Interview: Sailing clubs in Oberhavel train young sailors together

​Why did you set up an association for associations?

​Because this is the best way for us to train and support the girls and boys from the various sailing clubs along the Oberhavel.

There was, after all, already a regional training group comprising all 26 sailing clubs on Lake Tegel.

That’s right. It was from this community that the idea for the new club emerged. It can now apply for grants, hire coaches or find sponsors.

What is the reason for training together?

Few clubs have enough coaches to cater for beginners, intermediate sailors and regatta sailors. And training sessions with just two or three boats are boring and inefficient.

Someone’s got to pay the coaches at Masterminds too, haven’t they?

Yes, that’s right. So far, we’ve only been able to manage this through donations. We’re hoping for support and funding from organisations. In the long term, sponsors are very welcome.

However, the club chairpersons have reservations about the prospect of their few children then flitting off to other clubs for training.

Absolutely. Small clubs often lose their young members to larger ones. In accordance with our constitution, all Masterminds remain members of their home clubs. It also states: cooperation rather than competition.

What else is there apart from traditional water-based training?

In winter: strength training, endurance training and theory. And we visit our local clubs for boat christenings, Christmas parties or summer festivals.

To be specific: How big is Masterminds?

We now have 14 advanced Opti sailors, 6 beginners to regattas, 9 sailors switching to ILCA and Pirat, and we’ll soon be welcoming more new members from the clubs.

Wasn’t that sort of thing called a ‘Kader’ in the old days?

I remember that well from my days sailing the Optimist and Europe classes. If you perform well, you’re part of the group; if things aren’t going well, you’re out. We foster a passion for sailing and help successful regatta sailors through patience and trust.

‘Mastermind’ means ‘visionary’. A blueprint for Lake Wann, Lake Boden or Lake Ammersee?

I’m convinced of that. I’m getting more and more interested questions at regattas. And people are welcome to copy us.

'Opti-parents' are seen as a bit overzealous, even annoying. Have you had any experience of this yet?

That’s a funny question. I’m an Opti dad myself, after all. Opti parents are part of our community. We’re delighted to have their support. And more often than not, they end up catching the sailing bug themselves. It’s dangerously contagious.