SailGP: Start mistakes and penalties - Team Germany pays a lot of tuition fees in Dubai

Six months after entering the SailGP professional sailing league, the German team is still struggling to catch up with the world's best. The racing team of entrepreneur Thomas Riedel and four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel did not manage to finish higher than ninth in the field of ten teams in its sixth outing as the league's youngest newcomer.

I'm already annoyed that our starts went a bit down the drain after the intensive training" (Erik Heil)

Helmsman Erik Heil and his crew made good progress, but didn't make life easy for themselves on the short courses in light winds with a disqualification on day one, starting mistakes and penalties. The Germany SailGP Team continues to pay tribute to its limited experience in the battle with world-class teams, some of which have been active for three or four years.

Helmsman Erik Heil, two-time Olympic bronze medallist in the 49er with Thomas Plößel, said in Dubai: "I'm annoyed that our starts went a bit awry after the intensive training. The conditions were difficult on the small course with light winds." According to Heil, the experience of the others is not easy to make up for, but "we will continue to use every opportunity to improve".

We are getting to know more and more situations that we can control" (Erik Heil)

Despite the poor result, Erik Heil took up the cudgels for his team after the showdown in Dubai: "We're making huge progress and are now also racing in a four-man constellation (Red. with light winds) about the course. We are getting to know more and more situations that we can master."

Especially in the four-man constellation, Heil says, sailing is very demanding for a team with little experience: "Everyone has to take on so many tasks, so much happens at the same time. It's very complex. We foil and steer while the rudder has to be adjusted. This chain doesn't work so well for us yet. It still needs to develop."

SailGP off Dubai: Kiwis triumph, Australians second even without Slingsby, Canadians stopped by penalty

According to Heil, his crew still has problems with the technical realisation after the first gybe: "In races like this, it's all about staying on the foils. But it is precisely at this point that we are not yet able to avoid falling off the foils."

At the last SailGP regatta of the year in the Persian Gulf, New Zealand's America's Cup defenders led by helmsman Peter Burling secured victory ahead of Australia with substitute skipper Jimmy Spithill, who is standing in for dominator Tom Slingsby on paternity leave, and Canada with Phil Robertson at the helm. Although the Canadians crossed the finish line first in the thrilling three-way final, they were unable to recover from a last-minute penalty that they picked up at the last buoy when the teams rounded closely on the outside lane.

Halfway through the fourth SailGP season: Australia ahead of Denmark and New Zealand

After the race, "Pistol Pete" Burling described the final as a "nail-biter", but said that he and his team were "over the moon that we still managed to win after a bumpy start". When asked about his team's resurgence in the season rankings after missing the regattas due to a dramatic mast breakage in Saint-Tropez, Burling said: "We didn't get to sail half of the European legs. I think that as a team we showed today what we are really capable of. We are looking forward to the upcoming races next year."

At the halfway stage of the series, Australia leads the season rankings ahead of Denmark and New Zealand. The Germany SailGP team is in tenth and last place after six of 13 regattas. At the final in San Francisco from 13 to 15 July 2024, the teams will compete for one million US dollars in prize money for the winners at the end of the season.

Click here for the season standings and the interim results after six of 13 regattas.

Here, Canada's helmsman Phil Robertson reacts cheerfully to the disqualification of his British rivals: