Andreas Deubel on racing boat Dehler 30od

The Model and the Beast

| Dehler News

Interview with Andreas Deubel

The successful mini-transat sailor Andreas Deubel is not only the face of the "Play Harder" campaign around the Dehler 30 one design, since spring he is also the proud owner of his own racer cruiser from Dehler.

We met the likeable Hamburg native for an interview at the end of the premiere season:

Andreas, the first season with your own Dehler 30 one design is coming to an end. Did it meet your expectations?

The first regatta of the year, the Baltic 500, was immediately a furious baptism of fire in which the Dehler 30 one design was put through its paces. 500 miles through the Danish Kattegat in stormy conditions, and nothing was broken due to material defects or fatigue. Even though the regatta was very wet and exhausting - the Dehler 30 od is a real weapon and is addictive.

But you were not unfamiliar with the sailing characteristics of the Dehler 30 od ...

(Laughs) No, I was already allowed to sail the prototype in November 2019 during the photo and film shootings off Warnemünde. Despite the cold, I was immediately hooked on this boat. I did not have to act the enthusiasm in front of the camera.

How much time could you spend on your boat during this special season?

I myself had relatively little sailing time on my boat, which was mainly due to the very good utilisation of my Dehler as a charter boat. All in all, my sports equipment was used by crews for nine weeks for regattas, cruising and training sessions. For myself, all that was left was the Baltic 500, a training trip around Zealand organised by Speedsailing, a few days of holiday cruising with my wife and our retriever bitch Zury and last but not least the Silverrudder 2020 for the season's highlight.

How did the customers become aware of your special charter offer?

Especially due to the new Olympic discipline "Mixed Offshore" there has been a certain pull effect. The DSV [German Sailing Association] was able to win over Tim Kroeger as national trainer and due to his offshore trainings there were several charter requests for this boat. I wouldn’t mind if things continued this way!

Calle Dr. Antonio Jorge Aguiar - who should remember this boat name?

(Laughs) The name was created on the Mini Transat 2017. On the stopover in Las Palmas we lived in a rather sleazy place right on this street and every time we drove from the boat or the beach to our accommodation by car, the navigation system spit out the street name without accent and linguistically highly incorrect. This always caused big laughs and my daughter Jella was able to remember the name quickly. This gave rise to the crazy idea of naming my next boat after this street - and my daughter insisted that I keep my word.

What does the special foil stand for?

Together with my designer Thea Harksen, I wanted to reinterpret the classic honeycomb design chosen for the two prototypes. It should be much more striking and aggressive. After all, it is a regatta ship, and psychology plays a major role here. If I'm not at the front of the pack, then at least the opponents should get scared... (laughs) Since I founded the company crazyboats.de for my project, the design should also be a little "crazy" and this is how the interpretation of this idea looks like now.

You have already sailed solo across the Atlantic in regatta mode − do you think the 30 od can do the same?

Give me a class Transat and I'll sail immediately. The Dehler 30 od is made for a transatlantic race, whether solo or shorthanded. My innermost wish is that in the future we as a class can manage, perhaps in three years’ time, to get a Transat on its feet. Or we might get our own group at the legendary Transquadra race. I'd probably be right there with you. For this reason I have also agreed to participate in the class association and become a member of the board. The goal of organising a Transat for this class is the measure of our success.

What do you wish for the next season?

I would be very happy if more owners decided to join this great class, so that we can see growing fields in the coming years and enjoy fast sailing on the probably best all-rounder in the 30 foot class.

We wish you good luck with all your ideas and projects with your Dehler 30 one design - we keep our fingers crossed!

Find out more about Andreas Deubel and his yacht at crazyboats.de