Niklas Reisenauer, based in Lübeck in Northern Germany, worked in the German navy before committing himself fully to sailing. Today he competes in the newly founded German Sailing League (Bundesliga). As the first nation to establish a national sailing league in 2013, Germany didn’t foresee the rapid development of the new sailing format. Earlier this year, the German Bundesliga commenced its fifth season in Lake Chiemsee, in Bavaria. With some former Olympic sailors competing in the Sailing Bundesliga, this season provides a high-level competition. 

We sat down with Niklas Reisenauer, skipper of the Panthalassa crew during the Media Sailing Cup, to discuss performance, taking risks and professional sailboat racing. “It’s been a big challenge to race during the Media Cup. As an international team, it’s never easy to communicate. You need to choose a language, explain the different manoeuvres, and stick to it. It’s hard for everyone, and it can be a bit stressful, but like German Bundesliga, I love a challenge.”

When did you start sailing?

I started sailing at the age of 13. At the very beginning, I sailed small boats like dinghies and optimists. During my free time, I would sail across the Mediterranean Sea, in the English Channel, or off the Greek coast. Later, I sailed more than 10 different types of bigger boats. I ended up travelling all over Europe, competing in both the European Championships and the World Championships.

Tell us more about the professional competitions…

In the past, I sailed in what we call “Handicap Systems”. Handicap Racing describes races where boats – either dinghies or yachts of different speeds – compete against each other. Each boat is slightly different, so if they compete in the same race, the position and actual time can be reviewed and corrected. For example, although you may be first on the finish line, after calculation with the handicap factor, physical parameters of the boat (length, beam, weight, sail area) and past performance, you can actually place 4th or 5th. The handicap factor plays a big role in the competition. To be honest, it can be really annoying. It makes the race quite difficult. The handicap factor is called the ORC race and it is very popular in Germany. It is expensive for all the participants as everyone tries to find the best material, hire the best sailors and the lightest mass. Sailing involves a variety of competitive formats but I prefer yacht sailing – it means boats against boats – like we have here in Hamburg. I like competition between same classes of boats. In these types of races, boats have exactly the same sail size and exactly the same weight. It seems fairer as it depends more on the human aspect. 

Competition plays a big part of your life today as you compete in the Bundesliga, the National Sailing League…

Yes, I’m not a long-term sailor. I tried it but I like to have short races and short competitions. That’s why I chose the Bundesliga in Germany. It’s a lot of fun. It took time to end up here. The Bundesliga was founded 4 years ago. It is a new challenge for Germany as well as for Europe. It’s somehow similar to soccer because we have now a Champion’s League. Today, I compete both as a team and for the country. 

What does training for the Bundesliga exactly mean?

Training is a real problem for all the members of a same crew because we sail J70, like here in Hamburg. To sail this boat, you need a crew of 4. However, as in soccer, you always need more than 4 people on the bench, as it depends on certain conditions such as the wind and overall weather, or your competitors. Most of the sailing clubs like to have people with different weights in their team. For onshore conditions, such as lakes, we need light crews, so we’ll make 70kg members our first choice. I personally belong to the heavy ones as I weigh 95kg. I’m usually picked up for offshore conditions such as the Baltic Sea. Training depends on each individual race. We try to find competitors and sparring partners before the main race. We organize small races and spend a lot of time on water which is very important as you need time on the boat. The real advantages in competition come from spending time with your partners, working on the tension of the sheets, the main sail, the foresail, how to use the Gennaker, etc. 

Where do you go to train and compete?

We prefer the Baltic Sea because it has no tide, so it becomes easier. Here in Hamburg, we have more than 4 metres between high and low tide so that makes things more difficult for sailing. There are also lots of currents, which is why the Baltic Sea is more popular over here. Sometimes we train on a small lake nearby Lübeck. It’s about a 10 km-long lake. We try to train two weeks before the race starts. We generally train on lakes, rivers and on the sea. It means if we have a race in Flensburg, in northern part of Germany, we have to go there two weeks before in order to have an intense training session.

What have been your biggest challenges as a professional sailor so far?

My biggest challenge has always been the World Championships. The World Championships require a lot of energy and a lot of time. You must prepare your boat, and safety and emergency equipment. Sails have to be measured, and you need official stamps on your sails and on your boat, etc. It’s a lot of effort, but again, I like it because we have only one sail, one team, and the same chance for all.

What are your projects for this year?

Sailing in the Bundesliga as it requires a lot of time and training. As we’re not so good at the moment, we need to train more. We can potentially qualify at the end of the year. We have to put our energy into remaining in the league. For the first time this season, the four last teams of the First League will be relegated directly. There will be no relegation regatta as in former years. If you find yourself in the Second League, it’s very difficult to go up again. In Germany, you have 60 German Clubs which try to come up to the league. It’s not that easy so we need to work hard! 

 Photos by Elisa Routa

The post From the German navy to sailing with Niklas Reisenauer appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Invited to take part in the first ever Media Sailing Cup, members of the Panthalassa Society left the massive summer crowd of the Atlantic coast to land in Hamburg also known as the »Gate to the World«. 

Der Spiegel, Yacht Magazine, Stern, Taz,  Der Hamburger, as well as the German Federation of Sailing, Tagesspiegel, the Norden, the University of Applied Sciences of Hamburg, and »Kielbomben», the only 100% female team of the regatta. Organized on the Alster River, the regatta gathered some of Europe’s largest publications and some of the most popular german magazines.

»Always have a rain plan«. Known as the largest deep water port of Germany and the second largest city of the country, Hamburg is home of sailors, dockers and businessmen. The leading maritime capital of the world welcomed us with traditional heavy rains. As Hamburgers like to say “Schietwedder givt dat hier nich” (There’s no such thing as bad weather). The grey city’s skyline is covered with a thick fog hiding such historical monuments as The Elbe Philharmonic Hall (Elbphilharmonie), an ever-changing landmark visible from afar thanks to its glass façade catching the reflections of the sky and water. 

11 media teams were invited to participate in this years’ 2017 edition of the Media Sailing Cup. More than 70 people from the biggest publishers in Germany made the trip for this unique 3-day event. Included were creative minds of all sorts, and some big names such as Klaus Brinkbäumer, Editor-in-Chief of the Spiegel, Christian Krug, Head of Editorial Staff at Stern Magazine, Sven Hanser, journalist from Taz Magazine, David Pohle, the Hamburger Editor-in-Chief, to name just a few. Unanimously described as »intense and sporty«, the Media Sailing Cup managed to highlight some very important values such as team work, determination, challenges and friendliness, all via competitiveness. As we know, taking great risks comes with great rewards. Sergio Penzo likes to sum it up: »We had an incredible time at the first ever Media Sailing Cup. Thanks to my amazing Panthalassa crew, Elisa Routa, Ralf Burmester, super-Niklas Reisenauer and Geert Schmelzer. Although reaching a 4th place that felt like winning an olympic medal, I think the result is purely anecdotal. I sincerely believe that everyone grew as individuals having been through this adventure.« 

We were warmly welcomed at the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) sailing club, one of the oldest and largest sailing clubs of Germany specializing in regattas. Founded in 1868, the club has always been interested in setting high standards for the international sailing scene through prestigious regattas like Atlantic crossings, Rolex Baltic Week, NRV Champions Week or Nord Stream Race. At the end of the main pontoon, the German flag proudly floats among the dark clouds, as a solemn welcome sign. Almost 100 wooden Dragon keelboats are parked in front of the club and carefully covered in soft sheets. »The NRV is the biggest sailing club in Germany with more than 2,000 members, situated on the Alster lake.«  explains one of the organizers Sven Jurgensen who learned how to sail more than 30 years ago at the Deutscher Hochseesportverband HANSA (DHH), a renowned German sailing school. »Here, we can literally sail in the city! The NRV is said to be the club with the most J/70 titles and a precious place in the the German Championship. We also have an Olympic team.« Christine Bauer, usually journalist at Der Spiegel, was part of the all-female team. She took her chance to sail on the J/70, known as the world’s fastest growing sailboat. »When  they asked me if I wanted to train on the J70, I said yes straight away. It’s such a privilege.« As a sailing enthusiast, Christine knows the power of this sailing machine. J70 is a high performance sportsboat and clearly one of the most popular one-designed keelboards.

»It’s amazing how the organizers managed to gather all this media together. That’s what they wanted, they wanted us to connect and bring people together,« said Philipp Jägersberg from Der Hamburger. Organizer and photographer Sven Jurgensen confirms. “We wanted to bring sailing to a broader public in Germany, and we also wanted to reach some big media partners; newspapers, magazines and broadcast stations. The idea was to create a journalist sailing family made of active sailing journalists and beginners. We wanted to bring journalists to the water and share with them that great feeling which is sailing. Sailing is a fantastic sport that requires important qualities such as teamwork. I’m proud to have such a great team behind me, helping and supporting the Segel Media Cup. It’s a pleasure to see that everyone involved, from the sponsors to the crews, is very enthusiastic about the event«.

According to Sergio Penzo, the event brought people together and made the teams feel like family. »I think many of the teams didn’t get too many chances of practicing before the event. We were all going through similar challenges, making incredible progress and getting better with every heat. It was beautiful to watch the other teams improve within the 3 days the competition lasted. I think that, the fairplay, and the effort by the organization to make this event beyond a simple race is what brought us closer together. It was certainly a special honour to participate in the first ever Media Sailing Cup. I have always looked up to many of these influential publications so sharing the passion for water and realizing we have so much in common felt very special. A big thanks to Jens Hoffmann and Max Gebhardt for making it possible. And special thanks to Christopher Rothe and Sven Jürgensen for the invite and making us feel like family.« 

Already working on next year’s edition, the organizers confess. »Sailing is a not only a fun sport but also a clean sport. That’s why it’s very important for us to raise awareness of the oceans. For the 2018 edition, we’ll have around 20 media crews on the water, coming from all around Europe. We’ll also work with a tracking system and will get some support from Yacht TV. We’ll work on showing how important it is to save our oceans.«

 See you next year then!

Photos: Courtesy of Axel Schilling 

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