From Erik Heil
All four European events have been sailed and the cards for the final of season five have been distributed. The British, the New Zealanders and the Australians have one foot in the grand final in Abu Dhabi (29/30 November). The Spaniards could still catch one of the teams with a mega run in the fleet races in Abu Dhabi. We will be fighting to end the season on a high after the successful European final phase. Click here for the interim standings in the championship standings ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale.
Yes, the last two months have been very good for us: with places 5, 4, 1 and 3, we have far exceeded our targets at the European events after a difficult start to the season. This means that our season balance before the final looks like we have exceeded our expectations with two final appearances this year and one event win.
Germany SailGP Team: Why suddenly so good?
Due to the penalties in Sydney, we did not quite achieve our target of finishing the season in the top half of the field. We also fell short of our hoped-for average start record. However, if you look at the last five events, we clearly exceeded our target. We wanted to be in the top six, we were consistently well above that and in the end we were even the best.
Why are you suddenly so good? I've been asked this question a lot recently. The simple answer would be: As a young league team, we can put together the many pieces of the puzzle that it takes to be successful in the SailGP, not always yet, but more and more often well. There are many examples where our growing experience is increasingly helping us. For example, I myself can do more strategy and tactics as my experience grows than I can do boat handling.
The European legs have given us a series of events without too many breaks. That also helped us enormously. It was cool for us to be able to work continuously without the big gaps. The last event in Cádiz was super tough with the Atlantic swell. We got away relatively well. That kept the other teams very busy, as we realised when we met up with one or two of them.
SailGP: Small crew constellation, big impact?
There was a lot of talk in Cádiz and afterwards about our "mini slingshot starts". This refers to the push through to the start line from midfield (not as far out as the French often do). Among other things, you have to be able to judge the behaviour of the field. Here too, the more experience you have, the better. In Cádiz, we managed these starts well in series. That was very good and it did us a lot of good.
Another question was whether we managed it so well in Cádiz because we were sailing in the smallest three-person constellation. It could be that there is something to it in that it is still the hardest for us in the large standard constellation because the established teams with more experience - including from the America's Cup - have a head start here. I reckon that we have the greatest distance to cover in terms of catching up.
We're not competing against carnival troops here." Erik Heil
When it comes to specialised topics, such as sailing in a small crew constellation or in other areas, we have the same disadvantages, but we can catch up more quickly because the others don't have such a big head start when it comes to special features. If there are three of you sailing, there are also fewer voices in your ear. There is less need for coordination. That suits me and Stu Bithell in particular.
Looking back: the golden summit storm on Lake Geneva.
The latest successes are a huge motivation for us! We also see success on other team fronts within reach. We will certainly be able to say more about this by the season finale in Abu Dhabi. The topic of success was perhaps a little underestimated in our team. We wanted to remain realistic, progress step by step and work our way up. We knew it would be a tough road. Or as Per Mertesacker once said at the 2014 World Cup: "We're not competing against carnival troops here.
It is very helpful in the SailGP if you can support the other team departments in their work with sporting successes. That applies from Commercial to Media. The last eight weeks from Sassnitz to now have been exhausting for everyone in the team. But they have also been very rewarding.
Unforgettable SailGP premiere in Sassnitz
Sassnitz remains unforgettable for us: how fantastically the SailGP and we as a team were received by the German sporting and sailing world! It was amazing how many people travelled there. Remarkable and unknown to many: The league's merchandising record was broken in Sassnitz, although we are usually only in places like New York, San Francisco and Sydney.
It's a wild number that people in Sassnitz buy more SailGP souvenirs and clothing than anyone else in the world. Almost 300,000 euros worth of merchandise was sold there. I think the previous SailGP record was around 230,000. It was a gigantic success in Sassnitz. It was an extremely great surprise for all of us that people showed such enthusiasm for the SailGP and for us as a team.
Our current focus has long been on completely structuring the sixth season. It starts on 17 and 18 January 2026 with the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix in Australia. We want to have the complete setup for the new season in place by Abu Dhabi. That applies to the personnel as well as the training facilities and all other plans. We want to train a lot in the simulator and do more in-person briefings and debriefings because that generates more creativity.
The SailGP final takes place in Abu Dhabi
Stay tuned. We will have a lot to report to you in the coming months and are looking forward to a furious finale in Abu Dhabi at the end of November! Your Erik
