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British Kiel Yacht Club opens regatta season in the Baltic

by Helga Heine 21 Apr 2005 11:56 BST
Action from the International Icebreaker Regatta in Kiel, Germany © Helga Heine

ANGLO-GERMAN REGATTA BREAKS THE ICE

Last weekend, the regatta season on the Baltic Sea started with the INTERNATIONAL ICEBREAKER REGATTA, a joint event of the British Kiel Yacht Club (BKYC), the Kieler Yacht Club (KYC) and the Norddeutsche Regatta Verein (NRV) from Hamburg. Organised by the BKYC, the regatta was sailed on nine of their Comfortinas 35 and each club provided three crews: a Juniors’, a Seniors’ and a Flag Officers’. The German side entered a number of well-known sailors such as Alexander Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein (NRV) and Olympic sailor Dr René Schwall who started for the Kieler Yacht Club. The BKYC was represented by their highest Flag Officers, the Admiral, Lieutenant General David Richards and the Commodore, Major General Chris Brown who said: “This unique event with three International clubs coming together, using the fleet of one club is good for the clubs and their members, good for Anglo-German relations in Kiel, Hamburg and indeed across Schleswig-Holstein and good for Kiel’s reputation as a centre of excellence for international sailing.”

In 1999 the BKYC hosted the first ever INTERNATIONAL ICEBREAKER REGATTA on the Kieler Förde (Kiel Fjord). Being the first regatta of the year in the Northern Hemisphere it has now become an annual event, marking not only the opening of the sailing season but also demonstrating the close relationship between German and British sports sailors. The name INTERNATIONAL ICEBREAKER REGATTA is a perfect choice for the event as not only does it break the ice between the Britons and the Germans but it also reflects the adverse weather conditions at that time of the year.

The regatta weekend sponsored by Holsten Brauerei AG, b+m Informatik AG, the KYC Hotel and Pantaenius Yachtversicherungen started on Friday afternoon with Major Simon Davies, Chief Race Officer and Rear Commodore (sailing) briefing the skippers on the regatta format and race conditions as well as on the handling of the engine and spinnakers. After the crews had taken over the boats and the kit, they were able to do some free sailing to make themselves familiar with the Comfortinas. By that time, grey clouds and a fairly cold wind indicated that the regatta conditions would be about the same on the weekend.

Sailing was not the only item on the agenda: on Friday evening, the Kieler Yacht Club entertained the entire fleet to a formal dinner. Lothar Jenne, President of the KYC, thanked the Commandant, Major Simon Davies and the BKYC for the hospitality and the perfect organisation of the weekend and for the hard work of the KTC staff who, as volunteers, gave up their spare time to run this event. He also said:” This regatta has been sailed for seven years now and has developed from a very formal event with participants who didn’t know each other very well to a relaxed competition amongst friends. It is that spirit of friendship that one can feel between the British and the German clubs on that Icebreaker weekend. The competition is keen, but good natured and the important thing is not to have won, but to have taken part.”

Saturday morning, after a 7 o’clock breakfast and a race briefing at 0800 hrs forecasting cold weather conditions with a wind-force 4/5, the INTERNATIONAL ICEBREAKER REGATTA started at 0930 hrs. The decks of the Comfortinas were still covered in ice when they left the BKYC jetty. The regatta consisted of ten races altogether with one compass race and nine series races at the end of the Kiel Fjord. Six of them were sailed on that first day with a temperature of about 7°. In the true Icebreaker tradition, the weather ranged from sunshine to rain and hail with constantly changing winds. The typically British compass race, where all points of the compass must be rounded from the outside of the compass rose, proved to be quite challenging for the German crews. Pintail, manned by the KYC flag officers came first with the NRV junior boat Tern following closely. A broken main sheet shackle on the NRV flag officers’ boat Teal had to be repaired before the start of the second race. The first race day ended with a curry dinner and a disco hosted by the BKYC. However, the long and exhausting sailing day and the prospect of a seven o’clock breakfast the next day saw an earlier end of the evening than expected.

Sunday morning greeted the participants with grey fog but slightly warmer temperatures and drizzle, which turned into rain by mid-morning. The nine Comfortinas motored out positioning themselves around the start line at 0900 hrs by which time the weather had deteriorated. With a wind-force of only 3/4 the four remaining races of the regatta had to be sailed with spinnakers and were finished at about midday. The participants returned to the BKYC clubhouse for the prize giving and a well-earned lunch.

This year, the INTERNATIONAL ICEBREAKER REGATTA was won by the NRV by five points, followed by the Kieler Yacht Club and the BKYC. However, more than one trophy was awarded: Four trophies went to the KYC: the Seniors Trophy and the trophy for the best Overall Boat (Dr René Schwall). The challenging Compass Race was won by the KYC flag officers with Thomas Ross as the skipper who also won the Flag Officers Trophy. For the second year, the NRV’s Ferdinand Ziegelmeyer won the Juniors Trophy as well as the trophy for the Least Aged Crew and the trophy for the Overall Best Team went to Alexander Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein for the NRV. The Most Aged Crew cup went to Maj Gen Chris Brown as the skipper of the BKYC flag officers’ boat Pochard; the best BKYC Crew trophy went to Maj Simon Davies, the skipper of the BKYC Senior’s boat Skua. In recognition of his dedicated work, the Spirit of the Regatta trophy was awarded to the late Haye Stichert of the NRV. Haye, who passed away last year, has been one of the mainstays of the Icebreaker Regatta. Dr Niklas Gansauge (NRV) said:”His spirit was with us this weekend.”

BKYC

The British Kiel Yacht Club (BKYC) is part of the Kiel Training Centre - KTC - based at Kiel-Friedrichsort. It is run by Major Simon Davies and his staff of 6 military and 30 civilians and includes a workshop where skilled workers are able to do the necessary maintenance and repairs. The impressive fleet of 24 boats range from small keelboats and ribs to the mainstay of 10 Comfortina 35 yachts and one Comfortina 42. Up to 2000 members of the military community use BKYC each year for offshore sailing and diving and are trained by qualified and experienced staff. Apart from running a variety of RYA offshore courses, powerboat and scuba diving courses and expeditions, KTC also offers the yachts to units, individuals and indeed families for charter – including a skipper if need be. Courses are run from March through to November and during the winter months the boats get refitted and serviced to be ready for the new season. Course members are mainly trained on the Comfortina 35s. The Kiel centre is one of three run by the British Army worldwide.

This year, the BKYC is celebrating its 60th anniversary and various events will be run to mark it. A Veterans Anniversary Dinner will be held, including members of T Force, who were part of the liberating forces in Kiel and who make an annual pilgrimage. Additionally, the traditional Splieth Regatta, a BKYC family regatta, will be run 26 to 29 August 05. For the first time since 1991, a Tri-Service-Regatta will take place from 17 to 21st October 2005.

If you are interested in a military structured course, please contact HQ ATG at Sennelager on 79 2918 or fax 2251. For dependants courses or private and AT charter, please contact Mr Dirk Naumann at Kiel on 76 2229 or civil 0431 398 33 or admin@bkyc.de

Detailed information can also be found on www.armynet.mod.uk or www.bkyc.de

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