Interview: "Women can also be adventurous" - Susann Beucke publishes autobiography
Tatjana Pokorny
· 08.03.2024
It was like an explosion of horizons when Susann Beucke radically swapped her Olympic sport after 15 years for an adventurous career in ocean sailing in 2022. She set off for France and completed a two-year training programme in the tough Figaro scene. She suffered a series of regatta setbacks, had to prove her resilience and learn, learn, learn. The long-term goal of her metamorphosis from a hardened Olympic athlete to a sea sailor who knows all the tricks of the trade: participation in the 2028 Vendée Globe.
Beucke's slogan: "This race is female"
In between, the 2021 Olympic silver medallist in the 49er FX last year completed a hot leg with Team Holcim - PRB in the Ocean Race and also fell in love with the team version of sea sailing. Now the 32-year-old is presenting her first autobiography on her way to the top: "Gegen den Wind - Mein Traum von den Weltmeeren" was published on 1 March. She read from it for the first time at the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein on Hamburg's Alster and was a guest on the NDR talk show with Barbara Schöneberger and Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt on the same day it was published.
In this 304-page book with many pictures, Sanni Beucke describes her life in and with sailing as if through a magnifying glass. Detailed, commented, unsparing and at the same time full of optimism, she tells how she has made her way through the world's most important sailing network in France's sailing cradle - La Base is now also her home port. Sanni Beucke is accompanied by her slogan "This race is female", almost 66,000 followers on Instagram and a growing fan base.
YACHT: Sanni, what is the message of your book?
Susann Beucke: The world is yours. Dream big and have the confidence to do anything. You can achieve anything you want!
Writing a book is an intensive process. What did that do to you?
A lot has come up. And it was a lot more mental work than I had expected. I relived all the phases of my life so far.
You fought with Tina Lutz for 15 years for your Olympic dream, until the silver happy ending in Enoshima brought the reward ...
In any case, this is also an important message of the book: never give up, always keep going. Our story is an encouraging one that is worth sharing. Especially in times when the mood is generally not so good.
What was your first sea sailing assignment after the Olympic phase of your life?
The Silverrudder 2021, one month after the Games.
You had to master the challenge at your solo premiere on a First 18 ...
I was pretty scared during the race with no solo experience, no self-steering system and no sea fence in a lot of wind. After my return, I was a bit shocked at first. I then went to Lorient in February and joined the Figaro class. The feeling of fear lasted for almost my entire first year: I was terrified of what I was doing. Because I couldn't judge it yet. I was like a mouse in front of a big cat. But I was determined to carry on. I was convinced that it could be good.
That sounds like a tendency towards self-torture ...
There's this masochistic trait in me that I don't know where I got it from. It often drives me to despair.
Do you need this property to successfully counter the hardships of solo sailing?
I don't know that. I just know that I have this trait. The will to get out of my comfort zone has been with me my whole life. It started when I was in sixth grade at secondary school, when I really wanted to go to grammar school, even though I didn't have the grades for it. Then it was moving to Bavaria, even though it's 1,000 kilometres away, to make sailing a little easier. Or now again: moving to France and putting all my eggs in one basket, even though I miss my family and am still often scared of what I'm doing. That's what I call masochistic: doing something that's obviously not good for me. On the other hand, I'm still strong enough to keep striving towards my goals. But I certainly wouldn't want to go back to my sailing beginnings today.
Because you had to overstep your boundaries?
Yes, like on the last Figaro stage in my first year. I had a lot of wind for three days on the way from northern Spain back to France. The whole time 35 knots and more. I had to set the big gennaker because the other sails were broken. I was super tired. And I was very scared. I realised too late that I was scared. For me, fear always comes in different guises. Some people become aggressive. I become soft and tearful. I was tearful for two or three days until I realised that I had poo in my trousers.
What have you done about it?
In situations like this, I zoom out and become a fly on the wall. With this view from the outside, I try to understand the situation in which I am currently sitting alone with my shoulders slumped and my sail flapping. I ask myself what this person has to do now. Then it goes on. Fortunately, I've never had a real blackout situation.
Are you afraid of injury or death at sea?
I think our risk is manageable. I'm very pragmatic about it. There's only one thing that can be fatal, where the likelihood of you dying is really high: going overboard. It must be horrible when your boat pulls away from you and you can't do anything. As long as you stay connected to the boat, you're on your little safe island. It comes down to a simple question: are you always disciplined enough to hook in?
Was the transition to solo sailing also tough, because you didn't just switch to ocean sailing as an Olympic sailor, but went from being the foresailor to the helmswoman?
That was actually quite easy because I steer with the autopilot almost all the time (laughs). It is more important to hit the right numbers. Above all, you need to be able to improvise and persevere. Tina could steer the boat a thousand per cent faster than me. But as the foresailor, you also have the mainsail in your hands. Today I regularly take the rudder in my hand to check the sail trim. Being aggressive when starting also fits. I was always more the aggressive type on the boat. But what I underestimated was the fact that I was always sailing in a duo before and now I suddenly have to compete alone.
Where and when is that difficult for you?
In the past, I used to push all the topics that I didn't enjoy onto Tina. And Tina would do hers on me. Fortunately, we were able to do the tasks that suited our nature. Now I have to do everything. That's a challenge. I also missed having Tina by my side as a sparring partner for ages. I think the process is still ongoing. It's much easier to perform as a duo.
You could also have opted for team sailing ...
That's right. But I made a conscious decision to go the difficult solo route. I still have the feeling that I'm at the very beginning. The more I get to grips with the whole subject, the more I realise how complex it is. The depths you can plunge into with the weather alone. But I also realise how much I know in areas such as navigation or electronics compared to other sailors who only do one job on board or had stronger sailors at their side and were not exposed to the challenge of having to deal with it alone. I don't think I could have developed any faster. I have learnt so much!
Are you heading for your third Figaro season this year?
Yes, it will be a Figaro year with a special focus on the side. I would really like to sail on larger boats. Keyword: Imoca. I really enjoyed the leg with Team Holcim - PRB in the Ocean Race. I want to do that again. This year will be a mix of Figaro season and desk work for me: I also have to do my second job, take care of marketing, sponsoring and looking for money.
Your project partners are still on board?
BayWa r.e. is my favourite partner from the renewable energies sector. Unfortunately, DB Schenker had to leave us because the company has to review all its marketing activities as a result of the sale.
How exactly do you envisage your sailing future?
Sailing completely solo for the last two years has not suited my nature. That means my goal, my dream, is to take part in The Ocean Race Europe and also the Ocean Race. It's clear to me that I want to be part of a larger team. Or merge to have a sailing family here in Lorient. The idea of doing it with my own team would be crazy, but I would accept the challenge. But we all know how expensive it is to finance such a campaign. It takes a lot of work and a lot of luck.
Your motto "This race is female" remains?
It would be my priority to be able to continue to stand up for this message independently. It's super important to me to pursue an overarching purpose with my sailing: Women can have adventures too! The best reward for me is when women, even complete strangers, approach me and tell me how inspired and encouraged they feel by my adventures. I realise how relevant it is to have role models who show what is possible.
Do you also have role models?
I find the story of the physicist and chemist Marie Curie inspiring. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and was subsequently the first female professor to teach at a French university. And then, of course, Ellen MacArthur.
As a successful pioneer among female circumnavigators?
Yes, and because she dared to write a pioneering book about it. Without this book, my whole generation of women wouldn't have started sailing. The story of how she saved her food money for school and used it to buy her first boat shows that it is possible to take small steps towards a huge career. It's such an encouraging story!
Can you make a living from your sport like Ellen did back then?
Yes, but the stupid thing about sailing is that the equipment gets more and more expensive as you move up - from Figaros to Imocas, for example. An Imoca campaign is around 15 to 20 times more expensive than a Figaro campaign. But there are many role models for professional success as a professional sailor in France. Not that they all get rich. But many can make a living from it and achieve social recognition. That's one reason why I feel so comfortable here. On the other hand, it is clear that sport is not for people who are security-conscious.
Because he himself has already thought it out loud: Let's assume Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia build a new Imoca after the Vendée Globe next year. Would the current "Malizia - Seaexplorer" be an interesting boat for a team with you to enter the class?
(Think longer) The current Malizia has shown in the Ocean Race that it has no disadvantages. At the same time, there is a big trend towards team mergers in Lorient. For example, Charal and Teamwork or For People and For the Planet. This saving of resources, joint marketing - that would be a dream solution. But you have to be able to cope with the financial outlay. That's why it's still too early to make such statements. Realising such a dream also harbours risks. The chance of failure is high. How many people have tried and failed? You don't want to be one of them. But I've always achieved all my goals by visualising them, making plans and implementing them.
Boris Herrmann also gave you the chance to gain first-hand experience of Imoca ...
Yes, that was during a transfer from Monaco to Lorient in 2018, when I was on an Imoca for a fortnight with four people. There were four of us and we were on watch, often alone on board. I enjoyed it and really blossomed. It was this beginning with the Imoca, this opportunity that I got back then, that gave me a lot of energy.
At Boris' favourite crêperie in Larmor Plage, where you recently moved into a flat, a crêpe with bacon, mushrooms and egg filling is named after him. If the "Boot a Boo" were to dedicate a crêpe to you, how would it be filled?
With Nutella and peanut butter!
Sanni Beucke with Nele Justus
Against the wind: My dream of the world's oceans
The autobiography "Gegen den Wind - Mein Traum von den Weltmeeren" by Sanni Beucke with Nele Justus is published by Droemer Verlag. The book will be available from 1 March and can already be pre-ordered. 304 pages, hardcover; 28.80 euros >> order here.
