As a strategist, Anna Barth keeps a close eye on things aboard the F50 racing catamaran in the Rolex SailGP. She supports helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his wing trimmer Kevin Peponnet. Sometimes, in a small crew configuration in light winds, her energetic physical strength is also called upon at the grinder. Now, on her way to the home race in Sassnitz, Anna Barth is once again the female face of the German team in the ‘Formula 1 of sailing’. Click here for the current standings in the season’s championship.
Anna Barth: A professional competing in two major sailing circuits
Originally, the athlete – who grew up in Großflottbek in the west of Hamburg and whom Erik Kosegarten-Heil has described, amongst other things, as having a “very quick grasp” and a “good overview” – had intended to study medicine after taking her A-levels in 2023. A parallel with her helmsman: the German SailGP sailor, who is 16 years her senior, has already completed his medical degree. Anna Barth has not scrapped her plan, but has put it on hold. It is sailing that is currently keeping her fully occupied and challenging her in two major arenas.
Now in her third season with the Germany SailGP Team, she is also pursuing her 49erFX Olympic campaign alongside the even younger Emma Kohlhoff from Kiel, who is just 18 years old. The sister of Paul Kohlhoff, who took bronze in the Nacra at the Olympics, is not due to sit her A-levels until next spring. Anna Barth also competes in Olympic skiff sailing alongside Erik Kosegarten-Heil. The co-founder of the German SailGP team won two Olympic bronze medals in the 49er class – in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and in Enoshima in 2021.
Anna Barth and Emma Kohlhoff have their sights set on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, but above all on those in Brisbane in 2032. For now, however, following the Olympic skiff sailing highlights that have already taken place this year, Anna Barth’s focus remains firmly on her SailGP commitments. In this interview, having now completed eight of the 13 SailGP events in this eventful season, she looks back on the most recent race in Portsmouth, UK, and her team’s near-capsize there. She also provides an insight into the preparations in Sassnitz.
Near-capsize in SailGP: “Crouched down in the cockpit and held on tight”
Anna, when you think back to the SailGP event in Portsmouth at the end of July, the images that immediately spring to mind are of your Near-capsize It crossed my mind. You managed to catch the boat – which was already almost on its side in the water – at the very last moment. How did you find that unintentional stunt on board? Do you get a moment’s panic, or is there no time for that?
More the latter. I was up in the cockpit. It wasn’t that traumatic for me. I ducked down into the cockpit and, of course, held on tight. And we didn’t actually capsize, but we were certainly close to it. I know that at that moment my first thought was, ‘OK, right, this is our first capsize.’ But I wasn’t really scared, because ultimately it happened quite slowly. And we managed to right it again and carry on sailing almost straight away.
So is it less dramatic on board than it looks from the outside?
In my view, it’s nowhere near as bad as I imagine a collision with another boat to be. We’re familiar with the processes involved in capsizing. It’s not necessarily a dramatic event, even if it looks like one. These things can happen. We were a bit unlucky with the Fort (Ed.: a fixed obstacle on the SailGP course, part of the historic fortifications in Portsmouth Sound in the form of a small round island).
Technically speaking, what happens during a near-capsize?
The thing was, Kevin didn’t manage to run across in time during the jibe. He was then too late to adjust the wing and the twist. The twist is set when the wing is inverted, so that we get more righting moment to windward and don’t heel to leeward. That’s what was missing at that moment. But we had to come out of the jibe high up because that’s where the Fort was. Then we started to heel to leeward. I managed to take a bit of pressure off the wing, but it wasn’t enough. Then, however, Kevin just just made it back to the cockpit and was able to save the situation with the twist.
Why the top teams are leading the way in SailGP
All in all, you’ve had a weekend in Portsmouth that had its ups and downs. It’s a bit symptomatic of the season so far…
If you just look at the result (Ed.: tenth place), it wasn’t a particularly good event for us. And yes, there have been a few occasions now where we’ve managed to get a lot of things right, but we haven’t managed to pull it all together over the course of the entire race weekend. For example: a few good starts, a few not-so-good starts. And then a course like the one in Portsmouth is also a bit like a one-way street. There aren’t many opportunities to overtake there. As you could see from our race win on day two, good starts really do help a lot.
What do the top teams do better?
There are a few teams that manage, at the very least, to put the whole package on the water with remarkable consistency. Spain, Australia. Primarily those two. New Zealand has been out of the picture for a very long time now (Ed.: due to the catastrophic crash in Auckland (In February, New Zealand’s Black Foils missed four events before they got their new boat and made their comeback in Halifax, Canada), but they’re actually one of those teams themselves. The British have also had a few slip-ups of their own.
There are just under two weeks to go until the Rockwool Germany Sail Grand Prix in Sassnitz. What are your priorities as you prepare for the home race?
First of all, we’ve finished the debrief for Portsmouth, as we always do after every event. We take the groups into the different areas. The group for speed and handling, for example, is called ‘Higher Faster’. There, we look at manoeuvres and straight-line sailing. In Portsmouth, the tech base was quite a long way away. That worked in our favour because it meant we could sail quite a long distance to get to the races on the course and back again afterwards. That gave us more training time and more data to analyse. And then, of course, we also analyse the races themselves – communication, tactics and strategy.
A training session in Pensacola before the end of the year?
Where do you see the greatest potential for improvement within your team?
Right from the start. But that’s tricky. The more you think about it, the more complicated it actually gets. We’ve spoken to the Spanish team about this, for example. They said they always adapt a bit to the fleet, but don’t pay that much attention to the starts anymore because there’s too much chance involved. Nevertheless, the starts naturally offer the greatest potential. If you get off to a good start, you’ve got the best chance of having a good race. What we want to focus on above all, though, is sailing a solid course and catching up with other boats, so that even from a moderately good start, we can still turn it into a good race. Boat handling will therefore be one of the key areas of focus in Pensacola.
The league’s long-awaited new long-term training base has opened there in the US. An F50 is expected to be available for training purposes from autumn onwards. A second one is due to be added at the end of 2027. When will you be able to train there?
It is expected to take place later this year and then again next year.
As a team, you got together in Kiel this week for a workshop lasting several days before setting off for Sassnitz…
Exactly. We all meet up at Erik’s, spend time together, have meetings, go sailing on the Switches or train in the simulator. The official camp lasts four days, but most people stay longer. That’s good for the whole team.
The excitement among SailGP fans in Sassnitz
When are we off to Sassnitz?
We’re setting off on 18 August. On Thursday we’ll be out on the water for the first time, on Friday there’s a practice race, and the races take place at the weekend.
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m really looking forward to the atmosphere! It was just so special last year. Erik and I have just been to the German Optimist Championships. They were held in Strande at the KYC. We did a bit of a Q&A session, a signing session and had a few chats. Some of the Optimist sailors have already told us they’re coming. You could really feel the excitement – there’s that ‘home crowd’ feeling. Last year, I’d slightly underestimated just how strong that was and how much it spurred us on. I can imagine that’s grown even more now.
In Part 2 of the interview, on 11 August, Anna Barth shares insights into her professional career, her dual commitment to SailGP and Olympic sailing – a challenge that is not always easy, but which also inspires her in both disciplines. She also shares her views on the league and a special lucky charm.
It nearly capsized, but was brought back under control! Click here to see the nail-biting moments from the German team at the SailGP in Portsmouth in July:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter