It is late in the year, the first night frosts are coming, wild geese are flying south in large flocks and most of the yachts are already in winter storage. But the October sun still warms up to a good 10 degrees, the wind off the small harbour town of Muiden is moderate, maximum 4 Beaufort.
One of the many traditional ship regattas off the Dutch North Sea coast is coming up, and of course Henk Fredt and his crew will be there again with the botter "AM 1". As soon as they cross the starting line, they go into racing mode, apparently they can't help it. On the cross, the three of them hang to windward with all their weight in order to generate a little more righting momentum and gain height.
The visitor is no longer surprised by the change of sails shortly before the finish line when the wind dies down - of course, this is also a matter of course. "Leeward trim!" shouts Fredt after the tack, and immediately they are all on the leeward side. The Botter ploughs through the water at up to six and a half knots.
There is a long and eventful history between the launch of the Botter and the regatta on the North Sea in autumn. Read about it in YACHT 5/2019 - available in the DK Shop. Or you can download the portrait directly via the link below.
Downloads:
Michael Rinck
Redakteur Test & Technik
