Tornado World Champs Interview

Roland and Nahid Gaebler fresh from their victory talk to us about the Tornado and their experience as the first mixed team to be crowned Tornado World Champions.
By Andrew Dowley
Answers by NG= Nahid Gaebler and RG= Roland Gaebler
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-AD: Congratulation Nahid and Roland. You are the first Sailing Team to win a World championship as mixed team in the Tornado Class. How are you feeling now?
RG: We still cannot believe it. It was magic because we sailed a series which is phenomenal in my sailing career. With the places 3-1-2-1-1-2-2-5 we finished one point ahead of the Greek Team Paschalides/Trigonis. The whole series with all the different wind conditions created a lot of emotions we have not explored before.
NG: Like Roland, I have the same feelings. It is just amazing to be the World Champion! Last year we started sailing together in the Tornado and after a while we won some national races and championships but to win the World Title is great. Last year we finished 12th at the World Championships and this year we felt a place in the top 10 was achievable.

-AD:If I understand it right, you are a multinational team too? Nahid is Danish and Roland is German? How does this work together on one boat?
NG:Yes, I was born in Kolding in the middle of Denmark and I am representing Denmark on our boat. But we have to sail with GER on the sail, because Roland as helmsman was born in Germany. This way we are two nations on one boat. And we are living just 2 kilometres away from the Danish-German border. Somehow we see ourselves as modern European citizens and we really like to be a multinational team.

-AD:The Tornado Worlds on Lubeck Bay created some challenging winds from 4 to 25 knots packed into four days of racing. How did you find that?
NG:Yes, it was not easy. We like stronger winds with all the adrenaline the Tornado creates and yes, the first day with 3 races with westerly wind between 12 and 25 knots were a fantastic start for such a World Championship. We had a little advantage at the Alpha Course Area at Lubeck Bay because we sailed here last year the Travemünde Week and we can still remember some races from that competition. But with the Wind from shore, it was quite shifty and we had to play with it. Roland has more experience of Travemunde, he has sailed many races in this Bay. On Day two the wind went down and shifted completely to the opposite direction. Races 4 and 5 had winds between 8 and 12 knots and choppy waters. Our Team weight with 160kg is relative high and it is not so easy in light to medium winds and with such waves. But we made a excellent start and got clear winds and took the lead into the finish.

-AD:We saw over 50 Teams competing at this Tornado Worlds. Sailors from around the World sailed in the boats. What is their experience of sailing in Travemuende? Have you had any feedback so far?
RG:I was really amazed that we had 5 Teams from Australia traveling around the World to sail with us here in Travemeunde and it was fantastic to see that some sailors created a new team just for this championship. We saw sailors from the A cat and F18 in our class too, I have the feeling they want to test the boat and they are on standby for the Olympic Comeback. But mostly I was amazed about all the generations we had in this championship. The youngest sailor was just 15 years old and he did an excellent job as Crew. We then had two sailors at the age of 72. It was a great friendship between all these generations.

-AD:And I see more women sailing in the Tornado? Nahid, how they are managing the tough sailing with the Tornado?
NG:They are all experienced sailors. These Girls have sailed other Multihulls and Monohulls before, some of them are coming from other Olympic Dinghies. They like to get a real sporting challenge. Like me, I want to sail at the highest level of international Multihull Sailing, and for me the Tornado is the boat at the top. I want to be a real athlete and I do a lot of other sports like Biking, Horse riding and power-training to be fit for the racing. For me the Tornado never lost its Olympic Status, for me the Tornado is the most sporting boat and I am very happy to share my passion with all the other Women in the Class. Why I should drive a Touring Car when I can sail the Formula-1 of Multihulls? Men often think we are too light and have not got enough strength to handle such a powerful boat. What a misunderstanding! The Tornado is perfect for a Woman who like to steer or trim the powerful sails and get the real adrenaline of high speed sailing.

-AD:Do you want see more woman or mixed teams in the Tornado and Multihull scene?
NG:Yes, for sure but already I see so many mixed teams in Multihulls. This sailing discipline is maybe the sport with the most mixed teams. If the Multihull comes back into the Olympic Program, it should be open or mixed, this really is the best image we can give for our sport. I don’t understand why we always split up the sporting disciplines into men and women? Most humans are living together in a pair so why don’t we not push this more? Why should we now have a mixed sailing discipline in the Olympics? We just need one spot in the Olympic Program and we have men and woman back at the medal podium. This is the best image sailing can get.
RG:Yes, my wife is totally right. I think we showed that it is possible to win a World championship in front of the best Athletes from the Olympics. There is nothing special on our Tornado, somehow, I hope we can motivate other women to sail the Tornado. There is no better sports discipline for a mixed team as in the Multihulls. If I looked to the Laser Radial and Woman Surfing and 470, if they want to add a second Olympic Campaign they can easily helm or crew on a Tornado. Look at Carolijn Brouwer, she sailed Europe and 470 and she is Vice World Champ in 2007 in the Tornado. Already we color up our sport and we get massive interest from media because only we have a mixed team. The press like the Tornado as the Formula-1 and on top of this the image of mixed teams.

-AD:Let’s talk about the new Race Format you developed. You call it Speedsailing in a Sailing Arena. In Travemeunde you officially opened the “Trave Sailing Arena” on the River Trave with some very exciting race action.
RG:Yes. I never thought it could work so well. We should not forget, Travemuende Week is the second biggest sailing festival in Germany and in 10 days over one million people come to enjoy this maritime event. On the first weekend, the time when we have ten thousands of people on the promenade we just raced in front of them. We had only one start and finish line in front of the pier and two marks. We started a knock out in 8-boats races with two races and a grand final. A commentator on shore explained and heated up the racing action. We had excellent wind conditions with gusts up to 20 knots. With 8 Tornados on a small river we created many stunts and lots of action for the spectators. Because the wind is so shifty, the maneuvers and accelerations were extreme. The boat positions were changing every second and the commentator was very emotional. We got standing ovations and big press interest. On top of this, the bars and shops made a plus to, because we brought the sailing show to them. This event format creates a win-win situation for all participants.
-AD:We were out with our rib and saw thousands of spectators at the promenade. It was fully packed and on top I saw the TV Teams on the Pier with their cameras. Is this a new style of sailing?
RG:Yes. It is more extreme and it is very easy to manage such an speedsailing event. Just go sailing in front of the festival area. We already have more venues in focus where we do this kind of racing action. The ultra light Tornado with his big sail area and the huge Gennacker is the best boat for it. We can lift the hull and show sailing action between 3 and 30 knots. This way we can also guarantee the starting time so we are able to handle live TV coverage. The spectators can overview the complete sailing arena, it also allows non-sailors to understand this racing style.

-AD:Somehow it sounds that the Tornado is a multipurpose boat?
NG:You are right. We have our classic championship courses with our big sailing areas on the bays and lakes. Then we have the Grand Prix Racing format, which is short course racing like the Olympic Medal Race with up-and-downs and races durations around 20mins close to public areas. We then have the extreme Speedsailing events which allow any course formation which brings the sailing really close to the spectators. I should not forget the Long Distance Races like Round Texel which are more like the adventure racing style.
RG:This is it. Multihull Sailing is spectacular, fast and creates great images. If someone likes to get fueled with adrenaline, the Tornado is still the rocket on the water. Flying over the waves with double trapeze and Gennacker is the ultimate feeling. With this image we can motivate people to start sailing. We just need to sail some races in front of the audience.

-AD:This year we had a real Multihull Festival in Travemuende. It was a showdown of all Multihull boat types we have in the World. The Hobie Multi Europeans. The German F18 Nationals and the A cats. How was it with all the different Multihulls?
NG:You can walk endlessly around in the boat park and talk with the sailors. You see their passion for high speed sailing. You see the kids on the Hobie Dragons enjoying the sailing. You see the A cats with their latest technology. You see the F18 sailors having great parties together with the Tornado sailors. I think we had over 10 different Multihull boat types at Travemeunde Week and I see a very big friendship between all of them. Each person found his boat and class to enjoy the high adrenaline style of sailing. And finally all classes did the Speedsailing Competition in the Trave River.
RG:My wife Nahid is totally right. It is great to have events together with all the other Multihull classes. And to see all the generations share their passion.

-AD:This time you had new sponsors for the Tornado Class. What was their reaction to the event?
RG:They were very happy, every day they brought their guests out onto the race course. They watched the Tornado offshore action and in the evening they were watching the emotional speed sailing in the Trave Arena and on top of this, we had all major German TV channels with us. They made daily shows about our Champs and inside stories with a variety of competitors. The media value from our races will reach more than half a Million Euros. For sure we deliver the best price-performance ration for sponsors in sailing. We don’t need a lot of money to set up our races, we have a very lean but powerful race- and media management. With our Tornado Sailing spectacle we guarantee sponsors a great return of their investments. Our T-Worlds Sponsor Manroland is more than happy with the results. For them it was the event of the year.
NG:Because we had two mixed teams in the Top 10 the media got an extra motivation. They don’t like to report all the time about the results. They need stories to cover besides the pure racing. If you have woman and men on one boat, we will get much more stories. Somehow it is also more emotional. Watch the faces and you see the story.

-AD:What comes next with Tornado? Do you have more races on the calendar?
RG:In one week we have the biggest long-distance Multihull race in the Baltic Sea. It is the “Fehmarn Rund” race and we are sailing around the Fehmarn Island. It is adventure sailing, full speed along the beaches. If it’s Windy, it is a very tough Race – I hope we get a breeze to set a new record.
NG:In September we have the European Championship at Lake Garda during the 40th anniversary of the Torbole Trophy. We are expecting many boats and real action with the famous Ora Winds.

AD:Thank you for the interview. We wish you the best of luck, have fun and enjoy the racing.
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