Kieler Woche: Racing, Time, and 100 Nautical Miles

In 2005, Tutima became Official Timekeeper of the Kieler Woche — one of the world's largest sailing events, held annually on the Baltic since 1882. The partnership has run every year since.

Tutima's own entry was a titanium-grey DK46 racing cruiser. The crew was entirely women: experienced World and European Championship contestants, led by skipper Kirsten Harmstorf from Hamburg. They had sailed together for fifteen years, starting on a J24, progressing through a Bashford 41, then moving to the DK46 — a boat that demands faster decision-making and higher technical skill.

The watch built for this environment was the Tutima Yachting chronograph, with its regatta start countdown function and a pure titanium case with integrated pushers. In sailing, the start matters more than anything. Fleets converge on the line as a countdown runs to zero. The countdown must be readable instantly, at arm's length, through spray. Tutima built the function into the bezel and sub-dial — mechanical, no batteries, no screens.

The partnership extended beyond timekeeping. Tutima sponsored the German ORC Trophy, awarded annually at the Kieler Woche. In 2010, the Dragon Grand Prix Germany drew Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist Evgen Braslavetz, who won the HM Queen Silvia Sailing Trophy. That same year, Dr. Hans-Peter Strepp won the Classic Week with his 8mR yacht "Feo."

In 2011, Hannover 96 coach Mirko Slomka sailed aboard the Tutima yacht for the opening Welcome Race — a honor lap that put a football trainer on the helm of a racing cruiser, with Harmstorf's crew doing the actual sailing.

The yachting chronograph joined a broader marine lineup: the Seven Seas with 300-meter water resistance, and the Seven Seas S at 500 meters. Tutima's connection to the sea was not invented for marketing. It was built into watches designed to function in salt water, at depth, under the kind of shock that a racing yacht delivers on every tack.