Ten and a half days of training - three of them in the simulator in Belfast and seven and a half on the water - will be enough for Erik Heil and the Germany SailGP Team to make their debut. On Friday at 11 p.m. German time, for the first time in the history of the leading international professional league SailGP, a team will start the fast-paced races on F50 catamarans under the German flag. Two-time Olympic bronze medallist and 49er vice world champion Erik Heil will lead the team into the races.
We must and want to bend our learning curve upwards as quickly as possible" (Erik Heil)
The native Berliner from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein has long fought for this entry, for which a strong team has now been formed. Racing stable owner Thomas Riedel and four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel are active managers alongside managing director Tim Krieglstein and his team behind the sailing team, which will be on the starting line of a SailGP regatta for the first time on 16 and 17 June. The German team is under no illusions that getting started will be a huge challenge. Erik Heil says: "We have to and want to concentrate on ourselves at the beginning and bend our learning curve upwards as quickly as possible."
A key driver of success in the Germany SailGP team is co-racing team owner Sebastian Vettel. The four-time Formula 1 world champion says: "I am very much looking forward to working with a highly talented group of motivated young sailing athletes to achieve success. There have long been parallels between Formula 1 and the SailGP, where the boats reach fascinating speeds and high-tech control plays a decisive role. I would like to use my experience to contribute to the team's progress."
World champion, Olympic champion and a talent from the Kiel Yacht Club in the line-up
Erik Heil has experienced SailGP experts at his side for the start: Olympic champion and 49er world champion Stuart Bithell is working as a wing trimmer for the Germany SailGP team. The 36-year-old from Poole has already sailed for the British and Swiss SailGP teams. Heil and Bithell know each other well from the Olympic sailing world, having stood on the podium together at the Olympic Games in Enoshima, Japan, when the Briton celebrated gold and Heil won his second bronze medal in a row.
Now they want to attack together. Australian James Wierzbowski, who has already sailed for China and New Zealand in the SailGP, is taking on responsibility for the "flight quality" of the German F50 as flight controller. Like Erik Heil, the German-Brazilian Kahena Kunze is looking forward to her SailGP premiere as a strategist.
The pool for the grinders will be made up of New Zealand's Olympic rowing champion Joe Sullivan, who has already powered Emirates Team New Zealand to two America's Cup victories, and the American Dan Morris, who has already cranked for Jimmy Spithill and the US team in the SailGP. Young talent Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer from the Kieler Yacht-Club is a member of the Germany SailGP team.
We compete against the best sailors in the world in the fastest boats in the world on very short courses" (Erik Heil)
Berlin-born Erik Heil, who learnt to sail on Lake Tegel and now runs a farm near Strande, has put the team together with the management. Heil is working towards completing his medical degree and was the Olympic number one in German skiff sailing for a long time with his co-skipper Thomas Plößel. As he embarks on his new career chapter in the SailGP, Erik Heil knows that his crew is in for a challenging baptism of fire.
The 33-year-old from Strande near Kiel says: "We are very realistic. We are competing against the best sailors in the world in the fastest boats in the world on very short courses. More experienced teams have hundreds of sailing days on the F50 boats. Our first training session against competitors takes place the day before the event. We are working hard to make big steps quickly, but first we have to concentrate on ourselves."
Heil was already known for his extremely high adaptability and agility during his Olympic career. Both qualities are in high demand in the SailGP.
Into the fourth season with Formula 1 star Sebastian Vettel and the hope of a SailGP regatta in Germany
Five-time America's Cup winner and SailGP CEO Russell Coutts has described the German team's chances as "very good in the long term". Racing stable owner Thomas Riedel takes a similar view: "Success is not something that can be achieved at world level in a few races. But we believe that we have a team that can achieve success in the long term." In other words: the Germany SailGP team is baking modest rolls at the start, wants to get over the course in one piece in the often furious and by no means risk-free short races and learn for promotion in the super league of sailing.
The SailGP is delighted about the new addition from Germany. A press statement said: "We have already announced that Germany is the latest nation to join the league. If we could have chosen a country for the next partnership, it would have been Germany. The influence of Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel on this team is huge and will support our growth with racing fans. We are making great progress with this audience and there are several exciting opportunities to organise an event in Germany - hopefully in Season 5."
