The 19-year-old Jonas Kroner had already been working on his project in the background for a year before the liberating news became public almost a fortnight ago: Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink, themselves still known as up-and-coming hopefuls, are strengthening their team with another talented player. However, the name Jonas Kroner was heard by many for the very first time, as the up-and-coming sailor from the Bielefeld area has no major offshore experience or even an Olympic campaign to his name.
"We wanted someone who is completely new, undescribed, young, wild and absolutely needs support," said Lennart Burke, explaining the move in the YACHT interview. The parallels to the two founders of next generation boating GmbH are enormous. Both Burke and Fink made their name largely through the Mini Transat and today, at the ages of 25 and 21, can look back on numerous sporting successes in the Mini and Class 40, a large fan base and their own company. Kroner also seems to have laid the foundations for a similarly steep career path, despite a lack of top performances on paper.
His home waters are Lake Lippe, but he spent most of his holidays on the family boat and sailed the entire European coastline. After regattas in Opti, Laser, 420 and the OK dinghy as well as initial experience in the ORC sector, he ventured into the Mini. Last year, he took part in the MidsummerSail and the Vegvisir Race, among others, and won in each group. Equipped with a Vector Mini, he already has ambitious goals for the Mini-Transat 2025. Melwin Fink is not taking the wind out of his sails either, but is going even further instead: "I believe that he will take a straighter route to the Mini-Transat. He won't have to take as many detours as we might have had to." Will this be reflected in the results? - We spoke to him in front of his Mini "Ikigai" at stand C04.2 in hall 15!
YACHT: Your joining the team came as a surprise to many. What was it like for you?
Jonas Kroner: I've been waiting for this day for ages. We kept it a secret for a long time. So of course it was incredibly nice for me when the day finally came, the boat was ready and the project could really get going.
You are a relatively newcomer to sailing. How did you get to where you are today?
It actually started with my family. I started sailing at a very young age. The passion came quickly and was huge. So I also started regatta sailing very early on. And then it went step by step in that direction. But I would never have expected to end up here. The dream of a mini-Transat had been on my mind for ages. I knew I had to do it, but I could hardly have dreamed that I would now have this framework, this opportunity.
You have two role models, Melwin and Lennart, who have taken a similar path. What can you learn from them?
Absolutely, there are a lot of things. I worked for them for a year and prepared the whole project. Above all, it's the mentality. We all give it our all, we're all motivated. As a result, we are achieving more and more, step by step. It's super nice to see.
Do you have specific goals for your mini-transat?
Yes, absolutely. The first goal is of course to arrive safely, and the second goal is actually the top 10. That's a very ambitious goal, very ambitious. But I would be absolutely happy with that.
You were able to present yourself to the public for the first time in Düsseldorf. How has the trade fair gone for you so far?
It was super turbulent, there were really a lot of people there with very different interests. You can tell that the project is attracting a lot of attention, and of course I'm absolutely delighted about that. There really isn't much better than being able to talk about a project like this and I'm happy that I can generate attention with it.
What's next for you? Where are the highlights, what are you looking forward to?
The highlight is the Azores race. Before that, there are smaller regattas where I will finalise my qualification. But first and foremost, I'm looking forward to arriving in France and finally being able to sail. The boat is completely untested so far. I'm looking forward to when the sails are set and I can finally train!
Jonas Kroner on Instagram after the MidsummerSail 2023:
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