2,000 euros for Kinderlachen 009 Rügen: Inclusive regatta in Sassnitz kicks off with a donation
13 races in perfect Baltic Sea winds · 15 crews from four nations · An emotional opening ceremony at the Altes Kühlhaus with the Germany SailGP Team
Sassnitz, August 18, 2026
The first day of the inclusive regatta in Sassnitz’s city harbor ended with a donation: 2,000 euros for Kinderlachen 009 Rügen e.V. The organization supports sick and underprivileged children—on Rügen and beyond.
This wasn’t planned. At the harbor festival in Sassnitz on Saturday, we met the volunteers from Kinderlachen 009 Rügen. The encounter touched us so deeply that we invited them to the opening ceremony on the spot. There, our club presented a donation of 1,000 euros—and two private donors each added another 500 euros. As a result, Clemens Kraus was able to present a total of 2,000 euros.
For us, it all fits together: A regatta where people with and without disabilities sail on equal terms should also give something back to the community hosting the event.
On the water: 13 races with perfect Baltic Sea winds
Sailing took place this Tuesday from morning until late afternoon. With winds ranging from 8 to 15 knots, 13 races were held on the course. Fifteen crews from Belgium, Germany, Norway, and the Czech Republic are competing, each with an inclusive crew: people with and without disabilities sail in the same boats, following the same rules, in direct competition. The racing takes place on eight accessible boats of the RS Venture Connect class. The regatta marks the second day of competition in the Heinz Kettler Germany Cup.
Standings after the first day
Leading the pack is the BYC Inclusion Team from the Bavarian Yacht Club on Lake Starnberg—with a record that could hardly be more perfect: four races, four first-place finishes, four points. Close behind, tied with six points each, are the Alster HSC and “Die zwei” from Wir sind Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V., both after three races. Next are the SALTO SAILING Team Norway with nine points from five races and the Bat Sailing Team with ten points from six races.
However, this standings table isn’t yet meaningful. Because the races are sailed in groups, the crews have completed between three and six races—the standings won’t even out until all teams have completed the same number of races. Scoring is based on the low-point system: the team with the fewest points leads.
Current results (as of August 18, 5:54 p.m.): https://www.manage2sail.com/DE/event/HKDC20262#!/results
Opening Ceremony at the Altes Kühlhaus
In the evening, the fleet gathered at the Altes Kühlhaus in Sassnitz—and the evening turned out to be more emotional than a regatta opening usually is.
Andreas Sand, chairman of the Heinz Kettler Foundation, and Sven Jürgensen, representing the organizing club Wir sind Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V., led the program.
Steffi Nerius delivered a welcome address—in a dual capacity. On the one hand, as the 2009 javelin throw world champion and Olympic silver medalist, who was born in Bergen on Rügen in 1972 and is thus returning to her home island. On the other hand, as vice chair of the Herman van Veen Foundation: The foundation co-financed the wheelchair-accessible conversion of the “Henk de Mol,” thereby making the regatta tour cruises for wheelchair-using guests possible in the first place. Nerius herself joins the guests on board for these cruises.
“As a native of Rügen, I am incredibly proud to be able to open the inclusive sailing regatta as part of SailGP in my home port of Sassnitz. On the one hand, it’s about the F50 catamarans that fly across the water at over 100 km/h, and on the other, it’s about inclusive sailing. As vice chair of the Herman van Veen Foundation, I’m delighted that wheelchair users can board the ‘Henk de Mol’ directly with their wheelchairs and sail along. I wish everyone the best of luck and hope you enjoy the view of the unique landscape—the chalk cliffs of Rügen from the water!” – Steffi Nerius
Speaking on behalf of the city of Sassnitz were Mayor Leon Kräusche and City President Norbert Benedict. Representing the co-organizing clubs were Anja Kamradt, Chairwoman of the Berlin Yacht Club; Andreas Schorr from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club; and Frank Beilstein from Inklusives Segeln für Alle e.V.
We were particularly delighted that nearly the entire Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank helped shape the evening—including CEO Tim Krieglstein, helmsman Erik Heil, Olympic bronze medalist Paul Kohlhoff, strategist Anna Barth, and grinder Felix van den Hövel, as well as Arne Stach and Anne van der Weereld. The fact that a team competing on the international racing circuit at the same time took the time for this evening means more to us than just an event: it’s a partnership in action.
What’s Next
Racing will continue on Wednesday and Thursday: on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to about 6 p.m., and on Thursday from 10 a.m. to about 5 p.m. The regatta tours for wheelchair users aboard the accessible “Henk de Mol” run daily through August 23. The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, August 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the Germany SailGP Team’s Team Base—with Stefanie Drese, Minister of Social Affairs, Health, and Sports for the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, who has assumed patronage of the event.
Press Service
We can arrange press tours and on-site interviews on short notice.
All images from Sassnitz 2026 are royalty-free for reporting on the event, with attribution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/svenjjj/albums/72177720335150151
Detailed press release from August 5: https://www.wir-sind-wir.org/neben-den-schnellsten-booten-der-welt-in-sassnitz-segeln-menschen-mit-und-ohne-behinderung-dieselbe-regatta/
Press Contact
We are Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V. · Sven Jürgensen
sven.juergensen@wir-sind-wir.org · +49 171 683 5555 · www.wir-sind-wir.org
in partnership with the Berliner Yacht-Club, the Yachtclub Möhnesee, the Seglerhaus am Wannsee Association, and the Inklusives Segeln für Alle e.V. Association
#WeAllSail #AllOnBoard #SailGP #InclusionInSailing
