When the starting gun for the 77th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race is fired at 1pm local time on Boxing Day, a German crew will also be competing in the classic race. More than half a decade after the first joint idea, the Berlin brothers Axel and Peter Baumgartner are about to realise their lifelong dream. Axel Baumgartner says: "The attraction of this race is huge. Just like a triathlete wants to go to Hawaii, we want to take part in the Sydney Hobart Race one day. For us amateurs, it's the most challenging regatta there is. We are sailing with a Golf in the Formula 1 circus."
"We've been sailors for as long as we can remember"
The "Golf" is a Grand Soleil 45, which the brothers acquired around ten years ago and put into charter to finance it. "This allowed us to keep costs under control and still enjoy sailing," says Axel Baumgartner. Peter and Axel first learnt to sail in the Spandau Yacht Club on the Scharfe Lanke in the Opti and later also enjoyed sailing in the 470. Now the big dream of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race is drawing ever closer.
"We've been sailors for as long as we can remember," says 60-year-old Axel Baumgartner, "even when we were young, Wolfgang Hunger was right at the front, we were more on the other side (laughs). We're not quite as obsessed, but we really enjoy regatta sailing and have already taken part in the Giraglia 2018 and the Middle Sea Race 2020. It's all about the Olympic motto of being there. Of course, we also try to sail fast."
This is where "the fearlessness of the human spirit comes to the fore"
The 628 nautical mile course takes its challengers from Sydney Harbour through the Tasman Sea to Hobart. Since its premiere in 1945, this long-distance race has inspired ocean sailors all over the world. Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful helmsman in Olympic sailing history with four gold medals, America's Cup chaser with his team Ineos Britannia and a multiple participant himself, says: "The Rolex Sydney Hobart Race has such an impressive reputation because of the achievements of so many great sailors that every sailor likes to add it to their CV. But they all have to be prepared for some of the toughest and most challenging conditions they have ever experienced. It's a race that brings out the fearlessness of the human spirit."
Axel and Peter Baumgartner and their crew have prepared for this. The eight-strong crew for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race also includes MidsummerSail organiser Robert Nowatzki, Axel Baumgartner's son Paul, Peter Baumgartner's daughter Elisa, the well-known trauma surgeon Michael Schütz ("He has to patch us up if something bad happens"), solo sailor Paul Peindl, who sailed single-handed to New Zealand and has experience of heavy weather, as well as his friend and crewman Tobias Rackmann.
The journey of the "Orione" to Australia began in 2021
Axel Baumgartner remembers meeting a Vietnamese windsurfer on Fuerteventura in 1987, who first told him about the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. At that time, the race was hardly known in Germany. "Then, over the years, the coverage in Germany also increased significantly. At Christmas 2017, we decided as a family that we wanted to take part in 2022. It was a vision, because so much can happen over the years ..." Despite the long period of time and the coronavirus restrictions, the Berliners were not deterred from their plans. They are now gathered with their team in Sydney and can hardly wait for the big launch moment. "There's a bit of stomach rumbling," says Axel Baumgartner, "but the anticipation is also huge."
The brothers quit the charter business in Tuscany, moved to Sicily and gradually upgraded their boat with category 1 equipment and sails from Segelwerkstatt Stade. "We followed up on our decision from 2017 more and more concretely and set off from Sicily last year, travelling through the Mediterranean and to the Canary Islands. The boat stayed there for six months before crossing the Atlantic in January.
"All the milestones you want for life"
"We always had Syndey in mind during the entire trip. That's where we wanted to go," says Axel Baumgartner. Caribbean family experiences, course sections completed with friends, the Panama Canal and the Pacific crossing by Peter Baumgartner and his crew finally brought the plucky team to Newcastle, where they prepared the boat around 60 nautical miles north of Sydney for use in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race until mid-December.
Now the race is very close. The Baumgartner crew is ready to put the boat, insured by the trusted EIS (European Insurance & Services) at Scharfe Lanke, to the acid test. Axel Baumgartner knows what's coming: "It's a tough race with a magical attraction. We have to pass through three weather systems with a boat that is not quite so fast. All milestones that you want to have for life." The team has prepared well, acquired the necessary certificates from medicine at sea to offshore safety training in Neustadt and a radio licence, and overcome many more hurdles. Including those such as Peter Baumgartner's complete manual steering of the boat from Fidji to Australia, because the new push rod required for the autopilot could not be delivered in time.
"Would you sail round Cape Horn in this boat?"
The Baumgartners will start the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race with their "Orione" under the Italian sail number 16054. "The home port is in Italy, where we once bought the boat, which was built in 2007," explains Axel Baumgartner. The German flag will still be flying. And it won't just be his club mates at the Spandau Yacht Club who will be cheering him on. Of course, the Baumgartners are also familiar with the most tragic chapter in the 77-year history of the race: in 1998, the 54th edition of the long-distance race was hit by a brutal storm. In the darkest year, six people lost their lives and five yachts sank. 55 sailors were rescued in the biggest rescue operation Australia has ever seen. "We spoke to people who were there at the time," says Axel Baumgartner, describing this part of the preparations.
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The "Orione", say her co-owners and co-skippers Axel and Peter, is in good condition. When they bought the boat, the brothers had an expert with them who had sailed past Cape Horn twice himself. They asked him: "Would you sail round Cape Horn in this boat?" The man said yes, and since then the Baumgartners have had great confidence in their Grand Soleil 45: "We have never once felt unsafe in tough conditions. 40 knots of wind may be unpleasant, but they don't scare us. We have a beautiful, fast and safe boat," says Axel Baumgartner confidently. 111 yachts will line up on the starting line for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race on Boxing Day, including 21 double-handed teams - and the "Orione".
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Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
