Outrigger regatta on the Baltic Sea

Mainhattan Connection builds on past successes at a renowned ocean-sport regatta on the Baltic Sea

The fire of enthusiasm is carried on

After the racing partnership from the Main was unfortunately unable to build on its usual successes in the open class of the outrigger six last year (2022), this year's selection in the mixed category of the 2-day competition – the well-known regatta on Rügen for outrigger six boats – has once again made it onto the podium. With a clear margin over the other pursuers among the total of 5 mixed teams at this year's edition of the Rugia Hoe, with a racing distance of around 93 kilometres spread over 3 legs raced on 2 days, the predominantly Hessian outrigger canoe paddlers made it to 2nd place. The racing partnership is formed mainly by 2 Frankfurt canoe clubs, the FKV (Frankfurter Kanu Verein 1913 e. V.) and the FRVS (Frankfurter Ruder- und Kanusportverein Sachsenhausen 1898 e. V.).

The chair of the FRVS, L. Littfin, is especially pleased with this result, as his club is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. „This rounds off our past and especially this year's activities and efforts for our already eventful 125th anniversary,“ says Littfin.

„Special thanks are due to all those who, with particular dedication, mastered the participation and the logistical challenges of transporting our boat. The selfless dedication of all participants, both in carrying it out and in the preparation phase, was the basis of this year's success,“ says Littfin.

Littfin is also especially pleased that this year some younger athletes joined the team too.

„Here we're especially glad that the fire of enthusiasm for this such eventful sport is being carried on by the next generation,“ says Littfin.

The racing partnership „Mainhattan Connection“* was founded in 2019 by the sporting drivers of outrigger canoe sport at the two Frankfurt clubs FRVS and FKV, in order to become competitive together as a south-west German team against the north-eastern teams in this sport. Outrigger sport as such has had a devoted following for years here in the Rhine-Main area. Unfortunately, the individual talents and a few exceptional athletes in this rather niche subtype of the so versatile canoe sport in Germany weren't enough to keep up significantly as six-person teams with the former elite athletes from the canoe-sport talent factories in Brandenburg, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

And yet this sport offers special appeal, especially when practised on the sea. With wind and waves at your back, speeds of up to around 25 km/h can be reached. On the Main we travel at an average of 11 km/h. In the Polynesian cultural sphere, this sport enjoys a popularity similar to what we know from football in Europe.

*Excerpt from Wikipedia: „… Mainhattan (also Mainhatten) is a portmanteau of „Main“ and „Manhattan“. It's occasionally used as a name for the city of Frankfurt am Main …“ On to the article.