The Great Bodstedt Zeesboot Regatta. A particularly long Zeesboot, named after the goddess of luck and fate in Roman mythology, is moored on the quay wall of the traditional harbour on the southern shore of Bodstedter Bodden. "Fortuna's" hull has a pretty deck crack and stands out from the widespread piano lacquer look with its rustic black paintwork.
"In the past, wooden boats were treated with varnish. If the hull became grey and unsightly over time, black or grey paint was applied," explains owner Uwe Grünberg. The man knows his way around Zee boats and favours authenticity with his.
The nutshell-shaped, flat boats owe their name to the sack-shaped trawls they used to fish with. In what is known as drifting scallop fishing, the wooden boats drifted across the wind with the centreboard raised and the sails set back. During the drift, the centreboard was dragged across the bottom on the windward side. Long drift booms at the bow and stern of the boats held up the net, to which buoyancy bodies were attached to the top and weights to the bottom.
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Grünberg and the love of the Zeesboot
The "Old Lady", which experts date back to 1876, is the oldest preserved Zeesboot. She is now in Bodstedt, as is "Rerik". The largely original boat belonged to fisherman Reinhard Techel from Rerik am Salzhaff. Techel continued to use it occasionally until 1990. He then also stopped renewing his licence. By the end of the 1970s, the age-old fishing trade had already died out, with a few exceptions such as Techel. Some of the well-sailing fishing boats had therefore long been used as leisure boats by 1990. After German reunification, the fishing production cooperatives (FPG) of the GDR were dissolved and additional zeesboats from the fishing industry were replaced by more modern boats. As a result, the fleet of privately used traditional boats continued to grow.
It was at this time that the Zeesboote also entered Uwe Grünberg's life. Born in Thuringia in 1967, he was already fascinated by the smell of sea air, fish, impregnated wood, seaweed and tar when he visited the Baltic Sea as a child. He had a burning interest in fishing and the wooden boats used for it. Grünberg came to Rostock in 1986 to serve as a radio operator in the navy. He fell in love with Heike from Stralsund and became completely attached to the coast. The couple now live in the Rostock region. Uwe Grünberg, who works in mobile communications planning, discovered the Pomeranian Bodden landscape and its typical boats for himself. "The boats, whose hulls are made of natural wood and whose sails used to be made of cotton, fit perfectly into this landscape."
On the island of Hiddensee, he comes across the book "Zeesboote - Fischersegler zwischen Strom und Haff" by Hermann Winkler - the standard work on Zeesboote. But why is the list of boats still in existence not complete? Is it not possible to find more information and historical photos of the boats, some of which are well over a hundred years old? Grünberg's passion for collecting has been ignited.
Of course, it doesn't take long for him to get to know the Rammin Zeesboot family from Bodstedt. Nils Rammin, a master boat builder and owner of the Rammin wooden boatyard in Barth, has been collecting data on Zeesboats since his childhood. Grünberg and Rammin are now working together to secure the material that is still available. "We have to write down the interesting stories of the fishermen who still actively fished with Zeesboots under sail before they all die out." Grünberg conducts interviews, sifts through archives, writes texts. And in 2005 he set up his homepage www.braune-segel.de online.
Zeesboote has long since become his main hobby. "Hardly a day goes by without me doing or thinking something to do with Zeesboats." Understandably, the desire to own one himself also grows. "But I had no idea about sailing. I thought you pull up the sail and then you just have to steer." The Zeesboot fan first obtains a recreational boating licence and is then allowed to use one of Nils Rammin's boats for practice. Before that, he took part in regattas as a "sword monkey" and learnt as much as possible from experienced sailors. To date, he has only sailed on Zees boats.
Theory becomes practice
Friends and acquaintances, many of whom have been sailing Zeesboats for decades, keep coming on board during the lively pre-regatta hustle and bustle in Bodstedt. Grünberg asks again whether the gaff shoe fits properly or what an old fisherman thinks of the way he guides the jib sheets. "On a Zeesboot, by the way, you never get a head slap," reveals the "Fortuna" owner with a grin. "If you do it anyway, for example with the mainsheet, it won't be long before an older Zees boat sailor smacks you behind the ears."
The praise for the braune-segel homepage that can be heard from time to time is far friendlier. It has long been the most comprehensive source of information on Zeesboats. The centrepiece of the website is the official class register of the Zeesbootvereinigung in Bodstedt, of which Grünberg is a member of the board. From 1977 to the present day, a total of 111 FZ numbers have been issued to Zeesboote boats that comply with the class regulations. For each registered boat from FZ 1 "Old Lady" to FZ 111 "Lisette" there is a "registration card" on the homepage with all available boat data, information on the history and the state of construction and preservation of the boat as well as current and historical pictures.
But how did Uwe Grünberg get his "Fortuna"? In 2012 - once again - the phone rang. Not a week goes by without questions about his Zeesboot archive. This time it's the trainee from a Flensburg club. "We're looking for a successor for a former Pomeranian Zeesboot. The maintenance and upkeep costs for the boat, which is in need of repair, are becoming too high for us." The formalities, such as a notarised contract, will take until October 2013, when "Fortuna" will be transported to the Rammin shipyard in Barth on a low-loader. This was followed by the necessary general overhaul of the boat, which swallowed up all of the Grünberg couple's savings. "It was the first time in our relationship that we pulled off a project that we weren't both equally behind. I'm very grateful to Heike for that," says Grünberg.
Zeesboot regattas
In 1965, the young Ekkehard Rammin managed to persuade eight fishermen to take part in a race with their fishing boats on the Bodden. Fisherman Helmut Lange from Pruchten won with his PRU. 3 (today FZ 71). A total of 44 boats in the large, medium and small classes took part in the 53rd edition in 2017. The oldest regatta in the series, which now comprises six races, has long been a tourist highlight in the region.
The Zeesboot regatta race always starts on Saturdays at 1 pm. Friday and Sunday are reserved for the arrival and departure of the regatta participants. After the award ceremony for the three boat classes on Saturday evening between 6 and 7 pm, there will be a public celebration.
Drift line fishing
Experimental fishing takes place every year on the second weekend in September. The "Verein der Zeesner" organises this on the Saaler Bodden for the purpose of preserving tradition. The Zees boats "Paula", "Sannert", "Richard D." and "Bernstein" are used to demonstrate the traditional fishing technique that has been practised on the lagoon and Bodden for centuries. The Zeesboot drifts crosswise before the wind and drags the bottom trawl (the Zeese) on the windward side. Interested parties can take a ride on the boats.
The last surviving hull of a flounder boat built without an engine
From October 2013 to September 2014, the new owner spends every free minute at the shipyard. He spent around 1000 hours working on his boat himself, getting to know every last corner of it. One of the former owners, the now 85-year-old fisherman Erwin Kagelmacher, gives him a good tip: "You have to build up a relationship with a boat like this, you have to talk to it and stroke it with your hand. It doesn't necessarily have to be seen by anyone."
The concrete ballast is removed, the 12.60 metre long hull is completely overhauled and preserved. The sternpost is renewed and 26.50 metres of planks on the stern are replaced. The deck and hull are sealed, a new engine foundation is built and the engine and shaft system are renewed. "Fortuna" is given a new centreboard box and her existing aft loose keel is removed. The rudder and rudder suspension are rebuilt, the sail beam is reconstructed and the typical Pomeranian ketch rigging is rigged.
When "Fortuna" takes part in the 50th Great Bodstedt Zeesboot Regatta in September 2014, the Grünberg couple are at their financial limit and Uwe Grünberg is physically burnt out. "But I've never regretted the purchase." "Fortuna" is not just any old Zees boat. It is the last surviving hull of a flounder boat built without an engine. After 1900, these seaworthy fishing sailboats, supposedly the largest on the Pomeranian coast, used trawl boards to pull the Zees net over the bottom. In contrast to the Bodden boats, the flounder boats also had a different design and only one mast. Gaff mainsails, gaff topsails, staysails and sometimes also a jib were used. They were also built on a keel sole with a centreboard and covered up to the mast. But they had a raised hull, a larger fish hold and were fitted with a bulwark.
From fishing boat to TV cutter
Daring fishermen sailed it across the open Baltic Sea to catch flounders in the Danish Grönsund. "Fortuna" was built in 1910 at the Jarling boatyard in Freest. In 1945, the owner at the time, fisherman Robert Röber, abandoned his flounder boat in a canal and only sold it to fisherman Erwin Kagelmacher in 1952 for the proud price of 2,000 marks. He converted the hull into a much more robust fully decked motor cutter.
From 1955, Erwin Kagelmacher fished with his cutter (with the fishing mark STR. 6), initially on his own account in the Baltic Sea, off the Darß and Hiddensee. He then had to join the fishing production co-operative. This was one reason for Kagelmacher to flee the GDR. On 6 September 1960, he called at Burg auf Fehmarn due to alleged engine problems and stayed in the West. As the load capacity and motorisation were too small for sea fishing, the boat was decommissioned in 1961. The end of the flounder boat's fishing history.
From then on, the motor cutter with cabin superstructure was used as a pleasure craft, a residential vessel and for deep-sea fishing trips. After several changes of ownership and conversions, the now red hull moved from Tönning to the museum harbour in Flensburg in 1986. The time in Tönning is still a "big black hole" in Grünberg's archive, for which he is looking for information or photos. The hull was gutted, preserved and initially stored in Flensburg. From 1997 to 2007, the Flensburg museum shipyard reconstructed "Fortuna". In 2007 and 2008, the vehicle was completed at the museum shipyard as part of a TV project for the children's channel KI.KA and handed over to the Kinder- und Jugendhilfe Verbund GmbH Kiel, which found Uwe Grünberg as its successor.
Every Zeesboot is unique
On board his flounder boat, Grünberg now invites you into the small forward cabin, known as the Vorünner. Two simple berths, a small wood-burning stove. That's all there is to it. This is where the skipper and his mate lived during the fishing trips, which lasted up to eight days. Nowadays, the Grünberg couple stretch a cake stand over the gaff during holiday cruises in the harbour. The spacious cockpit considerably supplements the very limited living space below deck. The centreboard box with the light wooden centreboard sits in the centre of the cockpit. The front and rear sail beams hold the masts. On both sides, forecastle boxes made of plastic panels with wooden lids provide storage space.
Bangkirai planks lie in the cockpit. "A fisherman would certainly have taken the wood if he had been given it back then," Grünberg is certain. He lifts one of the floorboards. Underneath are 1.4 tonnes of interior ballast in the form of old, cut-up gravestones, which fellow sailor and stonemason Holger Waack has contributed. "If only some superstitious fishermen knew that." The optimum floating position of a Zees boat with little lateral surface area is achieved by ballast. This is all the more important as the water-filled fish boxes have been removed from the boats and lighter engines have been installed. On many boats, an additional steel sole was fitted under the bottom keel as compensation, which also provides protection in the event of grounding.
"The boat has to have its bum deep in the water to increase the lateral plan. Then it sails better on the wind," explains Grünberg. His crew for the regatta, which isn't really seen as a tough race, has arrived on board. The 44 Zees boats starting today reflect the diversity of the fishing sailors. The working boats were constantly subjected to technical changes and innovations in order to remain competitive and seaworthy. For this reason, none of the vessels built during the Zeesen fishing era are still in their original condition. Furthermore, each Zeesen boat is unique. Some have been largely restored to their original condition. Others have been raised by one to three planks and converted into more comfortable cruising boats with deck superstructures that more or less harmonise with their appearance.
Active preservation of the fishing boats in Bodstedt
There are boats with a clipper stem, round stern and kraweel planking. Others are clinker-built, have a pointed stern and convex stem. The typical wide hull shape and the traditional rig of the ketch remain unchanged. This means that the boats still have a uniform appearance at one of the regattas.
On this day, the "Fortuna" only managed 20th place out of 26 boats in the large class. Nevertheless, Uwe Grünberg's plan to have fun and gain further experience in handling his boat works. Satisfied after crossing the finish line, he heads back to Bodstedt harbour - his home port. "Other harbours would be quicker for me to reach. But this is where the active preservation of the former fishing sailors and regatta sailing began in the 1960s. That's why I really wanted to stay in the traditional harbour of Bodstedt."
Nils Rammin is currently planning a fishing museum at the harbour. The Zeesboot scene places great value on the fishing tradition. Or as Uwe Grünberg puts it: "For me, having a Zeesboot is not a status symbol, but a responsibility. I am responsible for preserving this boat as part of fishing history for the next generation."
Technical data
- Shipyard: Jarling shipyard Freest
- Year of construction: 1910, general overhaul 2013/14
- Hull: pointed batten, convex stem
- Panelling: clinkered oak
- Hull length over stem: 12.60 m
- Overall length: 17.00 m
- Hull width over rubbing strakes: 4.20 m
- Draught (without/with centreboard): 0.90 m / 2.00 m
- Displacement: approx. 13 tonnes (plus 1.4 tonnes internal ballast)
- Rigging: Ketch
- Sail area: approx. 110.00 m²
- Engine: 4 cylinder Perkins 4.236 (84 hp)
This article first appeared in YACHT 18/2018 and has been updated for this online version.
