Jan Saugmann responded to a few questions upon his successful return from downunder winning the Worlds in Adelaide and enjoying a long holliday in New Zealand. He says a lot about what to do to become a World champion in our class.

Hi Jan , How long have you been sailing the fiveoh together?
Morten and I have been sailing together for about 13 years. Morten have been very patient with me!
What was your previous best results in an international fiveoh event?
We have been in the class for some years now, and have had our moments. Especially the last 4-5 years have been good for us. Amongst other we have had a 4th and a 5th at the Worlds, a 2nd and a 4th at the Europeans and last year we won Kieler woche which also means a lot to us.
I noted your boat is not very recent - how old is your boat? Did you upgrade the boat, especially to accomodate a long board?
The boat was built in 1995, so it is an old lady by now. The centerboard trunk have not been altered, but Larry Tuttle has made a board that fits in the somewhat small trunk. The thwart have been reinforced since we normally sails with quite high rig tension. And the mast hole in the foredeck has been extended backwards, to be able to move the mast step backwards. However it is not as far back as the new boats, which is not possible due to the interior design.
Do you use a specific equipment no one else uses? (Centerboard shape, rudder, mast, sail or any other gear?).
As in the previous question our centerboard is made especially to fit our boat, but it is quite similar to the one Mike Martin used in Warnemunde, just shortened a bit. Our sails is the same as anybody can purchase from BM, however we have been working together with Jacob Bojsen Møller for the last two years to evolve his new designs. Apart from this I guess it is a bit disappointing to see our boat, which is rather ordinary. While sailing, we focus more on things happening outside the boat than inside it.
Is there any particular point you focus on with respect to boat preparation? (hull finish? blades? mast settings? ...?)
To have a boat that does not brake down during the race. In the early days we had to quit races often due to break downs, and that is really a turn off. In regards to trim the only thing we have to decide on shore is the spreader angle, and it is not that often we change that. On the water prior to a race we of course sail some upwind to set all the trim right. Normally we do not test speed against others, only if somebody asks if we will. We just set the trim as we know from training it should be, and then take it from there.
I believe you are very involved in sail development in Danemark - can you tell us some more about your role in this?
Two years back, when Jacob BM started to use a new sailcloth, he reinvented the shape of his mainsail. He came up with two different shapes. One fuller than the other. We have been sailing with the fuller main since. I feel that it is very versatile, since it gives you all the power you need in the mid range wind conditions and while flattening it in heavy wind the shape is controlable with the ram. So the shape has not been changed for the main during this period. The new carbon jib is under way. We used it during the whole Worlds in Hayling Island and brought a new test jib to Adelaide where we used it for the first three races. We came to the conclusion that the shape of the foot did not give enough support to the rather soft cloth, and that ruined the shape of the bottom of the sail. This will be fixed.
In regards to the spinnaker Jacob made a very full design last year, which turned out to be fast on the dead run, but struggled on the tight reaches. The spinnaker that we used for these Worlds has been flattened where the radial bottom meets the horizontal panels. This seems to be working extremely well.
What do you believe made all the difference in this particular race? Was it boat speed upwind? Good allround performance for consistent results? Good tactics? Anything else?
Our speed upwind was compatible to the other top teams. We made conservative starts neither first nor last in the gate), since we knew that if we would be in the top 20 round the first mark. Our downwind speed would bring us close to top 5 at the bottom. We have also improved our "fleet management", to position us right according to the fleet. We have also over the years worked out who do what and who takes which decisions, so that things like tactics do not end up in a democratic process.
Did you do any particular preparation this year to win the title? How much did you put into sailing lately?
We have been very active in the gym, to improve both physical strength and get in the best shape possible. Jacob BM has been kind enough to lend us his boat during the winter, so we have been on the water even though our boat was underway to Australia.
If you would give some advice to a young talented team, what would it be?
The 505 is a very complex boat to sail due to all the trim possibilities etc. It is also very physical to sail and the actual speed difference is not as big as for instance the 49er, which makes the tactics more important compared to skiff sailing. I feel that because of all this attributes, the 505 gives the crew to improve in so many different ways, so the only way to succeed is practice all this aspects and just keep going, even if there is both ups and downs on the way.
Let's speak a little about the future of the boat and the class. What do you believe should be done to the boat in the coming years? And why should we do it?
In my perspective the concept of 505 sailing should satisfy everyone. The problem is more to promote the class. I know that people sailing different classes all feel that their class is the one that everybody else should convert to, and every class do what they can to promote that class. In my point of view the ISAF should cut the number of classes that could have ISAF World Championships. Because so many classes have their own World Championship it gives a lot of "noise" and discussion which class is more prestigious etc. I feel strongly about the 505, however if cutting the number of classes meant that the 505 would die, so be it. But I would do anything to secure that the 505 would be one of the remaining classes. Also there is this discussion about making the 505 measurement rules more strict to make it cheaper. I really don't know, some of the sailors say that they are in the class because it gives them the opportunity to design stuff, others would like to see it more one design. In any case, it is the decisions made on the water that count. The boat that Morten and I sail is pretty standard with no really sophisticated solutions. We just want to sail and compete.
Anything you would like to say?
I am extremely happy to finally have won this Championship. There is a lot of really good sailors in this class and that makes it that much more enjoyable to take the title. I hope to be able to defend the title in 2008. We will certainly do our best to do so.
Many thanks for your involvment with the class, for your responses and "bravo" for your great win.

Jean-Baptiste