won by Jono Shelley, concluding the battle for third with Ahlmann, Shelley and Hilton on equal points, three vs two wins of Shelley securing Ahlmann the podium. As best German, it also secured Ahlmann his 8th German Nationals title.
In true Kieler Woche style, the prize giving was not for the faint hearted and in line with the wind conditions was concluded with a champagne shower.
Upon popular demand, the German class will endeavour for the Mustos to be on board of Kieler Woche again next year. In 2020 it will again be a great preparation for the Worlds, but it will not carry any title, such German Open or EuroCup, so if in doubt, come to the Worlds!
A big thanks goes out to the organisation of the Kieler Woche for laying out a fabulous event which Paul Dijkstra calling it the “best sailing ever“ on his Facebook page!
View overall results here: 2019_06_Kieler Woche (PDF document)
View the YouTube summary of Day 4 highlights (2 min) in the video below:
You can also view the German version of the Kieler Woche 2019 highlights in the video below:
Finally, you can view the YouTube full length video with German commentary (starting at 15 min up to 1:15hrs) in the video below:
