14 Questions to ... Robert Scheidt - Snipe Class International

Everyone knows who Robert Scheidt is. Certainly one of the best sailors in the history of sailing, an athlete with a very long and impressive list of successes: in the Laser and in the Star Class he participated in 7 editions of the Olympic Games, winning 2 gold medals, 2 silvers and 1 bronze; also he took 13 gold medals, 3 silvers and 1 bronze at different World Championships; 3 gold and 2 silver medals at the Pan American Games … so far! Not to mention the Continental and Brazilian titles.

In the Snipe Class he won the Brazilian junior title in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He recently came back to sail in the Snipe Class with his son Erik as crew and at the Brazilian Nationals in Rio he finished in fourth place, racing in one of the most competitive Snipe fleets (with almost 120 boats) in the world with numerous world champions and Class specialists. The Scheidts are a family of sailors. His wife Gintare won a silver medal for Lithuania at the Olympics and in Snipe she won a Women’s European Championship and took second place at the Women’s Worlds. His son Erik is a talented young sailor in ILCA 4, Wing foil and Snipe. Robert was very recently inducted in the Snipe Class Hall of Fame.

1) Your first time on a sailing boat?

My first time sailing a boat was when I was 5 years old, I was sailing a cabin boat with my father in lake of Guarapiranga, in Sao Paulo.

2) Your first time on a Snipe?

When I was 14 years old and I had just finished my Optimist career, I jumped on a Snipe for the first time.

3) The most bizarre thing that happened in a regatta?

I think it’s something that happens often in the Snipe when the crew puts the pole and hits with elbow the skipper on his face. That’s happened to me already.

4) What is the thing that most angers you in a race/regatta?

Usually If I go to the wrong side of a course and the wind goes all to the other side, it’s probably something that I get very annoyed by. And also nobody likes when somebody tacks on you when you are on a lifted tack and takes your wind.

Lake Guarapiranga
I had many great regattas, but in the Snipe probably it was when I started sailing the boat, when I moved from the Optimist to the Snipe … you move from a small little box boat to a much bigger boat with two sails and a crew.

Erik crewing for his father Robert (photo: Fred Hoffmann).

5) Which is the race/regatta that you remember with the most pleasure?

I had many great regattas, but in the Snipe probably it was when I started sailing the boat, when I moved from the Optimist to the Snipe. Probably those first few local regattas in the lake of Guarapiranga were very fun, because you move from a small little box boat to a much bigger boat with two sails and a crew.

6) And the race/regatta you would like to forget?

Usually the ones that you don’t do so well, but the ones that you don’t do so well are also the ones that you also get a lot of lessons and you learn most. So actually I don’t hate any regatta and there is no regatta that I would like to forget. There were ones that were better and ones that were worst, but all in all I love sailing and I have a great feeling about all the events that I had been through and had enjoyed a lot.

7) Your “dream in the peak”? (Your sailing dream?)

It would probably be to be cruising on a light catamaran in the Caribbean with my family that would be dream.

8) Sailing goals for 2024, and beyond?

I would keep sailing the Snipe, why not?, and also doing some Stars events, some Lasers events and sailing big boats, which is something that I’ve being getting more often in the last 2 years.

Team Brazil at the SSL Gold Cup in Las Palmas. A team full of Snipe sailors with Robert Scheidt as Team Captain and helmsman (photo Gilles Morelle).

9) The most important people for you in sailing and in the Snipe?

For sure my father that was one who got me into sailing. He was very important for the beginning of my sailing career and also when I got older and I started to go into deeper competitions. Also Claudio Biekarck, my coach that has been with me in three Olympic Games with a lot of success.

First Gold Medal in Atlanta (Savannah) 1996

And in the Snipe I would also have to point my father because he was the one who got me the boat, he was the one who crewed for me, he was my first crew that took me to many regattas. And then of course sailing against people like Paulo Santos, Ivan Pimentel and Torben Grael in Brazil, all of them sailing Snipes at the Nationals and I learned a lot just by looking at them and racing against them.

The Snipe has many qualities:
There is the tuning side of the boat which is quite interesting, there is the communication with the crew, the harmony that you have to have with the crew. And also there is the physical part: it is an hard boat to sail when it’s windy and it is a very technical boat when it is light-medium.

10) Why the Snipe?

Well, I think it has many qualities. It is a kind of easy boat to sail, it’s hard work but, I mean, it’s a pleasure to sail the boat because it’s very technical and also physical. So, there is the tuning side of the boat which is quite interesting, there is the communication with the crew, the harmony that you have to have with the crew. And also there is the physical part: it is an hard boat to sail when it’s windy and it is a very technical boat when it is light-medium.

Snipe Sailing in Ilhabela

And also it is a boat that you can sail with family members, you can sail Snipes at any age. You can sail the Snipe from teenager to 85 year old person. So it is a boat that covers a lot of ages and a lot of sailing capabilities.

Robert and Gintare Scheidt (Photo: Luan Coltro)

11) Your perfect sailing venue and your perfect sailing conditions?

I like to sail in Brazil. So in Brazil I love to sail in Ilhabela, it is a great place, you had the Snipe Worlds a few years ago. But I also like to sail in Lake Garda. Porto Cervo in Italy is very good as well. [Note: Robert lives in Torbole, Garda, Italy and in Ilhabela, Sao Paulo, Brazil]

Usually I am a sailor that prefers to sail in fresher winds, so let’s say 15 to 20 knots are my most enjoyable sailing conditions for me. The ones that I can express my qualities better.

12) Besides sailing which other sport do you practice?

When I was younger I used to play a lot of tennis, which I enjoyed a lot and also tennis was an excellent preparation to going to sailing later. And now as part of my fitness program I like to swim and I like to ride my bike.

13) Are you superstitious?

Not a lot, but sometimes, you know, when I start a routine in a regatta, a way of, let’s say, preparing myself to the race and it’s working, I try to keep the routine going for the whole regatta. If I enjoy that certain type of music and it’s working and having good results, I try to repeat those musics. But I am not overly superstitious, just about sometimes clothing, sometimes music. And also the routine that I do during a race day.

14) Your perfect holiday?

Now for sure my perfect holiday would be to go with my family to the sea, to a nice beach, do some scuba diving, sail some wing foiling and just enjoy life outdoors with my two sons and my wife.