Denmark’s Bo Petersen won both opening races at the 2024 Kieler Woche. Sweden’s Niklas Edler is second with Germany’s Ulli Kurfeld in third. 71 OK Dinghies from seven nations are taking part in perhaps the biggest fleet in Kiel ever.
The 2024 Kieler Woche for OK Dinghies opened in brilliant sunshine, 28 degrees and eventually, a nice wind. After a long wait, and one postponed start for the wind to stabilise, it eventually filled in at 8-12 knots, with two races completed, despite threats of thunderstorms and heavy rain, which arrived later in the afternoon when the fleet was ashore.
Claus Mortensen, from Denmark, led round the first mark in Race 1, but Petersen was soon in the lead and extended away for a comfortable win
In the second race, Germany’s Ulli Kurfeld led round the top and most of the way round, but Petersen took the lead on the final downwind for his second win of the day.
The event continues Friday with three more races scheduled, and concludes on Sunday.
Results after 2 races
1 DEN 21 Bo PETERSEN 2
2 SWE 71 Niklas EDLER 6
3 GER 19 Ulli KURFELD 1
4 GER 20 Jan KURFELD 11
5 SWE 72 Benjamin HAMMERÖ 11
6 DEN 1604 Claus MORTENSEN 17
7 DEN 24 Steen CHRISTENSEN 17
8 POL 777 Michal STRUMNIK 17
9 GER 72 Oliver GRONHOLZ 21
10 SWE 139 Hans BÖRJESSON 24
Full results: https://www.manage2sail.com/de-DE/event/kiwo2024#!/results?classId=8711079c-0808-4dc7-9a44-41fc4c874e30
Day 1 Gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/okdia/albums/72177720318294455