Actor Simon Licht and his school friend and companion Holger Ambroselli came up with the idea for their project a good two years ago. In March 2021, the two passionate sailors were thinking about how they could bring more sustainability to the sport of sailing. A year later, they presented their first green optimist named "Flaxxi" at the club grounds of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein in Hamburg.
Olympic athlete Tobi Schadewaldt and his team from Jade Yachting build the Eco-Optis
The youngest dinghy, which has the same look, dimensions, weight and appearance as the classic Optimist children's dinghy, delighted the guests at the première. The sustainable little boat is made from flax, bio-resins and recycled composites. According to the manufacturer's customer, its CO2 footprint is 80 per cent smaller than that of the standard Optimis produced in China. What's more, the environmentally friendly Opti is made from 90 per cent renewable raw materials and recycled materials. With production in Germany and accessories from Europe, overseas routes are avoided.
The Eco-Optimist is now being built at Jade Yachting by the team led by Olympic participant Tobias Schadewaldt. They are utilising the opportunity on several levels, not only offering a sustainable boat for young sailors, but also benefiting as a shipyard from the building experience. The Jade Yachting team has formulated the motivation for the project as follows: "The Eco-Optimist is a boat built predominantly from renewable raw materials. It contains visible fibre composites with UV and hydrolysis protection. We can also use the same techniques for most other repair and refit projects if our customers want a particularly sustainable alternative. We are constantly looking at other ways to make our boatbuilding more sustainable."
We are optimistic that the Eco-Optis can be included in the class association in the future." Simon Licht
15 Eco-Optimists have already been manufactured. This means that the boat is ready for both series production and regattas. However, because flax is not permitted as a construction material for Optimists according to the class rules, the Eco-Opti itself is not yet. This does not stop its fathers and many clubs and associations from using it for training and also for the new racing series and establishing it further. "In the long term, we won't be the only ones coming onto the market with sustainability products like this. We are optimistic that the Eco-Optis can be included in the class association in the future," hopes Simon Licht, who is also motivated for the ambitious project as the father of a seven-year-old daughter.
The actor, who has just appeared for Sky in a leading role in the fourth season of "Das Boot" in Prague and is currently filming with Sabine Postelt for the TV series "Die Kanzlei" in Hamburg, is driving the project forward with his team. The company Khulula, founded by Simon Licht and Holger Ambroselli, forms the umbrella for this. "Of course, as a company we are also striving for commercial success. Sustainability can only prevail if it is a successful business model," Simon Licht is convinced.
70 children sailed the Eco-Opti in Hamburg
The Eco Team Race Germany that has now been launched is the logical continuation of the goal of promoting sustainability and environmental protection in sailing. Simon Licht says: "The Eco-Optimist has hit the mark everywhere." The Eco-Opti fathers are also continuing to work on the status of an official class in collaboration with multiple German club champion and Bundesliga helmsman Tobi Schadewaldt. "We have to get there," says Simon Licht, setting the medium-term goal.
For the new regatta series, Khulula is providing the children with optimisers built using sustainable production methods. At the first Eco Team Race in Hamburg, which was organised together with the Mühlenberger Segel-Club, the teams alternated between eco and "normal" Optimists. 70 children gained experience in using the green Opti and enjoyed the races in the most beautiful city centre location on Hamburg's Binnenalster.
On course for sustainability with the Seglerhaus am Wannsee association
In addition to its own activities, Khulula has launched a major tree-planting campaign with the Vanessa Weber Foundation. "Our goal is to significantly reduce the carbon footprint in sailing. And what we can't save, we want to compensate for," explains Simon Licht, whose team not only wants to promote more sustainability with Eco Team Race Germany, but also help to implement sustainability concepts in clubs. Khulula is already active in this area for the Seglerhaus am Wannsee association in cooperation with the Centre for Sustainable Corporate Management (ZNU). "We are currently guiding the VSaW with our sustainability consulting up to sustainability certification," says Simon Licht.
Ropes made from recycled PET bottles, buoyancy bodies made from old life jackets
The initiators also find support for their Opti project, for which Elvström Deutschland produces the sails from eXRP Ekko cloth, Robline supplies ropes made from recycled PET bottles and Secumar manufactures the buoyancy aids from old life jackets, from so-called impact sponsors.
"The companies are happy to come on board because they can reflect their sustainability efforts with us," says Licht. On 5 May, his team invited many project partners to the launch of the Eco Opti Team Race Germany 2023 series at the Hamburg Sailing Club on the occasion of Hamburg's harbour birthday. The declared aim: "Together with our partners from industry, SMEs and the financial sector, we want to drive forward the ecological transformation and launch new innovative, sustainable products and solutions."
The Eco Team Race Germany on tour through Germany
At seven other events in Rostock, in Essen on Lake Baldeney, during Travemünde Week, in Langenargen, on Lake Constance, on Lake Starnberg, in Berlin and on Lake Chiemsee, all participants and the respective host clubs want to demonstrate their commitment to more sustainability on the water with the Eco Team Race Germany.
