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60th Grand Zeesenboat regatta Bodstedt 2024

At the beginning of September I went to Bodstedt, a small village at the coast of Mecklenburg Western-Pommerania. The harbor is known to be one of the strongholds for Zeesenboats, especially when a regatta is being sailed. Even when I reached the harbour very early, it was already full of many boats. This year a lot of boat owners arrived a good week before the Grand Zeesenboat Regatta to pay their last respects to the founder of this sailing tradition. Ekkehard Rammin died in July 2024. He was 87 years old and in his life he made a significant contribution to the fact that many Zeesenboats are still preserved today, enjoy great popularity and are even part of Germany's intangible cultural heritage.

The regatta day in Bodstedt was once again unusually hot for the beginning of September and unfortunately there was only weak and very unsteady wind. The festival to mark the anniversary regatta was well attended. As usual, there were stands with regional arts and crafts, culinary offerings and a performance by the Shanty Choir "De Fischlänner Seelüd" from Ribnitz-Damgarten.

The moment when all the participating Zeesenboats are in the harbor under full sail immediately before the regatta is always impressive. Anyone who wanted could watch this spectacle from a basket on a crane hook at a tall height. In Bodstedt you can also watch exciting moments of the regatta from land. The triangular course of the regatta is laid out in a very spectator-friendly way. However, I had managed to get a place on the regatta escort ship "Erna" and so had an even better view of the scenes on the water.

The fickle wind did not make it easy for the helmsmen this year. Repeatedly a whole group of boats got stuck in the calm. In the large class this year, the FZ70 "Hanna" was unbeatable. The crew found the best way through the calms and light wind areas on the triangular course and thus reached the finish line a full 12 minutes ahead of the second-placed boat. In the medium class, FZ4 "Bill" won. In the small class, FZ69 "Klara" crossed the finish line first. Incidentally, there is now also a prize at Zeesenboat regattas if a boat crew is found to be grossly unsporting. In Bodstedt, the "Schwarze Pliet" did not have to be awarded.

When I later spoke to the former regatta director Volker Stephan about what was happening on the water, we both realised: "You have to go to a Zeesenboat event at least once a year. Otherwise you'll miss something. The best thing, of course, is to go to all of them." There is flux in the community and you always see something new. This year I saw boats that weren't there every year. FZ18 "Gisela", which was called "Romantik" until last year, has her original name back, under which the boat was still used in the fishery in the 1950s. I was finally able to see the FZ59 "Pommerland" sailing. The FZ19 "Dwarslöper" moved from Greifswald to the island of Görmitz in 2023 and I had never seen her before.

The regatta day ended comfortably with a chat among friends or with a dance evening, everyone as they liked.

In addition to the regattas for Zeesenboats, we also recommend the Zeesenboat fishing trials that take place once a year on the Saaler Bodden. Here, the Zeesner Association demonstrates the traditional fishing technique that has been practiced for centuries on the lagoon and the Bodden. It is worth taking part and supports the association's work to preserve this tradition.