SailGP: Start of the year in Abu Dhabi - Vettel's sailing racing team starts the second half of the season

Two days of racing action with the best sailors in the world, high-speed foiling F50 catamarans, a fascinating "sailing stadium" called Mina Zayed and a guest appearance by the pop stars of Take That: These are the attractive ingredients for the first SailGP summit of the new year. The ten SailGP teams will meet in Abu Dhabi on 13 and 14 January for their first showdown in the second half of the season.

With a three-hour time difference, the races will take place on both days from 2 to 3.30 p.m. local time (11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. German time). The programme includes the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix. Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen will be joining the programme for this event.Superstars from Take That to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for a concert.

Live broadcast with well-known German commentators

The wedo sports TV channel will be broadcasting the SailGP races live on both Saturday and Sunday from 11am. For the second time after their premiere, two-time Olympic bronze medallist Thomas Plößel and record Bundesliga winner Tobias Schadewaldt will be the commentators for the broadcasts.

Tobi Schadewaldt said: "We struggled a bit with the technology the first time round, but are really looking forward to round two. The SailGP is a great format with its short races and short breaks. The visualisation of sailing beyond the live images with computer animations is strong."

We believe that we still have a lot of potential in the areas of starts and speed." Erik Heil

The wedo TV commentators Schadewaldt and Plößel will keep an eye on the action for the fans, but will primarily focus on the Germany SailGP Team. As the latest addition to the international professional teams, the German team led by driver Erik Heil from Strande near Kiel is also pursuing the goal of advancing in the season rankings in the new year. After six regattas, Thomas Riedel and Sebastian Vettel's Formula 1 sailing team is still in tenth and last place despite some brilliant moments. They don't want it to stay that way.

Erik Heil and his crew have already started their training before Abu Dhabi. The helmsman from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein reported from Abu Dhabi on Thursday: "We have a second coach on board in the form of new recruit Joe Glanfield. We believe that we still have a lot of potential in the areas of starts and speed. If we now have two coaches working on the topic, that will certainly result in a few points."

Two coaches to make the Germany SailGP team faster

Together with Lennart Briesenick, the two-time Olympic 470 silver medallist Joe Glanfield from Great Britain now forms a coaching team. Joe Glanfield brings his experience to the Germany SailGP Team. Glanfield has already worked for several SailGP teams, including the US team and Canada's SailGP athletes.

SailGP fans also know Joe Glanfield from the "Coaches Corner", where he analysed the races after they had finished and gave valuable tips. The three-time Olympian is convinced: "Any kind of foiling - on boards, dinghies or larger foils - helps to get an even better feel for the F50 catamarans."

We hope for more wind and good action!" Erik Heil

Next weekend, the teams will probably have to overcome demanding light wind challenges. "We're expecting little wind for the time being," said Erik Heil on Thursday, two days before the first starting signal on Saturday. "Today we may have had more wind in training than we will see in the races, with five to nine knots. But of course we're hoping for more and for good action!"

Several teams will have new helmsmen before Abu Dhabi: Giles Scott succeeds Sir Ben Ainslie, who retired as a driver in the SailGP. The exciting question: How well will the two-time Finn Olympic champion be able to replace the four-time Olympic champion Ainslie? The Brits are in fourth place in the season rankings, just two points behind New Zealand in third place.

• Sir Ainslie steps down - "Time for the breakthrough of the next generation"

Comeback for Nathan Outteridge: The "wind whisperer" steers for Denmark

Team Australia (52 points), whose top helmsman Tom Slingsby is back from maternity leave, leads the interim standings after six events. They are followed by Team Rockwool Denmark (41 points), whose driver Nicolai Sehested will be missing the start of the year in Abu Dhabi because he is expecting his second child at home in Denmark. His replacement is none other than the "wind whisperer": Australian 49er Olympic champion Nathan Outteridge will steer the Danish F50 bullet.

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German SailGP rider Erik Heil reports from Abu Dhabi:

"Don't crash the boat - don't break the boat!"

Helmsman Nicolai Sehested has just sent this message to his prominent replacement Nathan Outteridge from Denmark, where Sehested is expecting the birth of his second child. All other departures and arrivals in the current fourth SailGP season and the latest news from Abu Dhabi here: