Any tourist coming to Hamburg is enchanted by the Hanseatic city’s maritime tradition: the historic architecture, the countless luxury yacht outfitters, the world famous “Reeperbahn” and the old sea dogs relaxing with a pipe. A handful of the world’s best high divers enjoyed an early morning boat trip around the famous port before going to check out the location for the sixth round of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
From Bremerhaven to Hong Kong to Cape Horn and back to Germany, the three-masted merchant ship, war material transporter and cadet training ship, Rickmer Rickmers is now 113 years old. She was turned into a museum in 1987 and since then the 97m bark has enjoyed a new life transporting her visitors back in time. Few of them, though, have probably ever thought of climbing the main mast and leaping into the dark brown waters below.
But this is exactly what will happen on Saturday, August 29: the 12 cliff divers will use the platform at the top of the main mast as a take-off point for an acrobatic three-second flight; not only to delight the crowd but to add crucial points to the rankings. And while nine times world champion Orlando Duque’s lead seems to be unassailable, sports director Niki Stajkovic says “it’s never over until it’s over”.
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