Bulletin August 13th 2006

Evening reception for guests and partners of the Hanse Sail
The Hanseatic City had chosen a great place for the traditional reception of the national and international guests. Rostock’s mayor, Roland Methling, greeted about 300 invited guests in the futuristic-looking tent of the Cruise Centre. The guests were able to watch the coloured crowd of the ships through the big glass windows, when enjoying regional delicacies and well-tapped beer. Furthermore they could exchange memories and remind each other of other events during the Sail days. Many of them said that they were looking forward to the 17th  Hanse Sail in 2007.

38 participants of the regatta
Similarly to a pearl necklet, the Hanse Sail regatta participants sailed along the coastline. A total of 38 square-rigged vessels, schooners, one-masted traditional sailing ships and yachts have started for the traditional regatta on the Sail-Saturday. With windforces of  about 3 Beaufort and sunshine, the regatta conductor, Uwe Jahnke, of the Warnemünde sailing club brought the route of the regatta very close to the coastline. A total of 8 sea miles had to be sailed by the captains, the crews and their guests. The turning point was off Nienhagen. The BAUMSTARK was first ship home. A very exciting neck-to-neck race took place by last year’s winner, the schooner brigg GREIF and the BALTIC BEAUTY. The award ceremony is going to take place at 5 pm on the Hanse Sail stage.

Politics, lobscouse and sails on the GORCH FOCK
More than 100 invited guests from politics, business and other VIPs experienced a spectacular maritime event on the sea at Warnemünde. The cloudy sky and variable sailing wheather did not matter. They had been invited by Supreme commander of the Navy, vice admiral, Wolfgang Nolting, and head of the admiralty, rear admiral, Ulrich Otto as well as by the regional parliaments. The guests were able to watch the Hanse Sail highlight, the regatta of the traditional sailing ships – not only from a very close distance but also from aboard the GORCH FOCK, this year’s flagship. The GORCH FOCK chiefs served the traditional Northern meal lobscouse. Today, everyone can be a little bit VIP, when the Naval base invites for the open ship on the GORCH FOCK from 10 to 6.

The partner country Iceland presents itself
Iceland, this year’s partner country of the Hanse Sail presented itself on stage with music. First, 17 men and women performed on the stage at the passenger quay at Warnemünde and sang especially Icelandic and Swedish songs from different eras. To make the audience understand the song lines, the lyrics were translated by the choir founders, Kristinn and Tuula Jóhannesson. Gesine Klein from Evershagen said the singing was “great” and she enjoyed the one-hour lasting show together with many other listeners.
The same night, the female singer, Kristjana Stefansdottry, offered a great taster of Icelandic Jazz. With own compositions but also with carefully selected copies of international songs like the Beatles’ hit “Baby, you can drive my car”, she convinced with her voice and with her emotions. Afterwards she could be really happy about the applause of the audience.
Especially magnificent – the empathic guitar playing of her partner, Birkir Rafu Gislason.
Yesterday night, the newcomer band Benni Hemm Hemm livened up the listeners with Rock sounds during the NDR 1 Radio Sail night. The partner country Iceland is also represented on the Hanse Sail market with two booths, which are being supervised by David Johansson. On the one hand, the Icelandic tourism board with numerous prospects about Iceland. On the other hand, the Icelandic company “66” with high-quality technical outdoor collection for sailing fans. Both booths can be found near the STUBNITZ at the harbour house.

From the ships to Pop meets Classical music
According to the first “prince” Sebastian Krumbiegel, “Because of the long-lasting preparation work, my encounter with the Hanse Sail was limited to the ship show. I know that there is much more to the Sail but I was pretty glad to actually have found a little free-time to be able to enjoy this highlight. I have been reminded of my childhood. Always when there was enough time, our family used to go to the Baltic Sea. Baltic Sea means for me ships, beaches and the water. But I have never seen such a ship fiest for the eyes.”
Paid homage also to the conductor of the North German philharmonic orchestra, Peter Leonhardt. “An excellent musician - empathic, creative, simply professional. It was great to have been able to work with him.” The results of that work also convinced the 2,400 enthused fans. Sebastian Krumbiegel tried to tame them with pretended patronising  “Hey guys, This is a classical concert not a Rock concert. You can’t flip out like that.” The response – laughter. And the wheather? Steady showers from the sky and perfect singing plus magnificent instrumental music from the stage. And both only stopped after “One more”, and “Another one” and “Another one”.

High-quality concerts in the IGA park
According to the head of the Hanse Sail office, Holger Bellgardt,  “The successful “Prinzen” concert in the IGA park justifies our intention to improve the cooperation of the organisation of  more high-quality concerts.” The concert yesterday had been organised by the Hanse Sail, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, IGA Park and other partners. Moreover he points out that “the IGA Park offers very good conditions for such big events. There is nothing that needs to be added if we think of the enthusiasm with which the Pop group and the philharmonic orchestra were applauded by their 2,400 fans. “Die Prinzen” played together with the philharmonic orchestra, conducted by head Peter Leonhard.

Entertainment, chefs and award ceremonies
While the ship crews and their guests were able to enjoy once more the real romanticism of the coast, the ones who prefered to stay ashore, could look forward to music at the quay. The pop singer and producer from Rostock, Olaf Straube, is going to moor at the main stage of the Hanse Sail at 3 pm and present the official title song. Afterwards the regatta award ceremony is going to take place.
From 11 am, chefs and singers go on stage of the NDR, like the TV chef, Andreas Dietz.  The audience can learn something about kitchen tricks and can try delicacies like spicy cucumber rice with coloured historical tomatoes and minced trout. On the stage of the Segelstadion (sailing stadium) the NDR sailing newcomer is going to be awarded at 3.30 pm. On all other stages, there is a lot more of maritime specialties. Heide Mundo wants to entertain her audience with songs from the seaside on the GOLIATH stage in the city harbour. Four shanty choirs can be seen at 11 on the Hanse Sail stage in Warnemünde. At brunchtime at 11, Jazz music can be enjoyed by the Breitling Stompers. At 2.30, the Ramonas are going to entertain the audience - not only with famous music hits from the sixties.

The 20th anniversary of the Breitling stompers
The big Stompers fans, PhD Peter Ernst and Klaus Fobian, handed over flowers to the Detlef Pieluch’s band and thanked them for 20 amazing years. Today the Breitling Stompers can be seen from 11 am to 2 pm on the stage at the Warnemünde lighthouse.

A very relaxed market mile this year
The guests of this year’s Hanse Sail can enjoy walking in Warnemünde much more relaxedly. The merchants of arts and crafts, jewelry, souvenirs and snacks have found a place again on the promenade between the Kurhaus and the lighthouse. “It has become a very nice market mile on the promenade. Those, however, who want to watch the beautiful sailing ships can find a great alternative on the Neuer Strom. Many guests appreciate that.”, according to the happy market organiser, Jörg Bludau.
On the other side, the merchants do not seem to be that pleased about the present situation. “We are not so happy about that. Many tourists are missing the air of the ships.”

Sailing newcomers on the sea and at the mic
The best North German optimist sailors are going to come together at the sailing stadium (Segelstadion) this weekend. The radio and TV station NDR has been looking for the best sailing newcomer already for the second time. 29 sportsmen between nine and fourteen years have already started the races yesterday. The smaller and more modern regatta cannot only be watched but also listened to much better. Mathias Bohn, a journalist and one of the present German top dinghy sailors; Malte Philipp, coach of the German sailing club and Daria Blaschkewitz, the 470s sailor comment on the races like experts. With the same expertise, the security guards worked on the water. The Rostock sailing club “Citybootshafen e. V.” secures the competitions on the ater. The final is going to take place at 2.15.

Watching ships and sailing – Rostock will stay sailing city
As it is always difficult to say ‘Goodbye’ and since Rostock is really beautiful, about 20 traditional sailing ships are going to stay here on Monday – in the marina, the cargo and fishing harbour, and the old city harbour. The ‘fat old’ lady STETTIN is going to lie at anchor till August 19th. Following the slogan “We will go on (smaller) after the Sail”, some ships have planned some more little trips to the sea. Other vessels are looking for sailing passengers who want to accompany them to the next harbour – Lübeck, Kiel, South Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg, Stralsund, Greifswald or Rügen. You can sign on but you need to find a way back to Rostock on your own. It is worth to ask for sailing adventures again on Monday in the booking office of the Hanse Sail. Contact them at phone: +49 (0)381 208 52-26/-61 or +49 (0)160-925 090 75.

Cocktail reception on the APOLLO
Nearly 30 invited guests followed the friendly invitation of the Danish Navy. In his welcoming speech, the captain of the APOLLO, Claus Hofman-Bang, cordially thanked the German Navy and the Hanse Sail office for the amazing hospitality. Already for the 5th time the ship, registered in Helsingör, took part in the Hanse Sail Rostock. While providing their guests with a buffet, the reservist crew enjoyed giving information about the ship. In the crew’s company it was possible to eyeball every nut, bolt and screw of the APOLLO. Already now, plans are made to call again at the harbour of the Hanseatic City of Rostock in the following years.

Maritime service on the frigate MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN
On Sunday, the Protestant and Catholic pastoral care of the military Rostock-Warnemünde is inviting for a public ecumenical service at 10 am on the frigate MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN. The service is going to be held by the head military deans of the Protestant and Catholic pastoral care. Protestant military bishop Peter Krug from Berlin is going to preach. The service has been organised by military pastor, Arend Engelkes. He is looking forward to seeing the people from the region as well as from the army.

Tough fight - seaplanes defended by their pilots
Five pirates spontaneously tried to capture a seaplane yesterday at the quay of the fishing harbour. Heavily armed with historical pistols and swords, the pirates did only leave the water police boat untouched. About 300 visitors of the 6th sea plane reunion enjoyed the funny and spectacular event.

Our Hanse Sail series (4)
Iceland is really Icelandic
Every country is special in its own way. The island is made of volcanos. Smaller ground motions belong to the every-day life and the Icelanders are used to them. They are really proud of being the world’s biggest volcanic island with the biggest glacier worldwide. By the way, 8,300 square kilometres are about the size of the German island “Rügen” by eight times!
Moreover, the Icelanders have 13 Santa Clauses, called the “Jólasveinar”. They need so many of them since they celebrate Christmas every year for 26 days! “Stekkjastaur” and his twelve brothers bring presents to the Icelanders every year – from December 12th, one after another. Afterwards “Stekkjastaur”, followed by the others, go back to their volcano mountains. On January 6th, all of them have left again – till December 12th.

The wheather forecast
If the impending low-pressure area from Poland had moved further to the West …. how many litres of water could have come down on the Hanse Sail fans? But fortunately, the anticyclone from the Normandy prevailed in the meteorological battle and it has rained only now and then. This Sunday will bring another duelling fight: a rather clouded sky most of the time and showers once in a while. But the sun will also be seen with temperatures between 17 and 22 degrees.