They passed their test with flying colours: The STG/NRV junior team led by skipper Philipp Buhl and helmsman Erik Heil qualified for the premiere of the Red Bull Youth America's Cup alongside teams from New Zealand, Switzerland, Portugal and Australia with outstanding performances. After the young team was initially barely able to get the AC 45 catamaran, which had never sailed before, over the course, the German sextet improved so much during the qualification that it was enough to win the group.
"The RBYAC fever has now broken out in the team, mainly due to our surprisingly rapid progress, even for me. We've all tasted blood," said 23-year-old Philipp Buhl. "But one thing is very important to me: people always talk about me and Erik as the central figures. I want to emphasise that everyone on board has done an excellent job. Nobody could do it without each other. The team spirit couldn't be better, we worked with great determination." In addition to friends Philipp Buhl and Erik Heil, Max Kohlhoff (foreship), Michael Seifarth (floater), Max Böhme (trimmer), David Heitzig (runner) and Justus Schmidt (stand-in) have joined the crew.
"We were looking for the best of the best. It was a very difficult decision," said Austrian double Olympic champion Roman Hagara, who oversees the Youth America's Cup as Sports Director together with his former Tornado foreship Hans Peter Steinacher, before voting for the five qualifiers. "We believe that each of the five teams has a chance of winning the Red Bull Youth America's Cup in September." In the final, the qualifiers will face five seeded teams who are preparing for the youth summit under the wings of Cup defender Team Oracle USA (2) and the challengers from France, New Zealand and Sweden.
Wanted: a quarter of a million euros
For the Germans, after the stage win is before the summit storm: if the young German sailors really want to fight for victory in the final of the Youth America's Cup, they first have to overcome the sponsorship hurdle. Around a quarter of a million euros is needed for entry fees and ongoing campaign costs. We are looking for one or more partners who want to inspire the German team with their commitment and utilise their appearance on the Cup stage off San Francisco shortly before the 34th America's Cup duel.
"It would have to be the devil's own doing if we don't succeed," says STG founder Arne Dost. "The likelihood of us not finding the money is not very high. After our team's opening success, we believe in this project more than ever. We are doing well in the world and the team's performance has been outstanding. And those were just the first steps ..." The managers of Sailing Team Germany are convinced of the appeal of their small Cup campaign. Arne Dost says: "The boys are very marketable and have real performance potential. We are in talks with several potential partners and German TV stations. This is precisely one of the lighthouse projects that we need for German sailing on the upswing."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
