On the wings of the wind

The Funke family’s long sailing tradition started with a plank and a broomstick in Gauteng and three generations later, they finished in the top ten in the recent 505 worlds competition.

“When my grandfather, Wolfgang Funke, left Germany to come to South Africa, he wanted to build a boat and sail, although his first attempt sank,” explained passionate sailor and Ballito resident, Thomas Funke.

Once he built a boat that could stay afloat, he started sailing with his son, Bernhard, who in turn taught his sons, Peter and Thomas.

“My dad took us sailing when we were still in nappies, occasionally forgetting to change them, and so we grew up on boats at Hartbeespoort Dam,” said Thomas, who has a doctorate in agricultural economics.

The brothers found their true love in the two-man, high performance, super quick 505 dinghy and have been hugely involved in the class, importing boats and trying to grow the sport they enjoy so much.

“Sailing is a lifestyle and a skill that takes a lot of time to learn and thanks to the fantastic versatility of the 505 as far as weight range of the crew and wind range goes, it is a boat that can be enjoyed by anyone,”

The Funkes, who have won four national titles, generally meet at Sterkfontein Dam in the Free State for training, as Peter lives in Gauteng, which means a lot of travelling in their little free time.

The training and travelling pays off when the brothers elegantly soar through the water, while hiking over the edge or on the trapeze wire on their newly acquired, ultra modern carbon boat.

“The stress of a boat and the financial and personal commitment of sailing is something that we have been able to handle well, because we are a strong team and we are family, so we are stuck with each other,” he said with a chuckle.

They have competed in six worlds competitions so far, with the one in Kiel, Germany last year being particularly tough.

“It blew like hell, with the average wind speed at about 25 knots and although it was summer, it was never more than 18 degrees Celsius for the whole regatta,” he said.

Staying in cold water, the 60th SAP 505 World Championship took place from March 23 to April 3 in Port Elizabeth and the brothers played a major role in organizing the successful event.

“It was an excellent event, the best Worlds we have had in South Africa, which created a great sailing platform for the future and will encourage more sailors to come to our country, ” he said.

Their sailing was also outstanding and they managed to finish eighth overall and were the top South African team.

In true Funke tradition, Thomas will be taking his two-year-old son out for his first sail soon, so that he too can find his sea legs.