In 1888 it was two Hamburgers who, figuratively, laid the foundation stone for the Travemuende Week, the 119th edition of which takes place from July 18 to 27. Hermann Wentzel and Hermann Dröge sailed around a bottle of Lübeck Rotspon at the time.
A year later, the Travemuender Week emerged from it. 120 years later, “your” head of government will now compete to win the original Rotspon regatt.
Because this year the challenger to the host and Lübeck's mayor Bernd Saxe is called Ole von Beust for the first time. The First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg will compete on a kite against the defending champion on Wednesday, July 23rd.
Heads of administration from Lübeck's surrounding areas and the state capital Kiel were already there, as were the mayor and finance minister of Düsseldorf. Most of the time, however, the host remained the winner, since the first Rotspon regatt of the modern era was launched in 2004. Whether most recently on Skippies, 5.5 mR yachts or America’s Cups, Bernd Saxe also skilfully steered a kite across the Trave.
This time he is supported by the first chairman of the Lübeck Yacht Club Rolf Erwert and the owner Horst Ströh. Because von Beust competes with the President of the North German Regatt Club (NRV) Hamburg Manuel Cadmus on his kite, which used to be an Olympic boat class and today still attracts numerous world-class sailors.
In addition to the Hamburg Sailing Club (HSC), the NRV is co-organizer of the Travemünder Woche, which the LYC always organizes in the last full week of July. “We were delighted with the approval from the Senate Chancellery,” said Karin Böge and Claus-Dieter Stolze from the organization management of the Travemuende Week."
The first man from Hamburg upgraded the fun competition at TW halftime to a highlight of the regatta week, which in 2008 should again attract around 2,000 athletes from more than 20 countries and around a million visitors.
Ole von Beust was the patron of large ocean races across the Atlantic that led to his hometown, but he is not a sailor like Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Peter Harry Carstensen. Nonetheless, the First Mayor already took part in the shipping regatta from the Danish Æroskøbing across the Baltic Sea on board the “Hamburg XII” and will certainly stand on board the three-man keelboat.
Lübeck versus Hamburg is the duel that is carried out in a match race (duel) boat against boat. The starting signal will be given at 11 o'clock on Überseebrücke 1. The regatta course between the Priwall and Norder ferry can be easily seen from the Travemünder Woche for visitors to the Travemünde Week. The first person to win two races will take home a six-liter bottle of the famous French red wine, which matures in Lübeck oak barrels, at the awards ceremony around 1 p.m.