Eight Dehler 30 OD have raced against each other in the Dehler 30 OD class without any additional rating.

When: 08/05/2024 - 13/05/2024

For details go to the baltic500 web side: https://www.baltic500.com/

At last year’s Baltic 500 we, Luca Mayer and Luca Leidholdt, took 4th place in the Dehler 30 OneDesign class and won the youngest team award (see report below from 2023). This year we managed to win the Baltic 500 Challenge with the Dehler30od PlayHarder! It was a super exciting regatta and we were happy that we were able to use again the Play Harder as youth team. 

With winds from 0 to 20 knots, we had a close neck-and-neck race with our competitors, who didn't make it easy for us at all and also sailed very good races. The gaps between the boats were constantly changing and up to the Gedser tip everything was possible and nothing certain. Only after Fehmarnbelt did a clear order of the boats emerge, which did not change until Kiel lighthouse.

In the end, we were able to win the race in the last 30 nm. It got really exciting again here, as we had to contend with a pitch-black night and dense sea fog over the last few meters! But the feeling of rushing into “nothingness” at a boat speed of 10 knots kept us awake and we crossed the finish line. We are already looking forward to next year's Baltic 500!

After last year had too much wind, this year we had very, very little wind for the first half of the regatta. For someone from Lake Constance, of course, this was familiar territory, but still exhausting.

Right from the start, many boats struggled to cross the start line within the time limit (10 minutes). One can easily imagine the problem, and so it went, on and off, for two days and two nights. Fortunately, the race committee had already shortened the course by 70 miles before the start, as it was foreseeable that it would take a while to return to Kiel. Thus, the course went around the island of Anholt instead of Læsø.

Despite the little wind, my sailing partner, Luca Leidholdt, and I were mostly doing quite well compared to the rest of the field up to Anholt.

We constantly battled with various boats, by day and by night, and it was always exciting to wake up for the shift change to see if the other had done something well or lost ground.

Up to Anholt, there weren't many notable incidents. Along the way, we once replaced a broken mainsheet block and crossed a huge wind farm, but that was all the action there was.

On the third morning, just before the Øresund, things got exciting. The rear part of the field, which had previously split off far, caught up with wind from behind, and where we were, there was so little wind that some boats anchored for 1 - 2 hours to avoid being pushed backwards by the current.

Fortunately, we always managed to keep moving, even if sometimes not in the optimal direction. Up to Copenhagen, we made some costly mistakes and lost a lot of boats, until we finally left Copenhagen behind and sailed into the night under spinnaker. When the sun rose, we had reached Møns Klint, south of Copenhagen. There, a huge chalk cliff stretches up, 6 km long and 128 m high. Naturally, there is no wind at the cliffs with onshore wind, as it gets blocked quite far in front of the cliffs.

We both Lucas, green as we were, of course went straight into the doldrums and were stuck in the waves for a while. Not only did we lose precious minutes at this point, but it was also the moment when one would reconsider their breakfast.

After Møns Klint, we raised the spinnaker and sailed past Gedser and Fehmarn in one go until Langeland. Top speed here was 14 knots. Towards the end, in the last hours, the wind died down significantly again and it became really strenuous once more. Therefore, we were all the more happy when we crossed the finish line.

Overall, we needed 83 hours and finished as the 4th Dehler30od. Our goal before the regatta was to finish, so this can be considered a good result. In addition to the 4th place, we were also awarded the Pampers Award as the youngest participating team! All in all, it was a great regatta, we learned a lot and already know what we want to do differently next time!

Results can be found here.

In the latest report by Yacht magazine, the focus is on the versatility of the Dehler30od. If you've been wondering what this one-design class has to offer, you've come to the right place. As the title suggests, the 30od offers not only sailing fun and exciting regatta experiences, but relaxed cruising is also possible. For the review, click on the red-highlighted link.

The well-known Go4Speed sailing event took place in Greifswald over the last weekend of April, marking the start of the 2023 sailing season. For many crews, it was their first sailing event of the year, so they had to get acquainted with their boats again, check and test the boat's trim and technology. Originally, five Dehler30od boats were registered, but due to time constraints, only three boats appeared at the event.

The first day of sailing within the event took place on Saturday, April 29th. The race committee set up an up-and-down course in the bay of Greifswald in the Greifswalder Bodden, with each leg being approximately 1 nautical mile long, providing a challenge for the crews. The start of the race was greeted with fantastic weather conditions, with bright sunshine and a steady wind of 10-15 knots. The race consisted of starting, beating, hoisting spinnakers, and then returning to the finish line. Training was a key focus of this event, aiming to familiarize the crews even better with their boats. A variety of coaches accompanied the fleet on motorboats, providing tips and tricks to the participants, following the motto "Practice makes perfect."

Training continued on Sunday as well, and fortunately, the following Monday was a holiday, which made the logistics of returning the boats much more relaxed for the teams.

After the eventful day of sailing, the sailors returned to the harbor, where they could exchange their experiences and stories of the day. Food and refreshments were provided on land, and many participants stayed until late evening. There were also interesting presentations on various sailing topics, ranging from regatta tactics, trim, and analysis of the day's recordings to boat maintenance.

The event has become dear to many sailors' hearts, as it combines a laid-back atmosphere with ambition and determination. The interaction among participants and the learning process on their own boats, which the event provides, is highly valued by the crews. Therefore, the Dehler30od sailors have decided to make this event a permanent fixture in their season planning for the future.

Drone footage from the finish line YouTube

Dear Sailors, Friends and anyone interested of the Dehler30od. After two years we are happy to be on the Dusseldorf boat show again. This year one of our Dehler30od's will be displayed on the exhibition in hall 15 stand G21. Form  21.01. - 29.01. the exhibiton will open from 10am till 6pm. We are looking forward to see you on site and hope for a great boat show in 2023. If you have any further questions about the exhibition feel free to contact us via info@dehler30onedesign-class.com or visit the officail website of the boat show.

See you then, really looking forward to see you! 

The aim of the class association is to promote recreational and competitive sail racing with the Dehler 30 one design yachts under the management of the class association. Under the direction of the Executive Committee, the association sets course for national and international regatta events. For the 2021 season, participation in the double-handed regatta Baltic 500, the long-distance race Rund Bornholm and as well as an exciting International German Championship in Olpenitz are planned. The Dehler 30 one design is to establish itself just as quickly at international offshore regattas.

from Dehler with love

"It gives me great pleasure to finally be able to implement such an exciting one-design project in Germany again!" Said Karl Dehler, the driving force behind the development of the Dehler 30 one design: As the son of the Dehler company founder Willi Dehler, he is passionate about sailing in the blood. For Dehler, it is a significant component of numerous innovations and trend-setting inventions. And the successes speak for themselves: Under Karl's project management, Dehler has already won numerous prestigious awards and has been repeatedly honored and nominated for the titles Boat of the Year and European Boat of the Year. His expertise, competence and above all passion are based above all on years of experience as a still active regatta sailor. In 1984 he won together with Torsten Conradi the world championship title on the db2 positron.

Interview with Kunt Frostad on Dehler 30 one design

Hello my name is Knut Frostered I'm the CEO of Navi Co who also owns the brand B&G which is present on this boat behind me. I have a long history in ocean racing in addition to working in the sailboat industry, so I used to be the CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race for eight years and before that I was also participating in the Volvo Ocean Race. Four times around the world twice as a skipper and then some Olympic Games before that, so I have a long history in sailing and am quite passionate about ocean racing.  

What Is your overall impression of the boat?

My overall impression of this boat is it's very good I think it's it smells quality there's a lot of really good quality equipment and I think the design is very much in line with the current sort of our thinking and of ocean racing, so it's the first sort of 30 foot boat I've seen that's really looking like it's a 2020 boat.  It's so a very good impression of the equipment very good to play impression of the layout I think it looks like the people involved in this project have been spending a lot of time thinking about the details and putting some experience into it.

Which details do you like most?

I think what I like most with this boat I think it gives a feeling it's quite solid and for me racing offshore you know you really have to trust equipment. I like the sail plan a lot it has quite an advanced sail plan, it's very accessible. I like the retractable driveshaft of the propeller. In a small boat like this to the get rid of the sail Drive and the propeller shaft under the water has a big impact on the drag, so it makes the boat a lot faster. I think the general cockpit layout is simple but very functional. It is a functional boat, and it looks easy to sail fast with it.

Why is a one design class useful?

Well I'm a huge fan of one design boats. Those who know me and racing know that that's where I really believe you sailing needs to go. In racing with boats, the alternative to one design is a game where whoever spends the most money has the best chance of winning, and I think that's why one design is what everyone in the end loves. Typically, when you ask racing sailors if they have different boats they all think they have the best boat when they start and when they finish they all want the boat that won. So in the end they all want the same boat. That's why one design is such a fantastic concept and I think this boat to me is the future. It's what sailing needs to be, and it's what sailors like to do. The fact that you race under equal terms means the best sailors are winning and that the sailors are becoming better sailors because they are challenging each other and learning from each other knowing that they have the same boat.

Why is the Dehler 30 one design best suited for Olympia / offshore races?

Well I know there's a few boats that are trying to be to become the Olympic offshore class for world sailing. I think this is a good candidate. To be an Olympic boat you have to be able to function in a lot of conditions. The sailing venues around the world that would be relevant are very, very different. I think the key is that the boat has to be extremely tight on the one design side, and it has to be a quality boat because the boats will be used a lot. In any Olympic participation people are going to train a lot and spend a lot of hours compared to any other racing. There's almost no scene where people are training more than in the Olympic scene.

To me, it looks like the boat is very accurate, and it looks like the finish and the details are very exact. I know they have spent some effort into that and that's important to become an Olympic class. I think that mixed-offshore is a very interesting part of Olympics. I've done both offshore and Olympics, so I know the differences and I think that for me the offshore sailing is the most interesting part of sailing. It's the same intensity as you have with round boat racing, but it's much longer much more an endurance sport, and I've been a big promoter of bringing women into the sport in the Volvo Ocean Race we brought women in and now that's part of the race and I think it's extremely interesting to have that combination in sailing and to be promoter of gender equality. It just makes it a lot more interesting for more countries and more people to follow the sport so that's good.

What do you think of short-handed sailing?

I've done a bit of offshore single-handed sailing not really around the world or anything like that. I think the interesting thing with short-handed sailing is that you have to become a very good sailor in every discipline. You have to be good at trimming, driving, navigating doing the weather, making decisions, and know how to fix the boat. Short-handed sailors in general are in my view the best sailors in the world today because they are really all-round sailors. They are very good at everything on the boat, and they are on a very high level today. It's probably the discipline in sailing that has accelerated the most the last ten years and the absolute best short-handed sailors we have today in François Gabart and Thomas Coville, these guys are in my opinion the best sailors in the world.

What equipment on the Dehler 30od catches your eye?

The equipment dealer have used in this boat this is really high quality and that's really important because when you have one design you should never try to compromise. That's because this is going to be used a lot, and it looks functional to me. They have obviously taken the best instruments that you can get with the plotters and the whole sail set of racing set up from B&G simple but very visible and very accessible. I obviously like a lot to have the multifunction display in the cockpit then you have it accessible at all times. I think it's a functional boat with very good equipment, I'm really impressed with it. The Stealth Drive with the propeller is a cool feature I think. We had that in the Volvo Ocean Race as well with the Volvo 70s.

I think Dehler has found a really good solution to it because it's quite complex to get the propeller up in the hull and make that tight and make it smooth and make it accessible. I just went through with them how they retract and extend the shaft, and it's very quick it seems to work really well. It obviously is a feature that takes away a lot of the drag on the boat, so it's a really strong performance feature, and it's going to make the boat quite a lot faster. Which is absolutely a nice feature and in general the boat feels solid. The cockpit this is large, and it has very accessible trimming functions, so I like it.

Would I sail this boat with my family?

I would absolutely do that, I think that this is a fun boat to sail. I think it's quite easy to sail, the layout this is safe and really very accessible, so it's not a complex boat to bring children or bring your family. I have sailed a lot with my kids and my wife so for them this would be a very fun boat to sail with, and I think it has all the room inside it has a really big space inside. Nice bunks both fore and aft and plenty of space really, so this is a use useful boat. A lot of the things you see inside boats today are not used so much but in this boat you have the space where you need it and plenty of storage so no I think this would be a fun boat to bring the family out with.