From 3 to 8 August, it's all about keeping your fingers crossed when Lukas Haberl, our Olympic participant from Mondsee, fights for an Olympic medal with his partner Tanja Frank in the sea off Marseille.
As most of us are not confronted with sailing on a daily basis, I (alias Thomas Ebner, Managing Director of the Mondsee-Irrsee Tourist Board) would like to take this opportunity to provide some information about this sport so that you can keep your fingers crossed!
Olympic participant Lukas Haberl from Mondsee and his partner Tanja Frank will take part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Marseille.
Admittedly, my own sailing career came to an end when I obtained my A licence (authorisation to sail on inland waters) a good 30 years ago. I only have positive memories of carefree hours spent rocking on an old 470 boat on Lake Mondsee. A lot has changed in competitive sailing over the last few decades. The boats have become lighter and lighter, the technology more and more sophisticated and demand more skill, strength, endurance and experience from the athletes.
At the Olympic Games in Paris, 10 medals will be decided in sailing. The Olympic regattas will be held in the Mediterranean, with the boats based in Marseille harbour. There will be a men's and women's classification in four boat classes, and two boat classes will be contested in mixed teams. This includes the boat class of our Lukas and his partner Tanja (who incidentally returned from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as a celebrated bronze medallist).
The Narca17 boat class
The Narca17 (from North American Catamaran Racing Association) is a further development of the Tornado - a sailing boat with two hulls (catamaran). The two Tornado gold medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and 2004 in Athens won by Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher are unforgettable. But back to the Narca17. This is a technically modified catamaran that has been extended with so-called "foils". Foils are hydrofoils attached to the hull and positioned under water. At a certain speed, the Narca lifts off the water surface with its two hulls, leaving only the foils in the water. The Narca can reach twice the wind speed, and even more in perfect conditions. This makes the Narca the fastest, but also the most technically demanding boat class at the Olympics. It is also often referred to as "the flying boat".
Sailing speed is measured in knots. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. Converting this is relatively easy, as one knot corresponds to 1.852 km/h. So take knots times two, subtract a little and you have kilometres per hour. 27 knots are regularly achieved with the Narca - that's around 50 km/h - mind you, flying over the water on a sailing boat...
Olympic participant from Mondsee
The course of the Olympic regatta
Three races per day will take place between 03 and 08 August 2024. So 12 races in total. 19 boats (1 boat per nation) will be at the start.
It is easy to recognise where the boats are coming from. The national flag is on the mainsail and if the wind is coming from the right direction, an additional large sail, called a gennaker, which is coloured in the national flag of the crew, is hoisted.
At a certain time, the regatta starts with a countdown. Only at the end of the countdown are the boats allowed to cross an imaginary line between the starting buoy and the starting ship. Timing and experience are required here, as all 19 starting boats want to cross the start line at an appropriate speed. If a boat is too early, it will be disqualified for this race and will therefore receive the highest number of points plus one point, in this case 19+1.
After the start, the race organisers will decide the course depending on the swell and wind. The start is always on a cross course (against the wind). Further buoys are rounded until a finish line is crossed after about five nautical miles*. The winning team receives one point for the victory, the second two points and the last 19 points. A maximum of 12 races are held and then the points are added up, with the worst result being cancelled. The winner is therefore the one with the fewest points.
But beware - after the 12 races there will be a medal race with the 10 sailing teams with the fewest points. This will probably take place on 7 August (there are 3 reserve days). It is therefore important to keep your fingers crossed that Lukas and Tanja are among the 10 teams with the fewest points after the 12 regattas so that they are eligible to start in the Medal Race. If they are in the Medal Race, fingers will of course be crossed twice as hard!
*Right! That's about 10 kilometres minus a little bit. 5 nautical miles * 1.852 = 9.26 kilometres
Anyone who is now worried about Lukas and Tanja
has got the desire to sail...
At the Mondsee Sailing School offers regular sailing courses for young and old. The sailing school also offers a wide range of water sports equipment for hire.
The Mondsee sailing school also includes the restaurant "das Bootshaus" and the Sunshine Bar, both of which are open to the public.
Lukas is a member of the Union Yacht Club Mondsee - access is open to the public, the sunset on the terrace is a dream and the team from the club restaurant club restaurant "Seecafe Mondsee" is looking forward to your visit. Sailing atmosphere is definitely included.
The most important and traditional regatta on Lake Mondsee is the "Blue Ribbon". This takes place every year on 15 August and is one of the largest regattas in Austria with up to 100 boats of all classes taking part. However, some people claim that on this day the weather on Lake Mondsee is either calm or stormy. Not ideal conditions, but definitely worth a visit.
