You could have been afraid for the first German America's Cup team. After initial euphoria, it looked for a long time last year as if everything was going to fail once again.
It seemed only a matter of time before main sponsor Ralph Dommermuth would lose interest. The quarrels surrounding Uwe Sasse were bound to leave their mark.
Especially as Dommermuth always made it clear that his involvement in the America's Cup was not about private fun but about economic interests. Image plays a major role here. And this suffered considerably last season as a result of the public comedy surrounding the team boss.
But Dommermuth remained steadfast. He made a clear cut, parted company with Sasse and announced his intention to invest even more money. The deal was worth 50 million to him.
This means that United Internet Team Germany is significantly further along than the majority of its competitors. At least three syndicates are not yet fully financed.
Against this background, the German team is finally taking shape. More than 70 people are to be involved in the German challenge by 2007. The current organisation chart is shown in YACHT 4/06. The team is getting a face. Including the new team manager Michael Scheeren.
Jörn Bock describes the new concept in the YACHT Report.
