SailGP: First Portsmouth, then Sassnitz - "It's going to be awesome!"

On 16 and 17 August, Rügen's harbour town of Sassnitz will be in the spotlight of international yacht racing. In a month's time, Formula 1 sailing will make a guest appearance on Germany's largest island, staging its spectacular races in front of Europe's longest accessible outdoor pier in the Baltic Sea area. The league, the Germany SailGP Team by Deutsche Bank and the hosts in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern presented their plans at a press conference on Wednesday.

SailGP: 12 teams, 12 events, 12 million US dollars in prize money

Launched in 2019 by five-time America's Cup winner Russell Coutts and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, the professional league is coming to Germany for the first time in its current fifth season. Twelve teams from twelve countries compete in twelve events for a season prize fund of twelve million US dollars. The races are held on speeding racing catamarans. Originally seen as AC50ies at the America's Cup in Bermuda in 2017, the OneDesign spoilers with wings between 18 and 30 metres high have since undergone significant further development.

In only its second season, the Germany SailGP team led by Wuppertal-based communications technology entrepreneur Thomas Riedel and four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel is fighting for promotion. SailGP's Managing Director Andrew Thompson says: "The SailGP is unlike any sailing you've ever seen. The boats fly across the water at high speeds of 100 kilometres per hour in iconic locations around the world."

I believe that Germany can become one of our biggest and best events." Andrew Thompson

Looking ahead to the first SailGP in Germany, Andrew Thompson said, referring to the "iconic SailGP harbours" around the world: "I think Sassnitz sits very nicely on our event list." After regattas in Dubai, Auckland, Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, the SailGP in Portsmouth will herald the start of the second half of the season next weekend (19/20 July).

High demand, more tickets and grandstand seats

The fleet then sets course for Sassnitz, where a total of around 20,000 visitors are expected during the SailGP weekend. The grandstands and the racing stadium offer around 5600 seats on each of the two race days in the specially constructed grandstands and in the racing stadium. Andrew Thompson is looking forward to what he hopes will be a full house, saying: "The demand for tickets has been incredibly strong. We sold 2000 tickets in the first 24 hours. This has prompted us to increase capacity."

The international SailGP top manager also emphasised the possibility of coming to Sassnitz on your own keel. For smaller and medium-sized boats, there have recently been some berths available again. Click here to contact the Sassnitz city harbour. If you book a "BYO" ticket via sailgp.com, you can get as close as 50 metres to the boats on the water, according to the league.

We want to work with the local community. We want to support the local community." Andrew Thompson

Commenting on the economic prospects, Andrew Thompson said: "In terms of economic impact, we firmly believe that we are making a significant contribution to the local community and surrounding communities. We are expecting over 20,000 visitors to Sassnitz this weekend. This equates to an economic turnover of around 10 million dollars. This figure is based on our previous estimates from previous events. We want to support local businesses, bars, restaurants, hotels, bring benefits to all local stakeholders."

Sassnitz' SailGP future is still open

Thompson was delighted with the collaboration with the hosts so far: "The support and co-operation has been outstanding! We are super happy that we have been able to build some great partnerships for this event." However, it is also no secret that the German premiere - unlike other SailGP events - lacks a title sponsor.

Andrew Thompson said: "The German team is pretty fortunate to have a fantastic partnership with Deutsche Bank. I think it's quite hard to find corporate sponsors for a new event before it's actually seen. That's been our experience over the last few years. We expect that there will be more corporate support in the future when we organise another event in Germany."

The "if" was also an indication that Sassnitz' future as a venue for the SailGP has not yet been decided. Ten venues have already been confirmed for the upcoming sixth season in 2026. The only European stop announced so far is Saint-Tropez. Another event in Europe has been announced for September or October. It could be Sassnitz, but also another German or another European port. Italian hosts could also be considered, for example, with the newcomers to the league, Red Bull Italy.

SailGP makers aim for long-term partnerships

However, Andrew Thompson also said that the German market is a "growing market for us". And this: "Once we have established the event there and increased our TV audience through ZDF (editor's note: broadcasts live from Sassnitz on both race days), we will be successful. I think it's a long-term endeavour for us."

It has not yet been decided whether the SailGP will sail into the future with Sassnitz after its premiere. Andrew Thompson explained what this decision depends on: "We certainly all assume that this will be a significant event that will bring many people to Sassnitz. I think first and foremost it's the size of the event that ensures we can get people to come and see it in person. That is one of the factors. Of course, we also want to provide an economic stimulus for the region. That is the crucial point that we will be looking into."

Andrew Thompson continued: "And then it's also about how we can attract more corporate support for the event in the future." The SailGP organisers, said Thompson, "always want to make sure we're delivering a fantastic product to the public, our partners and the teams. We will also review this after the event. In general, we want to build long-term relationships with our events and make sure we're providing long-term value to the organisers."

Into the future with courage and SailGP

Sassnitz's mayor Leon Kräusche said of the major event for his town of over 9,000 inhabitants, which is expecting more than twice as many guests: "It's a really big challenge for us. But there's always something positive about a challenge. It makes you brave. And we've got to know a great team. We have close contacts with all the organisers." How do you approach such a "big event"? Kräusche said: "You have regular meetings, put the issues on the table and try to find solutions."

This sport in particular, with its enthusiasm, is of course something where we can draw attention to ourselves and our beautiful nature." Leon Kräusche

Leon Kräusche asked the question himself: "Why are we doing this? There are certain prerequisites: We have the longest accessible pier in Europe, the 1.4 kilometre long east pier. We have a great sea area. We have created the conditions to ensure that the logistical issues can be dealt with. And we also said to ourselves: why not do something new? If we want to develop a location and draw attention to it, then we have to break new ground."

We are driving in front of a Unesco World Heritage Site. The chalk cliffs are right in the background." Leon Kräusche

The mayor also pointed out that Sail Sassnitz was taking place at the same time, which should ensure a very lively town harbour and impressive images on the water when traditional ships including sailing opportunities and the furious foilers meet there. "SailGP and Sail Sassnitz go together," said Kräusche. "The maritime festival connects the two areas, the technical area and also the grandstand areas," said Kräusche. His Sassnitz team is facing major challenges, but the hosts are approaching the summit dynamically.

We have the confidence to do that." Leon Kräusche

For the Germany SailGP Team, which started in 2023, CEO Tim Krieglstein said: "My job is to make the team successful. As a team in sporting terms, but of course also for the shareholders who have invested in the team and believe in it." Krieglstein believes that foiling makes sailing "much more exciting for a larger group of people." As a team, the German racing team wants to bring this enthusiasm to Germany.

Strong partners on board - but also still wanted

With regard to the situation of the league and the work of his German team, Krieglstein said: "On the economic framework data - that's no secret either: at the moment there is a budget limit in the SailGP: no team is allowed to spend more than ten million dollars. About half of that is needed to operate the boat and send it around the world. The other half is available to us as a team."

We are a nation that loves racing. You can say that quite clearly. Alongside football. I think we have a great opportunity to build on this with SailGP." Tim Krieglstein

Tim Krieglstein commented on the partnership with Deutsche Bank: "They make a good and substantial contribution. But you can already see on our boat that there is still a lot of free space. In this respect, we are still making massive losses. Of course, you always want things to go faster. I come from the sponsorship market and have always worked in sports marketing. I said it would take three to four years. We're now in year two."

Tim Krieglstein said that his team was receiving "a lot of interest". However, it is still being built up. "In the first year, we first had to explain to people what SailGP is. This year we are seeing growing interest from sponsors. Now at the European events, many people will be there to watch it live. I am confident that we will have closed this gap by next season, or the season after next at the latest, so that it will either work economically or at least only incur small losses."

Team Germany wants to ignite a fire of enthusiasm

Sporting success will also play a role, which the team around its driver Erik Kosegarten-Heil from Strande is striving for. The Germany SailGP Team by Deutsche Bank is fighting for promotion with the two-time Olympic bronze medallist in only his second year in the league. A historic thunderstorm of penalties set the GER racing team back considerably in Sydney. In the meantime, the team has fought its way out of the negative points zone and is aiming to move up again.

Erik Kosegarten-Heil said before the British SailGP summit and the following home race: "We will be a bit more risk-averse in England and are really looking forward to Sassnitz. It's going to be awesome! We hope to ignite the fire in Germany that we are experiencing around the world."

The experienced Olympic sailor describes the conditions to be expected in the Baltic Sea area of Sassnitz as tantalising: "Sassnitz surprisingly has one of the best wind statistics in Germany in August. With a south-westerly wind, 70 per cent twelve to 16 knots. Which would be ideal for us in flat water. According to the statistics, it couldn't be better."

Sassnitz-Ostseearena: similarities to Kiel

According to Kosegarten-Heil, the area offers a good opportunity to "really show off the F50 product and the SailGP". Although his team had not yet sailed there, the German pilot compared the area with that of the Olympic centre in Kiel, "with offshore winds, a bit twisty, but relatively flat land in front."

They have a relatively solid wind. But there is one catch, as the helmsman knows: "If we have an easterly wind, then it will be tricky. An easterly wind, a lot of wind, then it's spectacular for the spectators, but horror for the sailors, I think. Because then the wave comes. And our boat is very difficult to sail in waves. But I think we have a really good chance of getting something good."

Before that is the challenge of the SailGP summit in Portsmouth next weekend. To the ZDF live broadcasts on 19 and 20 July from 5pm German time can be found here. The Intermediate results of the season championship can be found here.

Looking back! The last SailGP summit took place in the Big Apple. What happened there can soon be experienced live in Sassnitz: