Exciting working day: Behind the scenes of a vibrant harbour

It's early in the morning and the working day has not yet begun, but the harbour master's office smells not of coffee, but of holidays. "This is one of the most important preparations for the day," explains Martin Renner as he applies sunscreen. He carries out his work as harbour master in the open air. Nevertheless, he enjoys the obligatory coffee before starting work. Renner then puts on his sunglasses and puts on his work gloves - essential on the water, especially on days like this.

On this Wednesday of Kiel Week, Renner and his colleagues will ensure the operation of the Schilksee Olympic harbour until the evening hours. During this time, the harbour, home to 850 permanent berths, is the centre for around 3,500 regatta sailors, who join the ongoing activities and attract numerous spectators.

The fact that the harbour master team of four loves their job is immediately apparent in the first morning meeting in the office. The prospect of a busy day does nothing to change their attitude. Although most of the work is done outside, the office remains the centre of attention. At least one team member is available there at all times. Centrally located in the harbour and above the jetties, it offers them a perfect panoramic view of the entire waterfront facility, the harbour apron and a 200-degree view of the outer fjord.

Logistics and teamwork: secrets to success in port operations

The team of harbour masters in Schilksee has a particularly busy Wednesday during the KiWo. It is the day on which the athletes in the Olympic boat classes leave with their boats and the athletes in the international boat classes arrive. "From our point of view, things are a little more relaxed this year than in previous years," says Renner, "that's because there were no boat classes on the regatta courses in the first part of Kiel Week that needed to be craned out."

However, the crane will be needed in the afternoon for the arriving boats. Renner and his colleagues are expecting 48 J/70 and 21 J/24 class boats. Most of them want to get into the water on Wednesday. The usual requests from the permanent berth holders will ensure that the morning is not boring either.

The Kiel Schilksee marina

The Kiel-Schilksee marina is divided into the north and south harbours. While boats and yachts in the north harbour are moored on ten jetties and a towage jetty, there are six jetties plus a towage jetty in the south harbour. The two harbour basins are each reached via an access road and both face south. The northern basin has floating jetties, while the boats in the southern basin are moored on fixed jetties. Both areas have a boat crane and a mast crane. The southern harbour is also where the ferry steamers dock.

Meanwhile, an X-99 is hanging in the crane, ready to be lifted out of the water. It takes several attempts before it is safely on the trailer. "Please raise it again, we need to turn the front supports up a little," says the owner as the ship comes to rest. The X-99 is raised and lowered several times and the outriggers or the longitudinal position of the ship are adjusted a little. "That took a while," says Renner when the job is done. "But sometimes you have to be patient. The crew suffered mast breakage during the race, so they're out of commission anyway." Normally that doesn't work in KiWo operations, says Renner. But as there isn't a long queue at the crane right now, he doesn't have to cause the crew any more stress than they already have because of the mast breakage.

His aim is to give customers as carefree a time as possible. "Nevertheless, there are of course things that simply cannot be made possible, especially at major events," explains Renner. He and his colleagues have particularly little sympathy when bystanders such as simple onlookers unnecessarily put themselves in danger when cranes are being lifted. Despite the barriers, this happens time and again. In addition to Renner, the team in Schilksee consists of the three harbour masters Lars Brinkmeier, Volker Karner and Jens Raabe. Renner goes into raptures about the cooperation with his colleagues. "It's a great relief that we get on so well. It makes the work much easier."

The users of the slipway are mostly children and young people. We do our best for them too - after all, they are our berth customers of tomorrow" - Martin Renner

Renner has completed two apprenticeships, one in metalworking and one in wholesale and foreign trade. He has found that the job of harbour master requires a certain amount of organisational talent at the desk as well as manual skills. "You also have to be able to repair a tap that someone has just turned off. But for large construction sites, especially in the electronics sector, we naturally have local specialist companies on hand."

Baltic storm surge also hit the harbour masters hard

The Baltic storm surge last October left a deep impression on the harbour masters of Schilksee. In the aftermath, only the masts of some yachts were still sticking out of the water, the harbour resembled a battlefield and many of the ships that did not go to sea were so badly damaged that they had to be scrapped as total losses.

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Those were tough weeks for Renner and his colleagues. "I've rarely been so reluctant to go to work," says Volker Karner in the office, "it had absolutely nothing to do with the amount of work involved, but much more with the fates of the owners, who we've known for years." The cooperation with salvage companies and volunteers, on the other hand, impressed him. "That was overwhelming! There were people standing here in oilskin trousers and wellington boots, just asking where they could help." However, some of them also had malicious intentions. "There were people trying to plunder the salvaged ships and get rich from them." In general, however, what he remembers most from the time after the storm surge is the willingness to help.

As a result, the harbour masters even had to deal with some pastoral tasks. Karner recounts a moving moment. When he was out and about in the harbour with a forklift truck in the days after the storm surge, he saw a long-time berth holder slumped over on a bench. He stopped, took time for him and tried to help his friend with words of encouragement. The man, himself a pastor by profession, asked after a while: "Volker, what are you doing here?" Karner replied that he was simply listening to him. The storm surge presented many people with unprecedented challenges.

Kiel Week from the harbour master's perspective

"Unfortunately, during Kiel Week, many of the jobs that normally fall by the wayside," says Martin Renner, describing his work during the event. This includes, for example, the dialogue on the jetties. "That's where we hear what's on people's minds. A quick chat and a sympathetic ear for concerns and problems are simply part of it," says Renner.

But there are also some changes for berth holders during Kieler Woche. There are no more parking spaces on the harbour apron, for example, and many jetties have to be cleared for the week, which is regulated by contract. Martin Renner reports that not everyone is equally understanding about this. However, it usually works out that the berths are cleared. "It is only thanks to these major events that we have been able to keep the prices for permanent berths constant for several years," says Renner, emphasising the economic relevance of the events. Nevertheless, the harbour master's role is often that of a mediator. Last year, for example, there was displeasure that the floating Audi Lounge was located on a cleared jetty.

As of this year, it has therefore been placed on the jetty in the south harbour, where the functional boats such as the large launch boats are also moored. "I understand both sides and sympathise with our permanent berth holder, who has a problem with giving up his space for the fun of sponsors. On the other hand, of course, it also takes financial strength to be able to organise such an event," says Renner.

According to Renner, the cooperation with Kieler Woche organiser Point of Sailing GmbH (PoS) is on an equal footing. "Of course there are points of friction, but that's normal and a consensus can usually be found." What makes working during Kiel Week particularly easy is that many of the volunteers themselves have been involved with Kiel Week for years. "It helps a lot if you already know each other and the people involved know how everything works." Many of the drivers from the trailer service, who manoeuvre the regatta crews' trailers on request during the craning, park them on the salt marshes afterwards and pick them up again from there for uncraning, are now also veterans. Almost all of them take holiday to be able to attend the event.

Renner particularly enjoys the opportunity to help shape and optimise the processes of Kieler Woche. "An event like this is constantly evolving. This year, for example, we had all the dinghies taken out of the water on Tuesday before we opened the access road for the trailers of the coaching boats," he says. This initially caused some displeasure, but then everyone realised with satisfaction that there was much less hustle and bustle than in previous years.

Harbour master and local residents work hand in hand

There is good co-operation here between the parties involved, such as restaurants, sailing shops and so on. The cooperation with the German Sailing Association is also going well" - Martin Renner

He says of the atmosphere between the neighbours: "On the whole, it's a good working relationship. If someone has problems, we often find solutions together." The restaurant "El Mövenschiss" in the southern part of the harbour, for example, also issues key cards for the sanitary facilities to guests and sells shower tokens. "That helps us because it is usually open until 10 p.m. and guests arriving late can still use the toilets and showers," says Renner. In return, it was no problem to manoeuvre the new flower boxes that were delivered a few weeks ago into the right place with a forklift truck.

This give and take is an expression of involuntary interdependence. The harbour attracts a clientele that represents potential customers for restaurants, sailmakers and equipment shops. In return, this maritime infrastructure contributes to the attractiveness of the harbour.

Fraudster throws off lines without paying

Back in the harbour master's office, an angry long-term moorer comes in the door. "They just took off," he says, panting. It is impossible to say whether his exertion is due to his excitement or the speed with which he has sprinted to the office. He has been there once before to say that someone is in his box, even though the red/green sign says "occupied".

The harbour master's IT system was also unable to resolve the situation, but as there was a long queue of customers waiting outside the office, processing of the case was postponed for a short time. The guest harbour master used this time to cast off the lines and make a run for it. "Harbour masters have an elephant's brain when it comes to these things," says Renner, relatively relaxed about the incident, even if he is naturally annoyed about the audacity of the fraudulent use of his services, "you always see each other twice in life."

Volker Karner, who was able to observe the boat through binoculars as it left the harbour, also contributes an anecdote. He recounts how, in autumn, he took the missing mooring fee for the spring from a guest berth holder. "The laughter of the customers in the queue behind him was of course huge, the person concerned could only stutter," says Karner. The permanent berth holder now affected had taken a photo of the ship whose skipper had not paid. He sent it to Martin Renner via AirDrop.

Inspection trip with the harbour dinghy

Volker, I'm going to see if everything is OK from the water," says Renner, who is standing on the doorstep, as he leaves for a short tour in the harbour's own inflatable boat. It is grey, with "www.sporthafen-kiel.de" written in blue on both sides, and the floor and steering column are municipal orange except for the steering wheel and throttle. It is powered by a 30 hp Yamaha engine. On his tour through the two harbour basins, Renner keeps an eye out for damage and potential risks to people and equipment. It is particularly important during the KiWo that everything is in order.

On the one hand, there are many important sponsors of the event and sailors in the harbour, who naturally want to experience it in the best possible condition, and on the other hand, there is more public traffic than usual. Together, these two factors also bring many people into the harbour who are otherwise rarely out on the water and do not always recognise sources of danger on their own.

In autumn, the winter storage area is prepared and cleared

Renner describes the time in spring and autumn as particularly challenging. This is when all 900 or so boats come out of the water and, unlike Kiel Week, there are fixed dates with corresponding time slots that have to be adhered to. "Then it's all at once," reports Renner. Many boats stay in the harbour in Schilksee. There are around 30 covered berths in the harbour halls, 400 boats are stored in the open area and 200 boats are stored in a former tennis hall in Friedrichsort measuring almost 5,000 square metres.

Towards evening, the harbour masters in Schilksee are busy craning the boats for the second part of Kieler Woche. As the last ship is not craned in until shortly before 9 p.m., they had planned a shift system for the day. It takes Renner until late in the evening to take off his sunglasses and remove his work gloves.