Originally, 22 motor yachts were registered for the 33rd meeting of Grand Banks owners from the North and Baltic Seas. However, strong winds made it impossible for some participants to make the journey. The "Smilla", a GB 36 CL with its home port in Leer, had to turn round at short notice and was unable to take part in the meeting.
"Unfortunately, there was a strong easterly wind of around six Beaufort and gusts of up to eight Beaufort almost all the time on these days. This made the Bay of Kiel and the Bay of Lübeck impassable for many crews," regrets Markus Gehrlein, one of the organisers of the annual event.
In the end, only three of the larger yachts from Fehmarn, Schlei and Warnemünde took on the rough passage and arrived in Travemünde on Friday 17 May in time for the squadron trip with the eight motor yachts already present. They travelled up the Trave in convoy. After a special bridge pull on the Eric Warburg Bridge, all the boats were moored in the New Port marina in Lübeck at around 2 pm. The reunion of the community that has grown over the years is always a great pleasure. Some take long detours to be there. After taking a look at the weather forecast on the Bay of Lübeck, the crew of the "Ikarus", a GB 42 CL from Rendsburg, turned round and sailed via the Kiel Canal to Brunsbüttel. From there they travelled up the Elbe, via Geesthacht and then along the Elbe-Lübeck Canal and Mölln to Lübeck, where the crew joined the "family reunion" late.
Read also:
Grand Banks Meeting 2025 in Eckernförde
Every year at the Grand Banks meetings, the "rowing wheel" is passed on as a challenge cup for the organiser of the next meeting. This year it went to Barbara and Werner Trapp, who are now inviting us to Eckernförde next year.
The operator of Marina New Port and host of this year's meeting, Ralf Schulte, is himself a Grand Banks owner. During his welcome address, he announced that he would once again be donating the proceeds from the Grand Bankers' mooring fees to the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS). Last year's fundraising campaign organised by the Grand Banks Club Baltic in Heiligenhafen had already resulted in 3000 euros being handed over to the sea rescuers.
