Forever second – and yet content?

Rugia Hoe 2025

The Rugia Hoe 2025 was a very special experience for us as a racing partnership with our outrigger friends from the FKV, the Frankfurter Kanu Verein 1913 e. V. – sportingly intense, emotionally bonding and, in terms of scenery, simply breathtaking.

As a mixed team we lined up at the start with the clear goal of improving on our performance from the previous year. Despite a short shared preparation time, the joint training paid off at this year's Rugia Hoe. Rugia Hoe is the name of the well-known outrigger six regatta (team outrigger canoe for 6 athletes) on the Baltic Sea off Sellin on Rügen.

In a short time we improved the coordination in the boat: we were able to refine our technique, make the changes more efficient and present ourselves as a unit that not only paddles harmoniously and powerfully in the same rhythm but thinks and feels together.

The three legs along the coast of Rügen demanded everything of us – endurance, concentration and team spirit. The long distances in particular presented us with manifold challenges. But we stayed focused, motivated one another and kept the pace high for most of the way.

In the end we were able to enjoy a strong 2nd place – with a markedly smaller gap to the winner than the previous year. That shows how much we've grown as a team. The finish was not only a sporting success but also an emotional moment that welded us together even more closely as a community.

Otherwise rivals in local competitions, we benefited from one another and were able to develop together.

The Rugia Hoe is more than a race. It's a festival of paddling. A festival of outrigger canoe sport in Germany. A festival of sporting achievement, but also of friendship and connection with nature. For us it was proof of what's possible when you work towards a goal together – with passion, commitment, discipline and mutual respect.

We're already looking forward to the next shared challenge as the Frankfurt Mainhattan Connection – and to going out on the water as a unit again.

Rugia Hoe is a coined name based on a language mix of the Latin word for Rügen (Rugia) and the Polynesian word for paddle (hoe).