The fourth stage of the Ocean Race, one of the toughest sailing races in the world, starts on Sunday (April 23, 2023), from Itajai in Brazil to Newport on the US east coast. Boris Herrmann, who won the queen’s stage from South Africa past Australia and Cape Horn to Brazil with his boat “Malizia”, is taking a break with his family as planned. Three other German sailors are at the start of the Ocean Race this year, including Susann Beucke on the currently leading Holcim.
The successes of Herrmann and Beucke are extremely important, said Dirk Ramhorst, Vice President of the German Sailing Association, on Deutschlandfunk. They would have helped to give sailing in Germany a face. As a result, the sport received a great deal of media attention, said Ramhorst: “Especially with the Vendée Globe, very, very many people were excited. And looked practically every morning: What is the status? What is the distance, has anything moved? That’s doing very good at the sport.”
There is also more interest in sailing at the grassroots level, with more members joining clubs. But it is still too early to speak of a real effect, says Ramhorst. The influx of youngsters is also good. There is a large pool of talent spread across many small clubs.
Ramhorst: “Put sailing on a larger basis”
The aim now must be to use the effect of the successes of Boris Herrmann or Susann Beucke and to put sailing on a larger footing in the future. Especially in view of the 2028 and 2032 Olympic Games.
In general, German sailing is doing well, said Ramhorst, who is also the head of the “Kieler Woche” regatta, the largest sailing event in the world. It is an important idea to make the “Kiel Week” sustainable, said the regatta boss, and there should be a footprint report this year. Sailing is also involved in other sustainability issues, for example in the discussion about a Baltic Sea National Park.
“Sustainability and team spirit” – social role model function of sailing
Ramhorst emphasized the balance with the interests of nature conservation. “Sailing is first and foremost a sustainable and clean sport.” The sport also stands for other ideals: “Team spirit, the idea of a crew. I believe that we can also act as role models in society.”
At the same time, however, sailing has continued to develop into a high-tech sport, also with the advance of “foils” in Olympic sailing. Ramhorst spoke of a “Formula 1 of sailing”, from which the sport could also benefit on a broad scale. At the level of competitive sports, however, more financial resources are needed – and greater cooperation with partners from industry and business, according to Ramhorst.
Herrmann and Malizia campaign as a role model
Here, too, Boris Herrmann’s success could provide start-up help: “You saw what is possible with the Malizia campaign. There is a large staff and a large team behind it, which is financed accordingly by partners and sponsors.” According to Ramhorst, this effect is also hoped for in the future for the association and at large events.