Sailing World Championship in Brunnen faces a challenge: “Difficult to raise the money”

The World Sailing Championships for the prestigious RC44 boat class will attract top sailors to Brunnen from August 21 to 25.

A major event takes place at the end of August with the World Sailing Championships on Lake Lucerne. The boats will be moored in the harbor in Brunnen. The vacation resort is the venue for the world championships.The event was initiated by professional sailor Christian Zuerrer. The OCP is Eveline von Euw. In this interview, the two talk about the challenges they are currently facing.

Interview: Ramona Schelbert and Thomas Bucheli

Let’s start with the uncontrollable nature. Will the World Championships take place in August whatever the weather?

A sailing regatta basically takes place whatever the weather. There is a wind range for each boat class, which determines the minimum and maximum wind speed at which sailing takes place. In the RC44 class, there must be at least 8 knots of wind in order to start; if the wind is 25 knots or less, the race will not be started. One scenario for an abandonment would be a strong Föhn storm on Lake Uri. Traditional sporting events find it difficult to raise enough money.

You are organizing a major event in a marginal sport. How difficult is it to raise money?

It was and is very difficult to raise the money. Basically, we started looking for sponsors late, as the RC44 Cup class association only awarded the world championship to Brunnen in November. As a result, a lot of public funding was lost, for example, as the application for such funding should have been submitted the previous year.

Nowadays, many people shy away from organizing such a major event because of too much bureaucracy. In your case, there are many permits, how did this work?

Permits must be obtained from the canton and the municipality, and in the case of a regatta, a nautical permit must also be obtained. As the regattas take place in three cantons, the nautical permit also has to be requested and obtained in three cantons. This was challenging, but we were supported from the very beginning and are very grateful for this. In total, we had to obtain at least nine permits.

How are the yachts brought to Brunnen in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, on an inland lake, you don’t have the same conditions as in a marina by the sea. So we had to find a solution together with the Lake Lucerne shipping company so that we could set up a floating pontoon for the yachts in the Föhnhafen. The yachts are delivered on an open 12-metre-long transport rack (container) on a truck trailer and unloaded with a crane. The yachts can be assembled on this transport rack using an ingenious system and only need a crane again to erect the 22-meter-high mast and to lower the yacht into the water. Each team has a 6 meter long container for the transport rack, in which the sails and accessories are transported and in which there is a workshop. It takes around five days to set up the yacht. During this time, various repair and maintenance work is also carried out.

How do you find the best places for the equipment?

The best place would be slightly larger than the one we have in Brunnen. However, experience has shown that there is no perfect place anywhere in the world and you have to make certain compromises. But under no circumstances should safety suffer as a result of these compromises. In Brunnen, we will probably have the challenge that many people will be interested and want to follow the work. We definitely want that, because we want to bring the sport closer to the public and show what it means to be on the water with a professional sailing team. Nevertheless, we hope that the public will respect the barriers, especially when cranes are being moved.

What does the safety concept look like?

Nowadays, a safety concept has to be very comprehensive, regardless of the event. The organizer must plan for every eventuality and take appropriate action. This applies not only to the participants on the water, but also to the spectators on land. We have therefore decided not to set up a public catering service in order to avoid having to meet certain requirements. Nevertheless, a video screen will be set up where you can follow the races via a live tracker. If you want to get even closer to the action on the water, you can book a VIP experience. Have you been criticized for your large-scale project? We have not been criticized directly, on the contrary. Time and again we receive compliments for organizing such an event in the region. This makes us very happy and reinforces our belief that we can leave a lasting impression of the region on the athletes and the population for sailing.