Although no German is among the 17 skippers qualified for the start, he is part of the race organisation team alongside McIntyre. Lutz Kohne, a 27-year-old sailing enthusiast from Lower Saxony, found his way into the control centre of the Golden Globe Race by chance and, like the skippers, looks back on an exciting preparation period and looks forward to exciting months ahead.
In the YACHT interview, Kohne talks about his unusual start in sailing and his own sailing plans.
Mr Kohne, how do you become an assistant race director in the Golden Globe Race?
Lutz Kohne: That's a longer story, and it actually starts with YACHT magazine. During the Corona period, I was sitting in my flat in Berlin and read the story in YACHT about Georg Lützelberger, who built a Plywood mini of the type Class Globe 5.80 builds.
This is a boat class that was also created by Golden Globe organiser Don McIntyre.
Exactly, and it totally fascinated me. I did some research and then read that Don was looking for an honorary race director for the first transatlantic race in this new small boat class is looking for. I contacted him, we spoke and realised that the chemistry between us was right. So I cleared my desk in Berlin, quit my job and flat, bought a boat and sailed to France. It was time to open a new chapter.
And you became a permanent member of the Golden Globe team there?
I first looked after the small Class Globe 5.80 race, and then it turned out that I would stay on permanently for the Golden Globe Race, as a second man alongside Don, so to speak. We are only a very small team of five people.
What was your task during the preparations for the race?
Over the last few months, I've been the skippers' point of contact for all questions relating to the race, especially the technical aspects - what can and can't be on board, and so on. I have also revised many documents from the last race for the new one.
And what happens when the boats have gone? A little break?
No, while Don McIntyre is travelling to the film gates along the route, I will be in Les Sables d'Olonne on Standy-By the whole time, running the regatta office and watching the fleet. I will also be available 24/7 via an emergency communication line. If the EPIRB is activated on one of the boats, Don and I will receive an alarm.
That sounds like an extraordinary job. What did you do in Berlin before?
I studied politics and had my first job in Berlin, which was at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce. That meant wearing a suit, working on Excel spreadsheets and taking a half-hour lunch break every day(laughs). It was good, but not for me in the long term.
And then you bought your first boat to embark on a new adventure?
No, I had one before. That's how I got into sailing in the first place, back in 2018, when I bought an old Contest 34 with a friend to live on during my studies in Amsterdam. The rents were high and we thought it was a good idea(laughs). We didn't even know whether it had sails or whether the engine was running. But well, we bought it, lived on it and eventually I even sailed it across the Bay of Biscay to Gibraltar. That was my introduction to sailing. And when you experience something like that in your early twenties, you never let it go.
You've also sailed across the Atlantic, right?
Yes, right after the trip to In Gibraltar. But not on the Contest. When I arrived in Gibraltar, my account was in the red and it was time to look for a job. By chance, however, I met a British family there who wanted to sail across the Atlantic with their large cat and three daughters aged between eleven and thirteen. They were looking for someone to climb up the mast. I spontaneously jumped on board and sailed with them to the Caribbean. That was my first ocean experience.
And it won't be the last?
Exactly!(laughs) I have so much to do with the Golden Globe skippers here, I sit with them in the evenings, so it's inevitable that you get infected. It's all incredibly inspiring here. So my plan now is to go sailing myself next time, which will be in 2026. It can't be that no German has been here so far! I'm even already in talks for a boat.
But you have something else to do first.
Yes, I will stay on the team and also help organise the Ocean Globe Race, which starts next year in September. That's for crews who want to sail around the world in stages. So I'm staying here for the time being.
Golden Globe Race 2022: Follow the start and race
The start of the Golden Globe Race 2022 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, 4 September at 4 pm in Les Sables d'Olonne.
It can be used on the Facebook page of the Golden Globe Race can be followed or in the Race Tracker of the fleet.
All information about the race can be found here.
