2nd Folding Boat Sailing World Championship on 20 July 2024

An experience report by Ingo Müller

The time had finally come at the weekend: The 2nd Folding Canoe Sailing World Championships took place on Saturday 20 July 2024 as part of the International Canoe Sailing Week. Canoe sailors from several countries responded to our call and came to the Strelasund, a Bodden waterway in the Baltic Sea, to compete against each other. The regatta course demanded a lot from the participants – precise manoeuvres, exact trimming of the sails, a high degree of tactics and stamina were required.

A weekend full of community and passion

The em² campus was already full of life on Friday. Motorhomes, tents and buses transformed the site into a lively sailing village. After setting up the boats – classic folding boats in many rigging variants, fast sailing kayaks and sailing canoes – the participants met for a communal dinner. I had set up my folding boat Käpt’n Blaubär, an approx. 50-year-old RZ 85 Exquisit from Pouch, the day before and completed a few trial runs. The forecast for Saturday was for moderate winds, so I swapped the normal jib on my Mistral + (ketch rig) for the larger genoa to get more cloth on the boat. A good decision, as it turned out. The boat ran perfectly and I was able to adjust a few small things.

The race day

After breakfast, the helmsmen’s meeting was scheduled for 10.00 am. The planned course of the race day was already on the board and Bert announced the course. Each crew was given a map to mark the course. It was particularly important that we sail strictly according to the Walter Becker equalisation formula, which ensures fair conditions for the different sailing canoes. Bert and I had consulted beforehand and decided to set the start one hour later, at 13:00, in the hope of more wind. The calculation worked out, we had 2-3 BFT, which was ideal wind for our collapsible sailing boats.

A second decision to set a longer course than usual, i.e. to complete the triangular course twice, would pose a challenge for many of the less experienced sailors, which we were well aware of, but we thought was justifiable due to the perfect weather conditions on the day.

After the helmsman’s briefing, the usual pre-race rush naturally set in. Screwing, changing, adjusting and preparing your racing machine perfectly, hoisting the sails, checking the sheets and loading the boats and taking them to the beach.But not for me, this time I was well prepared and had already rolled Captain Bluebear to the beach and got her ready to go before the helmsman’s briefing.So I was able to enjoy the usual pre-start hustle and bustle and get rid of the odd cheeky remark.The excitement was palpable and was heightened by the fact that the film crew Tim and Alina were out and about asking the individual crews about their ambitions and stories.

The race

Shortly before 13:00, 22 small sailing boats, 12 of which were sailing variety boats, gathered in the starting area behind the starting line. So many sailing canoes together, completely different in construction and appearance! It was an exhilarating sight.

The start signal came on time. Bert in the Summerwind and I shot across the starting line with a dream start and took the lead.But the fast Artemis sailing canoes were close behind us. The first thing we had to do was sail upwind to the green fairway buoy 21 for about 1 nautical mile. A really arduous stretch, because not only were the wind and waves working against us, but also the current entering the Strelasund from the east. Here my knowledge of the area gave me a small advantage, I avoided the channel with the strong current and reached buoy 21 together with the leading fixed-hull kayaks of Axel, Thomas and Bert. I had to let them go on the next beat to the Gustow entrance, as the rigid hulls are superior to the folding kayaks on this course, they simply have less resistance. However, they couldn’t really pull away from me until the end and after two laps of over 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) they were just 5 minutes ahead of me at the finish. I’m really proud of that, because it shows how well my old Falter Käpt’n Blaubär is travelling with our Mistral+ rig.

Unfortunately, I didn’t notice much of the folding boat competition during this phase of the race.On the first stretch up to buoy 21, a problem became apparent that the majority of folding boat sailors have: they find it difficult to make progress upwind.On the way back from buoy 21, the chasing pack came towards me and I was able to watch the fight between individual sailors en passant.In the end, it doesn’t matter where you are in the field if another sailor is in close contact, because ‘two boats are a race’.The sailors raced head-to-head, with each tacking buoy being fiercely contested. Around 15:30 hours, the fastest sailing canoes and I reached the finish line. Other sailors took a little longer to complete the course, but by 5.00 pm all the sailors had reached the finish line.And the unanimous opinion was that it was very challenging because it was long, but great.As a reward, there was a rich cake buffet on the beach.

In the evening there was the award ceremony with honours in the various categories such as ‘most beautiful Cew’, ‘oldest boat’ or ‘longest journey’.

For me, it was one of my favourite days of sailing.There was an incredibly good atmosphere on the em2 campus, and despite the effort required to organise such an event, I was able to really enjoy the community of canoeists.The helpfulness and support of the participants was a great element that made this 2nd Folding Canoe Sailing World Championship a well-rounded event.

Thanks to our helpers and supporters

An event like the Folding Boat Sailing World Championships would not be possible without the support of many helpers. Many thanks to:

• Franz, who steered the lifeboat with great care and ensured safety at all times.
• Mrs Kampmann, who not only kept us full with her cake, but also made us happy.
• Tim und Alina, who did an incredible job as a film team and captured the regatta in impressive pictures.
• All the participants and spectators who made this event a real highlight.

Looking forward to 2025

The next Folding Boat Sailing World Championship is already being planned: 12 July 2025! Make a note of the date and register in good time – we look forward to setting sail with you and experiencing new stories on the water.

The placings

The award ceremony followed in the afternoon, where both the fastest boats and special achievements were honoured.

Class folding boats

Class rigid hull canoes

Out of classification

Ahoy and see you soon!

Ingo Müller