After some 15 years of relentless 470 campaigning, Šime Fantela and Igor Marenic finally struck gold at Rio 2016. Their success brought home Croatia’s first ever gold medal in sailing and they were nearly their nation’s first ever sailing medallists, only beaten by Tonci Stipanovic who had claimed Laser silver 24 hours earlier.
Following this, Fantela competed in the Star Sailors League Finals in 2016 finishing 10th, one place behind Stipanovic, but on very much lower points. He and former Croatian Star crew, Antonio Arapovic, were on a steep learning, starting with some deep results but concluding the 11 race Qualifiers, winning three of the final five races. Sadly in the Quarter Finals they were roundly dispatched. As Fantela recounts: “We were sailing really well, but in the Quarter Finals we got kicked out because we were 20-25kg underweight.” With Fantela at his 470 fighting weight of 68kg, Arapovic needed to be closer to 130kg than his 105!
As regards the Star Sailors League, Fantela loves the concept, especially the unique opportunity it provides to line up against ‘the legends’. “It is really nice to sail against all those guys. In real life you won’t have any chance to be on the same race course as people like Lars Grael or Jochen Schümann or Robert Scheidt or all the guys who are there. It’s great to race them. We are in the same boats, the vibe is good and the sailing is perfect - it’s just great.”
Obviously the League might favour Star sailors, but this is increasingly less the case with the Star no long being ‘Olympic’ and many of ‘legends’ getting older. “A Star helmsman needs to be approximate 90kg so that was a bit of a disadvantage, but still I was able to compete against them, and occasionally win.”
While other commitments prevented Fantela from competing in the Star Sailors League Finals in 2017, he very much hopes to be invited back this year. And now he is heavier!
Since spring last year, Fantela has moved across the 49er, now sailing with his brother Mihovil a former Olympic RS:X windsurfer. “The main reason was my physique. After 15 years in the 470 it was getting harder to keep my weight down. Also we won all we could - the Europeans a few times, the Worlds twice and then the Games at the end, which closed the circle. I always wanted to sail different boats and improve my skills and the 49er is good for that. Physically my brother and I are good for the boat and I can race it without any handicap, unlike Igor and I in the 470 – with a small crew and a big helm!”
In the Olympic skiff, Šime is now closer to the optimum 78kg helm weight while his brother is slightly heavier and taller. From Zadar, north up Croatia’s magnificent Dalmatian coast, the Fantela are a sailing family. While their sister doesn’t sail, their father is also part of team, originally coaching but now more managerial and logistics.
The Fantela brothers have a full season ahead in the 49er. Now they are in Vilamoura, Portugal, at a ‘49er camp’ training with many other top international teams. Then it’s Palma in March and Hyeres and Marseille for April, prior to the 49er Europeans in La Rochelle. But like all Olympic sailors, their main event of the year is the Hempel Sailing World Championships Aarhus 2018. World Sailing’s traditional mega-multi championship, two years out from the Games is also, significantly, the first opportunity to nation qualify for Tokyo 2020.
“If the conditions are good and if we sail our best, I feel like we have a small chance to qualify even though we have just started sailing the 49er.”
Rather like Israel and Cyprus, sailing is becoming a major part of Croatia’s Olympic medalling success with 470 gold and Laser silver among just 10 medals and five golds Croatian athletes brought home from Rio in 2016. So does Fantela get recognised when he is walking down the street now? “Sailing is still a small sport, but people do recognise and support us. They are always asking ‘how it is going?’”
His 470 crew Igor Marenić is now coaching, but Fantela says he would love to return to Olympic sailing, but probably not for Tokyo and again, probably in a different class.
So how is it different sailing with a family member now? “Really Igor was family - he moved into my house when we started sailing when he was 15. We are like brothers. With Micho - every person has different characteristics and you have to adapt and be ready to compromise. You need to understand that you will succeed only as a team, so you have to help and support each other and know you are pushing for the same thing. Once you have sorted that out, you are on a good path.”
A year into sailing the 49er, he reckons that they still have much to learn as the high performance skiff has profound differences to the 470. “It is more about boat handling and a less about tactics. In the 470 there are more opportunities upwind and downwind to gain places. In the 49er it is more about choosing good lanes and keeping the boat going fast and straight. We haven’t mastered it yet. Up to 10-15 knots we are okay, with 70-80% good boat handling. In 15+ knots we definitely need more time.” That was best demonsrated at the Sailing World Cup event in Miami in January when they led the 49er class after day two, but subsequently found themselves swimming too often when the wind and the sea state had picked up. “And we had some problems gybing but it was a fun learning curve…”
Of course the 49er goes much, much faster than 470: “And also being stretched out on the trapeze - not sitting and hiking like you do in the 470 is more fun and easier on my back. Also your brain has to work faster to make quick decisions – there’s not too much time to think. The game happens a bit faster than in the 470.”
Still being on the steep part of the learning curve, their gains still are significant. “On the 470s you were pushing for small details, eg speed improvements or luff curve changes. Here you can make big steps, like learning to sail the boat in 20 knots that can get you straight into the top five.”
When he is not Olympic sailing, Šime is tactician on the Wally Nahita. There will be much excitement this year with the Turkish owner taking delivery of a new Wally 93 which they will race on the full Mediterranean circuit for these glamorous high performance modernist cruiser racers, taking in Palma, Porto Cervo and St Tropez.
Fantela’s year he hopes will be rounded off with the Star Sailors League Finals in the Bahamas. He is looking forward to the SSL developing into a regular series of Grand Slam events, culminating in the Finals. “I wish good luck to Michel and the team.”
SSL Press Officer since 2015