SailGP: When the foilers roar across the Baltic Sea - new Sassnitz soundtrack

In Sassnitz, you can normally hear the Baltic Sea splashing, rushing or even roaring. But now a new sound has been added to the mix: the roar of the F50 spoilers. The racing sound is music to the ears of the fans. The Formula 1 of sailing has arrived on Rügen. The first starting signal for the German premiere will be given on Saturday at 3.30 pm.

The four most important questions circulating and being discussed in Sassnitz ahead of the first Germany Sail Grand Prix are these: How will it be? Can Team Germany make a splash? Who will win? And: Will the guest appearance of the Sailing Formula 1 in Sassnitz remain a one-day wonder or will the SailGP return?

SailGP in Sassnitz: Racing sound in the air

The German team and other so-called "underperforming teams" have been training in Sassnitz for several days now. It wasn't just a visual spectacle with the huge F50 foils and their wings up to 29 metres high. The World Sailing League also brought a new acoustic sound to Sassnitz. You can hear a slight howl almost everywhere in the town when the crews are in action with the catamarans directly off the shore. It is the new Sassnitz sound for this weekend.

The Germany SailGP Team has four days of training behind it, during which many starts were on the programme. Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his crew made the most of every minute of the intensive opportunity that is rare in the league. The helmsman says: "It was cool! We had different conditions. Sometimes little, sometimes a lot of wind, and also different directions. Two days onshore, two days offshore. Now we're going offshore again for the weekend. We're expecting relatively strong winds tomorrow."

Flexibility, says Erik Kosegarten-Heil, will be an important quality at the SailGP race weekend in Sassnitz. In addition to "flexibility, especially in the head", success this weekend also requires "adaptability to the different winds", says Erik Kosegarten-Heil. "We experienced yesterday how difficult it is to start when you don't know exactly whether you can foil or not. Then the timing into the start box changes massively. And all the teams really suffered yesterday."

Who will win the Germany SailGP?

Who will win the SailGP weekend in Sassnitz? Erik Kosegarten-Heil says: "I think the strongest were sitting next to me in the press conference: Peter Burling, Dylan Fletcher, Tom Slingsby and Guiles Scott. The Spanish team should perhaps be added to that. Diego (editor's note: Spain's helmsman, 49er Olympic champion and former sparring partner of Erik Kosegarten-Heil) also likes the shifting wind. And he likes 'marginal foiling', popping on the foils, smart sailing... I don't think they're doing too badly."

Click here for the interim results of the SailGP season championship. Before the Sassnitz summit, Team Germany is in eleventh place out of twelve teams. A historic number of penalties early on in the season set the team back more than it wanted to be in sporting terms. And also more than knowledgeable observers had expected.

League founder and CEO Russell Coutts told YACHT online during an in-depth interview in Sassnitz: "I think I expected them to finish on the podium before this weekend. Especially when you look at the talented people they have on board. I think they will get there. It's a process. And it's really difficult to be successful here on this circuit."

You really are sailing against the best of the best in the SailGP." Russell Coutts

Coutts says: "When you're up against teams like Australia, Spain, New Zealand, the British - they're just hard to beat." According to Coutts, this is not only due to the fact that the established teams have been active in the SailGP from the very beginning and the newer teams such as Black-Red-Gold are chasing this lead.

Team Germany "motivated to the tips of their hair"

Coutts says: "If you look at Spain: they did a really good job and won a season championship. They've shown that it's possible. They are the example. They have their processes well under control, good coaching and good people on board. So it is possible."

With zero points after seven events, Team Germany's goal for the home match is clear. Erik Kosegarten-Heil says: "We would like to make a real statement in Sassnitz." Grinder Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer from Kiel emphasises the challenge: "We're motivated to the max to give the home fans a top performance. If we manage to get off to a good start, then a lot is possible. We're definitely focussing on something."

The hammer! We finally have a home event!" Erik Kosegarten-Heil

Having grown up in Schwerin, Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer not only shares a degree in medicine with his helmsman Erik-Heil, but also the desire to continue the difficult ascent in the SailGP for the Germany SailGP Team. He says: "I'm particularly pleased to finally be able to sail an event in Germany - and then in front of the chalk cliffs of my home region. The Baltic Sea, the sailing area and the nature with the chalk cliffs and the forest - there is no other place like this on the racing calendar this season."

Sassnitz-SailGP: Will there be a sequel?

This leads directly to the question that everyone in Sassnitz is currently asking themselves: Will the Rolex SailGP in Sassnitz remain a one-day event or will the league return next year? Russell Coutts parried this question with his own mischievous smile and said: "We have more than 12,000 paying spectators in the stadium and in the stands. We certainly want to come back to Germany. We expect to make some announcements about that in the next few days."

Opinions differ among the population of Sassnitz with regard to the major SailGP event in the harbour town of 9,000 inhabitants. Some feel sidelined, others see great opportunities for the fast-paced sailing promotion for their town. A real assessment will only be possible after the major event.

Mayor Leon Kräusche said shortly before the start of the German SailGP summit in his city, which had become a major construction site at the harbour for many days and was now looking forward to the event in the best possible way: "So far it has worked out better than expected."

Ready for the SailGP starting shot

Kräusche says that the SailGP teams are working as professionals during the build-up. "And as a city, we've also done a lot of extra work and are generally well on track with the schedule," says Kräusche. There are always "things and corners that could have been worked on", but: "The concept, the traffic concept, the transport, the car parks, the technical area - everything is ready."

We are optimistic about the event." Leon Kräusche

On Friday afternoon, a school campaign connected the young Sassnitz generation with the Rolex Sail Grand Prix: The 5th grade of the Sassnitz Regional School lovingly and creatively crafted a catamaran for each of the twelve SailGP teams - made from the old planks of the Sassnitz jetty, supplemented by old fishing nets and designed in the national colours of the respective teams.

The students even won the SailGP prize "The Next Generation Challenge" with this project - the international SailGP team was impressed by the idea, the materials and the craftsmanship! One girl who handed over the small Australian wooden catamaran was very lucky: Tom Slingsby's Bonds Flying Roos thanked her for the lovingly crafted boat with a cool green helmet.

Rügen: first inclusive sailing regatta at SailGP

The historic premiere of the International German Championship in inclusive sailing took place the day before. For the first time in history, an inclusive regatta was successfully integrated into the prestigious Rolex Sail Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel, Formula 1 legend and co-founder of the Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank alongside communications technology entrepreneur, honoured the participants and winners together with Sports Minister Stefanie Drese and the Vice President of the German Sailing Association, Katrin Adloff.

Sebastian Vettel's commitment sent a strong signal in favour of inclusion in top-class sport. After three exciting days of competition in the city harbour of Sassnitz, Silke Basedow and Nomine Fabian secured a double victory: not only did they win the title of International German Champions in inclusive sailing, they also won the second day of the Heinz Kettler Deutschland Cup.

The duo prevailed in a top-class field of 16 international crews and impressively demonstrated that sporting excellence and participation harmonise perfectly in inclusive sailing. Particularly impressive: at just eleven years old, Nomine Fabian was the second youngest participant in the entire field. Second place in both categories went to Maren Hahlbrock and Sophia Hein, who impressed with their consistent performances. Bronze went to the experienced team of Jürgen Brietzke and Siegmund Mainka, who fought for the title until the very last race.

Sebastian Vettel: enthusiastic and inspiring

It was an incredibly emotional and moving moment for all the crews and the more than 30 volunteers when four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel personally performed the award ceremony. The atmosphere in the team base was characterised by goosebumps, as numerous other SailGP teams were present alongside the host German team and gave the inclusive sailors a standing ovation.

The foundation stone for the model event was laid in cooperation between the Germany SailGP Team and the Wir sind Wir - Inclusion in Sailing association. "This partnership with Wir sind Wir -- Inclusion in Sailing e.V. is a milestone for our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion," said Tim Krieglstein, Managing Director of the German SailGP Team. "As the first SailGP event worldwide to integrate an inclusive regatta, we have set new standards in Sassnitz."

The event also marked the second day of the Heinz Kettler Deutschland Cup, the first inclusive regatta series worldwide. The three winning teams therefore received double honours: both the medals and certificates of the International German Championship and the awards of the Heinz Kettler Deutschland Cup.

Sailing and sailors galore in Sassnitz

After the last SailGP training runs on Friday, Sassnitz is ready for the SailGP at the weekend. The town is buzzing with German sailing fans who have moved into their accommodation in Sassnitz, on Rügen or in Stralsund and want to experience the event. They come from all federal states and from many sailing clubs in the country. Many of them are proud that Germany is hosting a top sailing act.

"We've made it, we're here," says Leon Kräusche here in the ZDF preview of the "mega-event" SailGP in Sassnitz.

The press conference for the SailGP in Sassnitz took place on Friday before the weekend races: