Admiral's Cup: "Elida" is the most beautiful outsider - "The other is Formula 1"

In the sailing town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight, which has a population of just over 10,000, preparations for the Admiral's Cup are raging ahead of the opening race. Two weeks before Cowes Week with tens of thousands of participants and visitors, the Admiral's Cup crews are currently preparing for the upcoming challenges. The first starting shot will be fired for the 350 or so Admiral's Cup crews in 15 teams from all over the world on Saturday (19 July) at 10.20 a.m. local time (11.20 a.m. German time).

"Elida" brings "noble light" to Cowes harbour

It will an impressive international field with well-known boats, owners and prominent crews will show up. America's Cup stars, ocean race experts and Olympic aces are all part of this eagerly awaited British sailing event. Germany's offshore lovers will be paying tribute to their traditional love of the Admiral's Cup and their enthusiasm for the British sailing area with the largest contingent: Three GER teams are competing with two boats each. The most striking yacht in Cowes harbour is Daniel Baum's "Elida". The neat wooden monohull stands out.

The Tison 48 was launched in July 2022 as the first new build from Jan Brügge Bootsbau GmbH and was created in close collaboration with the experienced offshore sailor Baum. The idea was to build a powerful offshore racer-cruiser that is also suitable for family cruising and offers maximum sailing pleasure in both domains. The meaning of the name "Elida" matches the sensational design, has its origins in Scandinavian and means "noble light".

In addition, "Elida" is also a variant of Ellida, a feminine form of the Old Norse name Elliði. Which in turn was the name of a legendary ship in Icelandic mythology. In the translation from Old Norse, Elliði refers to a fast-sailing ship. In the meantime, "Elida" has already successfully competed in a number of offshore regattas.

With the Hamburg Sailing Team in the Admiral's Cup

The ultra-modern design with its glossy varnished mahogany outer skin forms the Hamburg Sailing Team with Thomas Reinecke's Millenium 40 "Edelweiss" (Segel-Club Oevelgönne). The "Elida", sailing for the Hamburg Sailing Club, will be joined by an experienced sailing crew led by Daniel Baum, who is co-owner of the Hamburg yacht insurance group Pantaenius.

The team is aware of the high level of competition and the "heavy artillery" that the international competition is bringing to bear for the resurrection of the Admiral's Cup. One day before the start of the revitalised classic, which was once almost better known as an unofficial world championship for offshore teams than the America's Cup, which was first held in the same area in 1851, YACHT spoke to Daniel Baum shortly before setting off on the final training run about the upcoming challenge, the highly equipped competition and his own strengths.

Admiral's Cup: Interview with Daniel Baum

Daniel, the 24th Admiral's Cup since its premiere in 1957 starts tomorrow with the Channel Race. You are at the start with "Elida" and Thomas Reinecke's "Edelweiss" as the Hamburg Sailing Team. What attracts you?

The Admiral's Cup has a long and exciting history. And I like sailing here in the Solent region. We have been sailing in this area for many years and have won the Swan European Championship a few times with "Elan". With James Gair (editor's note: Gair has already competed in 14 Fastnet races and 13 Sydney-Hobart races), we now also have the tactician we always had back then. He is a 'local', has his own boat here, sails every day and knows the Solent very, very well.

Your other crew for the Admiral's Cup?

Our crew has grown naturally with the new 'Elida'. We have been sailing in this composition for two and a half or three years. We don't have any rock stars like on the 'Jolts', with the Italians or in other teams. We are family, friends, also boat builders, two or three people from the old 'Elan' crew. And people who were there when the boat was built. There is a high level of identification with the boat. Everyone is keen.

But you are quite impressed by the international competition?

They all have 20 shore crew, are well organised and clean their already perfect underwater hull with 30 men. If you're sailing an Olympic regatta in the 470, the underwater hull is as good as that of the Monegasque trillionaire competing against the Italian trillionaire. Then there's Niklas Zenström, who does his Skype. These are comparisons... We simply came with the most beautiful boat. Some people come and ask if it's painted. Or whether it was made by an artist. People with a clue take a closer look and say it's the most beautiful boat they've ever seen.

Also because it is different from all the others?

It's a boat that has never existed like this before. Well, it did exist in the seventies. Like the 'Opposition' (editor: ex-"Morning Cloud II" of former British Prime Minister and Admiral's Cup winner in 1971, Edward Heath). This is also a Sparkman & Stephens ship, also cold-moulded. Many people now often have overpriced boats built out of wood, which then look more like tea clippers. That's nothing modern. The idea behind 'Elida' was to choose old materials but with a modern design. We are very, very happy with our boat. It's really great!

What are the strengths of your beauty in this challenge with a high offshore component, but also short races close to the coast?

They are more in the offshore area. Because we sailed more offshore with the Fastnet two years ago, around Skagen and this year also with the HOT in the North Sea. The boat is also designed more for offshore sailing. With soft tanks on the jib. The others all sail tuff tuffs and the like. Our strength certainly lies in the fact that the crew has grown together.

Do you have any comparisons with the competition?

We've never sailed against boats like this before. I think that 'Elida' is also good in light winds. But yes, the others really are Formula 1. I don't know if the IRC formula will be able to do that. And they probably sail three times as well as we do. They're all professionals, Olympic champions...

How do you experience the mood on site?

Everyone is super friendly, super nice. The Admiral's Cup is a wonderful tradition and we consider it a privilege to be part of it. But we're not fooling ourselves either: I think we're blatant outsiders. If it's all about the money, who's ahead and who's behind, then we're a thousand per cent likely to finish last. But let's take a look. You have to be a bit crazy to do this. But we're up for it! That's why we're doing it now.

Do you see clear favourites for the Admiral's Cup?

I believe - because they have been together as a team for so long and also won the ORC World Championship off Kiel - that 'Beau Geste' is one of the favourites among the big boats. And then there's 'Caro' with the New Zealand pros. It's all very, very high-class. And these Jolt people are all great too. It's hard to say who will really be in front in the end. The Italians have now closed their trim tab again, presumably because they are penalised too much under IRC. It was always said that this Wallyrocket had water polo and a trim tab... They've now closed it.

Yesterday evening was the skipper's briefing. What else do you have planned for today, the last day before the start of the Channel Race?

We're going sailing now, we have to train sometimes. We're off right now.

Revival! The Admiral's Cup is back 22 years after its 23rd edition and a long break: