STUHLEMMER Alica

General
DIFFICULT TIMES FOR TEAMMATE
In 2017 her crewmate Paul Kohlhoff suffered a cerebral haemorrhage during a training camp in Majorca, Spain, and needed a life-saving operation followed by a lengthy stay in hospital on the island. The pair could not sail for several months during this time. "We are a strong team, so not for a second did I think of finding another sailing partner. Paul was in hospital in Majorca for a long time. [But it] brought us closer together as a team in many areas, because of the desire to be successful and to sail and train together." (rtl.de, 26 Aug 2019, Vison Gold youtube.com channel, 31 Oct 2019)

SHARK ENCOUNTER
During a training camp in Japan in 2019 her Nacra-17 boat crashed into a shark, leaving the boat with minor damage. "We were sailing downwind at a speed of about 40 to 50 km/h. We suddenly saw a huge animal in front of us. We saw the fin out of the water and Paul immediately made an evasive manoeuvre to avoid it. But we crashed into it and came to an instant standstill. At first I thought it was a tree trunk, but then I saw there was something swimming in the water. It soon became apparent what it was as several coaches had seen sharks in the water and there are also pictures with sharks and sailors. So it was clear that it could actually only have been a shark, because for a dolphin it was definitely not elegant enough." (rtl.de, 26 Aug 2019)