Regatta specials at Kiel Week 2008

On the traditional "Kiel Day" during the boot Düsseldorf the organisers of Kieler Woche 2008 (June 21 to June 29) announced a comprehensive regatta programme which will include several brilliant highlights. Additional "boat class of the year" is the Moth dinghy together with the spectacular Blade-Riders. Other attractions include the Women’s Match Race in the centre of the city, the first involvement of several Classic Twelves as well as the high-tech Farr 40 keelboats. Two championships - the X-35 Europeans and the International German Championship of Offshore Sailing complete the wide spectrum of the 126th Kieler Woche.

"We do not only react on demands and decisions of the World Federation ISAF, but act independently and develop new ideas and challenges for the future of Kieler Woche" stated Offshore Race Officer Eckhard von der Mosel (Kiel Yacht Club) in Düsseldorf. Other Kiel celebrities representing Kiel and Kieler Woche during the boot Düsseldorf included the Mayor of the City of Kiel, Mrs. Angelika Volquartz, City President Rainer Tschorn und Jobst Richter, Race Director of Kieler Woche. "Kieler Woche will continue being an annual highlight in the race calendar for all competitors world-wide", announced President Rainer Tschorn and Mayor Angelika Volquartz unisonous. "And last but not least Kieler Woche is well known as biggest summer party in Northern Europe, as it attracts more than 3 million visitors each year!"

The One Design Class Farr 40 sailing at Kiel Week for the first time

A change in the Olympic Part of Kieler Woche 2008 (June 25 to June 29) is the inclusion of Women’s Match Racing which will become the Olympic Women’s Keelboat Discipline in 2012 - corresponding to the latest ISAF decision in November 2007. With the Olympic Sailing Competitions in Qingdao/China in August 2008, Kieler Woche adopts latest ISAF decisions instantaneously. Female crews will race on Streamline-yachts in this Grade II event, and all yachts will be supplied by the Match Race Centre of the Hamburger Segel-Club.

The International Classes (racing from June 21 to June 24) feature the spectacular single-handed Moth Class - riding with a Bladerider over the waves in a good breeze causes a feeling very similar to flying over the water. Even in moderate breeze the hull of this single-hander lifts onto the water. The sailor flies over the surface of the waves while fin-keel and rudder foil keep in contact with the wet element. Sailing at its best! The Moth Class Association expects more than 30 entries.

For the first time the Farr 40 high-tech One Design Class participates in the Kieler Woche Offshore programme.
"We decided to organize two regatta series, one in the Baltic Sea and another one in the Mediterranean" commented Wolfgang Schaefer (KYC), President of the European Farr 40 fleet. The Farr 40 keelboats will race in Kiel - parallel with the X-35 European Championship - from June 25 to June 29, 2008.

Another highlight of the 126th Kieler Woche will be the re-union of the wooden Twelve Metre "veterans". On the opening day (June 21) several majestic Twelves will be part of the "Rendezvous of Classical Yachts", and from June 26 to June 29 the Twelve legends will have their own race series within their Baltic Circuit - followed by the World Championship in Flensburg at the beginning of July 2008.

Kieler Woche (June 21 to June 29, 2008)
Part I: International Classes: June 21 to June 24.
Part II: Olympic Classes: June 25 to June 29.
Part III: Women Match Race: June 25 to June 29
Part IV: Offshore - divided in 3 sections:
June 21 to June 24 mainly: ORC International and "IDM under ORC International".
June 25 to June 29: X-35 Europeans, Farr 40 and OneDesign

Source: www.kieler-woche.de

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