Plattner prepares

Hasso Plattner is once again competing in the 505 class at this year's Kiel Week

The founder of the internationally recognised German Software Company SAP, Hasso Plattner (63), can’t do without his annual participation in the highly competitive 505 Class during the 125th anniversary of Kiel Week 2007, 21-24 June.

In former years he entered one of his bigger, almost Maxi-yachts and dominated the offshore scene of Kiel Week and other international regattas. However, in 2005 and 2006 the SAP Chairman of the Board was rather attracted by the vivid and challenging 505 class and it’s top world-wide representation.

An alternative to his choice of the 505 would have been the 49er, but here again Hasso Plattner recognised his (age) limits and left the “special challenge” of the high performance dinghy 49er to the younger generation.

More than eight years ago he started off his career in the 505 class, calling his boat Five, sailing with his daughters along the Californian coast. Steering the comparatively small one-design dinghy made him realise that the way to success in the 505 Class depends not only on invested money, but rather on an excellent performance of helmsman and crew on the water!

Peter Alarie (USA) crews for the SAP boss, and their race results over the last two years are quite remarkable: World Championship 2005 in Adelaide 21st (about 100 teams), World Championship 2006: 14th (110 entries), and Warnemuender Week 2005 46th (170 starters). During Kiel Week 2005 they finished as 23rd, in 2006 as 21st. – With these scorings the 'elderly' German helmsman Hasso Plattner climbed up the German 505 ranking list to eighth overall.

Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess, multiple World and European Champions, recently trained and sailed as sparring partners with the Five crew Plattner and Alarie in the Bermudas.

“As long as my friends Hunger and Jess did not disappear beyond the horizon, Peter and I shared hopes that the training would be highly successful for us” commented Hasso Plattner after his return to Europe. – During a photo shoot in last year’s Kiel Week the distance between the 'champions' Hunger and Jess and the 'apprentices' Plattner and Alarie was just one boatlength; consequently, in this year’s anniversary races the Five crew hopes for an improvement of their skills and better results during Kiel Week 2007.

Hasso Plattner ordered a new 505 dinghy with Segelsport Jess, Germany and will start nine days of training on the water with his crew and his friends Hunger and Jess prior to Kiel Week 2007 and the German Championship in Bavaria in July 2007. The senior helmsman states his recipe for success: “Excellent performance and teamwork in each race counts for a good result in Kiel Week 2007.”

Hasso Plattner and Peter Alarie, will be well prepared for their third Kiel Week participation. No doubt, the physical fitness and stamina of the helmsman will be exemplary for the younger teams competing in the 505 Class of Kiel Week 2007.