With two bronze medals alongside Thomas Plößel, Erik Heil was the number one in Germany at the Olympics for over a decade and was one of the leading international experts in his field as vice world champion. However, the 33-year-old helmsman from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and his Germany SailGP team will initially have to take a back seat when they enter the professional SailGP league for the first time. The German team finished its second outing off Los Angeles in tenth and last place in a showdown with the SailGP elite.
I don't yet understand the psychology of the field at the start as it should be" (Erik Heil)
In addition, Heil and Co. picked up four painful penalty points for the season classification due to a minor collision with the Swiss team in the fourth of five races up to the final - "a downer", as Erik Heil found. Collisions are deliberately penalised severely in the SailGP in order to avoid them as far as possible due to the high risk potential.
SailGP: If the start is successful, things are looking up
Skiff expert Erik Heil openly admitted that his team still had weaknesses after their second SailGP outing: "The starts are critical. It's important that you don't get shut out by the others. That happened to us a few times. I don't yet understand the psychology of the field at the start as it should be. We have a lot of catching up to do in this area too."
It will take time until we have closed the gaps, even though we are working very hard on it" (Erik Heil)
However, with fifth place in the final race, the German team also achieved success in difficult fast-foiling conditions, which Erik Heil described as "hell" for his new team as they grew. The medic said: "We got the start right. That makes life a lot easier." Overall, it was an instructive weekend for his team, said Heil, who still has no illusions about the steep learning curve that the Germany SailGP team has to complete: "We learnt a lot, developed an infinite number of topics and worked through a maximum number of points."
Spanish minimalism leads to victory ahead of Los Angeles
Heil knew from the start that the road to the top in the SailGP would not be an easy one. Other teams in the SailGP have years of experience in handling the fast F50 catamarans ahead of the team flying the German flag. "We are very ambitious, we come from Olympic classes where we were successful. But the complex SailGP challenge is still lacking in every nook and cranny. It will take time to close the gaps, even though we are working very hard on it."
The collaboration with Flensburg coach Lennart Briesenick-Pudenz should also contribute to this. "Lennart has tried out a new technology and can now coach us from land. He has all the cameras, data and platforms at his disposal. This is something completely new and has worked really well. That's where the SailGP will be heading in the long term."
Comeback on the water: Sebastian Vettel back at the wheel
Spain secured victory in the American Hollywood arena ahead of Denmark and Australia. For the first time, Erik Heil's long-time Olympic training partner and companion Diego Botín and his Iberians came out on top. This was achieved in the final against the strong sailing team Rockwoll Denmark with helmsman Nicolai Sehested and the three-time Australian SailGP winners around high-flyer Tom Slingsby, above all by focussing on the essentials: The Spaniards chose the shortest routes with the fewest manoeuvres in the final.
I sometimes wished I had a seatbelt on the turns" (Sebastian Vettel)
Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel experienced the Oracle Los Angeles SailGP in the USA live. At the dress rehearsal on 21 July after intensive safety training, the co-owner of the German racing team said: "The g-forces were impressive. When turning, I sometimes wished I had a seatbelt."
Tom Slingsby's Australia SailGP Team (17 points) continues to lead the SailGP season standings ahead of the Spanish and Danish teams (both 16 points), who are level on points. They are followed by Canada with helmsman Phil Robertson (15 points), New Zealand with America's Cup defender Peter Burling (14 points) and Team Emirates GBR (9 points) with Sir Ben Ainslie on the wheel, who were unlucky in Los Angeles with weaknesses on the second day. At the back of the field, Jimmy Spithill's Team USA and France with Quentin Delapierre (both 8 points) are struggling to catch up with the midfield ahead of the Swiss (5 points) and Team Germany with zero points, which are due to the deduction of penalty points.
The SailGP is coming to Europe
After the two season-opening regattas in America, the SailGP is coming back to Europe. On 9 and 10 September, the third regatta of the SailGP season will take place in the picture-book waters off Saint-Tropez. This will be followed by the Grand Prix races in the Italian territory of Taranto (23/24 September) and in the Spanish territory off Cadiz (14/15 September), before the series continues overseas.
Action in the Hollywood area outside Los Angeles - the highlights from the final day:
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel at the wheel in Formula 1 sailing for the first time:
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