It was 24 September 2024 when the news spread like wildfire: the SailGP was coming to Sassnitz! But where is this Sassnitz? Many international teams wondered. Now they know! 13,000 paying spectators celebrated the sailing spectacle on site on a weekend of summer bliss.
The initially seemingly bold choice of the small harbour location proved to be a hit. Against the backdrop of Rügen's legendary chalk cliffs, the Baltic Sea stage offered spectacular spectator sport with everything that makes up the Formula 1 of sailing: fast-paced action on the blue sea, furious foilers, crisp and short courses. Team Rockwool Racing also conjured up a sensational speed record of 103.93 kilometres per hour on the Prorer Wiek.
One hundred forty-foot containers on the road
Twelve teams from twelve countries turned up for the first SailGP in a German sailing area. In addition to international hotspots such as Dubai, Sydney and New York, the league had added a small resort town with a population of 9,000 to its seasonal calendar for the guest appearance in Germany. The SailGP entourage travelled to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with its hundred or so forty-foot containers. Four of these are allocated to each of the teams. The disassembled F50 catamarans, the large sail wing in segments and the equipment are packed in these containers. On site, the containers serve as rooms for data analyses, team briefings and workshops. It takes three to five days to unpack and assemble the boats and around two days to dismantle them.
When the big "suitcases" were unpacked, the city harbour in Sassnitz looked different. Those who chose the seemingly weightless pedestrian suspension bridge from Rügenplatz down to the water got a good overview of the event site. With a view of the water, the pit lane with the team hangars was located to the right of the old glass railway station. Ahead and to the left was the city harbour with around 150 berths. The left flank of the harbour led to Europe's longest walkable outer pier. Here, the organisers had set up XXL grandstands and their racing stadium with guest areas and the chic Adrenaline Lounge for the guests of the five main partners of the SailGP.
Good wind and an ideal stadium area
Everything was in place for a sailing show the likes of which Germany had never seen before. But why Sassnitz? Tim Krieglstein, Managing Director of the Germany SailGP Team, said: "Sassnitz offers a good sailing area with all the opportunities for stadium racing. In addition, there was total enthusiasm here from day one." Point three concerned the wind data of the past decades, which was analysed first. This also spoke in favour of the location. SailGP CEO Russell Coutts also pointed out that the German team had some influence on the decision. "They said it was a good venue. We looked at it and agreed." This judgement has not changed. Even during the first races, the official commitment was made for two more SailGP years in Germany. At least in 2026 again in Sassnitz, the date has already been set for 22 and 23 August.
"Germany is an important market for us," explained Coutts, who has been driving the league forward since its inaugural season in 2019. The SailGP now manages without the financial support of co-initiator and Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Coutts: "I believe that we are the first company in sailing to have achieved this in the professional sector." In the medium and long term, the league is set to grow to 20 boats and at least 20 events per year.
Four hours of net racing pleasure
The public success in Sassnitz speaks in favour of the concept, which critics are most likely to accuse of having too little sailing for too much effort. À la Formula 1, there are just under four hours of racing fun per weekend. The motto: short and intense. The spectators in Sassnitz were thrilled. Cheers went up through the open-air stadium when the twin-hulled projectiles took off on parade before the races. The sailors could hardly hear it. They wore headphones to communicate on board, with their coaches, with the race organisers and also with the stadium announcers. "But we could feel the vibrations," said German helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil. After a few setbacks this season, he and his team had hoped to "make a real statement" in Sassnitz. And they succeeded. With victory in the first race, the German racing team raced their way into the hearts of the fans.
No Hollywood author could have written this better for the league, in which film stars such as Anne Hathaway (team co-owner of Team Red Bull Italy) or Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds (Australia's Team Bonds Flying Roos) are also involved. After their opening success, Kosegarten-Heil and his crew of strategist Anna Barth, wing trimmer Stu Bithell, flight controller James Wierzbowski and grinders Felix van den Hövel, Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer and Will Tiller kept their chances of reaching the final alive until the final run.
High risk of breakage remains a shortcoming
Unfortunately, Formula 1 also symbolises the downside of the glitz and glamour of the SailGP model: there was plenty of breakage. Sassnitz was jokingly renamed Crashnitz. The only SailGP helmswoman Martine Grael and her team Mubadala Brazil had already been badly hit in training when first the beam and then the wing sail broke - a premature end for the South Americans. The French team's starboard rudder flew off before the speeding cat crashed. Helmsman Quentin Delapierre had to be hospitalised briefly, but skipper and boat made a comeback.
An almost unreal crash was created by the US American league finalists around helmsman Taylor Canfield. They crashed into the British foiler from the side in a port-starboard situation on the wind. Because they had not dropped sufficiently, their port hull drilled under the port hull of their opponents in front of the rudder blade. Due to the high speed, the British rudder blade then shaved off several metres of the Americans' hull as they passed.
The scene brutally demonstrated the potential dangers of the racing series. The tech teams did a great job for Team Emirates GBR: they cut a piece of hull from the demolished US catamaran and used it to close the hole in the British hull. With two race wins and second place, Fletcher and Co. then flew back around the course in the Emirates rocket as if nothing had happened.
Team Germany improves from event to event
Black-red-and-gold cured its Achilles heel, which had been hurting badly recently, and shone with strong starts in the home game. Flensburg coach Lennart Briesenick, who is never prone to exaggeration, said: "We were actually quite happy with our starts and took a huge step forward. But we absolutely have to and want to go further." The crowd favourites missed out on a place in the final in the extremely gusty and shifty winds in the last heat. After seven sprints over two days, they were just three points short of reaching the final for the first time in the team's two-year history.
"We would have liked to have brought it home, but on a day like this you don't choose," said Kosegarten- Heil, referring to the unstable conditions on the course, which caused stop-and-go and astonishing sailing angles. The "Miracle of Sassnitz" did not materialise, but the racing team of Thomas Riedel and Sebastian Vettel gained new respect. Erik Kosegarten- Heil was delighted with fifth place in the final classification - level on points with New Zealand's Black Foils: "It's our best result of the season. The balance here in Sassnitz is absolutely positive!"
A lot of passion from everyone involved
The Sassnitz summit was won by France's Les Bleus ahead of Emirates GBR and Bonds Flying Roos. In addition to the passion and commitment of the German team, the hosts and the fans, people and special moments beyond the racing action will also be remembered from this first Germany SailGP. Sebastian Vettel, for example, who went far beyond a brief PR activity to stand up for inclusion in sailing. He engaged intensively with the crews in many conversations during the first inclusive regatta at a SailGP and went sailing with the eleven-year-old winner Nomine Fabian.
When the four-time Formula 1 world champion briefly took over the helm of the German F50 as guest helmsman on the final day, he wore a new helmet with the slogan "All aboard". He explained: "We want to draw attention to the fact that people with disabilities can and should take part in sailing." The helmet will be auctioned off in aid of the "Wir sind Wir - Inclusion in Sailing" association. All aboard - this also applies to the upcoming second edition of the Germany SailGP next summer. The event has come to Germany to stay. In 2026, 13 or 14 sailing racing sleds are expected to be racing off Rügen, as the league wants to grow. Just like Team Germany.
