As of: 06/21/2023 8:01 p.m
The “Henk de mol” is a special conversion. The ship has been converted and offers space for wheelchair users. This is otherwise hardly possible on normal sailing boats.
At first glance, the “Henk de mol” in the port of Schilksee looks like a normal sailing ship. But something is missing. No cabin, no benches. There is space for three wheelchair users on board. And they are already waiting on the jetty. Edda Gaedt, Ulrike Schöffler and the sailing world champion Nadine Loeschke have registered for inclusive sailing at Kiel Week.
World champion in inclusion sailing on board
“That’s great,” says Ulrike Schöffler happily. She’s sailed a bit before, but not much. Not so Nadine Loeschke. The Hamburg native became world champion in inclusion sailing in 2022. “I sail any boat that I can sit comfortably on,” she says, adding: “Now it’s a boat that you can get on with your wheelchair. Of course, that has a different meaning for people for whom it’s a problem to get out of your own wheelchair.” It is simply best to sit in your own wheelchair.
Hundreds of calls and only three seats
After a week and a half, the included sailing trips on the “Henk de mol” were fully booked. “Unfortunately,” says Sven Jürgensen. He organizes the trips. He had hundreds of calls for the regatta escort trips. He had to turn down most of those who were interested. “We noticed that a lot of people needed it,” he says. Many are interested in the fact that you can experience the water and sailing without having any sailing skills.
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Disabled parking at the port would be good
The “Henk de mol” belongs to the association “Inclusive Sailing for All” from Kaarst in North Rhine-Westphalia and has now come to Kiel for the KiWo. Between all the regatta boats in Schilksee, Sven Jürgensen and his team got a berth. The harbor masters would have given them great support, says Jürgensen. He would only like a few more disabled parking spaces directly at the port.
Barrier-free via the Kiwo
There are low-barrier cable bridges at Kiel Week.
On land, too, the Kiel Week should be particularly barrier-free this year. It’s not just about extra flat cable bridges for wheelchair users, walkers and prams. There is also the buddy program, a free companion service for senior citizens and people with disabilities. And this year, some concerts and events will have sign language interpreters translating songs for the hearing impaired.
Mutual respect important
Angela Baasch from the Advisory Board for People with Disabilities thinks that is all a good offer. She herself is out and about with her walker on the Hörn. What contributes much more to inclusion besides the offers of the Kiel Week is mutual consideration, she thinks.
A wheelchair user is on the way to the kill line – and relatively happy in terms of accessibility. But there are some stands that are difficult to reach with a wheelchair because they have high edges, she says.
Mayor Ulf Kaempfer (SPD) knows these points of criticism. “We’ll look at that,” he said. “I am very pleased that we have undertaken this concept and then people will also measure ourselves against the claim. That is our claim to become even better.”
More inclusive sailing would be “great”
The sailors in Schilksee would also like to offer more inclusive sailing, says Sven Jürgensen, while the “Henk de mol” is still cruising the fjord. Edda Gaedt, Ulrike Schöffler and Nadine Loeschke think so too: “It’s a really great trip.”
Further information
After there was a heavy crowd last weekend, the city and the police have now taken action. more
According to the city, 1.2 million people attended the festival on the first weekend. The police had to intervene on the keel line. more
In the water, on the stages or everywhere in between – an overview of the highlights of the large maritime folk festival in Schleswig-Holstein. more
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Schleswig-Holstein Magazine | 06/21/2023 | 19:30 o’clock