Niklas Edler retains Kieler Woche OK Dinghy title

Niklas Edler, from Sweden has won the 2025 Kieler Wiche for OK Dinghies after the final two races on Sunday, which brought the strongest winds of the week. Edler only needed one good race, but it took a second place in the final race to secure the week for the second year running. Germany’s Andre Budzien ended up second with Canada’s Ben Flower in third. Both race wins on Sunday went to Flower.

With a similar forecast to Saturday, the fleet expected a hard day on the water, but it was harder than anyone expected. The first race was sailed in 15-20 knots, and then soon after the start of the second race was gusting to probably 25 knots with many opting to head back to the harbour. Only 22 boats finished the final race.

Denmark’s Bo Petersen led the majority of Race 7, starting well and finding the right shifts to hold a nice lead on the reaches. He was still leading 50 metres from the second top mark when he was caught by an unusually vindictive shift when on the layline just 50 metres from the mark that left him without wind and 50 degrees down. Flower, Budzien and Stefan de Vries, from The Netherlands, ducked inside him to round ahead. The finish was tight with Flower just having the edge to cross ahead of Budzien with Petersen third.

Regatta leader Edler made an unusual error on the first beat and rounded mid fleet but could only recover to eighth, so it came down to the final race.

In a much-reduced fleet for the final, with again more wind and big shifts, the top five all sailed well and found the front. Flower rounded first from Edler and de Vries and it pretty much stayed that way until the finish, with Edler sailing safely to cross second and ensure the victory, with de Vries in third. A fourth for Budzien was enough to take the silver by two points.

In all it was a generally windy Kieler Woche with no complaints about the new format of two races a day, though this did leave more time on shore for socialising, which also took its toll in different ways.

Many in Kiel were using the event as a warm-up for the European Championship, which begins in Warnemünde next weekend. Racing takes place from 6-9 July witgh the entry standing at 117 entries from 12 countries.

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Final results after 8 races

RET, DNC, UFD etc. : 51 points