View Post

Sailing Swede 41 Classic

September 21 Richard Natmeßnig invites me for an afternoon aboard his Swede 41 Classic named Sleipnir. Having spent three unforgettable hours at the tiller of his boat on Fehmarnsund, I warn you straight away: Never sail this one. Not due to heel or for being so close to the sea. But the experience is addicting. It spoils you for the …

View Post

Which spar is it?

An S30 sailor wants a jockey pole for his cruising square metre boat for spinnaker sailing at closer angles. Together with matching eye plates to hang on the side of the mast this is no big deal. The boom and fittings are requested from the leading mast builder Seldén via the Hamburg agent Herman Gotthardt. Seldén probably supplied the rigging …

View Post

Uffa Fox

In spring of 1930, the 22-square-metre skerrycruiser or classy Skärgårdskryssare Vigilant sits nearly ready on a ramp on the Medina River of the Isle Of Wight in the south of England. Apart from the lead keel, the rudder and the rigging, the boat is finished. It was designed by the famous sailor and yard owner Uffa Fox (pictured right). It …

View Post

S30 cruising square metre boat Chichester

Swede 55 has two smaller sisters, the Jubilee S40 and S30 cruising variants of the classy square metre boat. Here is an opportunity to buy a well-kept and well-equipped S30. Comprehensive sailing wardrobe with several light wind sails for Lake Constance. Dark blue hull with teak deck. Extensive refit by reputable Lake Constance yard in 2003: superstructure painted white, teak …

View Post

Buying a new mainsail

It towers 18 metres into the blue and is ten percent bigger than the previous mainsail by Swiss sailmaker VM Sails, which came with a short foot luff in the nineties. Five battens, two of them continuous at the top, stabilise the cloth. In fall before, sailmaker Arnd Deutsch and I had discussed a special sailcloth and other details. It …

View Post

Battle with a Twelve

Until this proudly remembered Friday end of May 2019, one thing is clear aboard Gamle Swede: we will meet a Twelve metre class only at the start of the race. Then this 22 metre upwind sailing machine, powered by 240 square metres, is gone. No reasonable sailor will take that pack with dull presumption, so we prepare with due realism …

View Post

The adventure of buying a new sail

Does a post about buying a single sail, a new jib make sense? I think so, as sailing Swede 55 is mostly about upwind pleasure. And for a long time I sailed Gamle Swede with an old, worn out and to small jib. Believe it or not: It was made by Canon/Västervik in 1979. For that long you can use …