In an interview with YACHT a few years ago, Lore Haack-Vörsmann replied to the question of why she was drawn to faraway places from time to time in her life: "Life is so short, who knows what will happen in the next few years. By then, I'll have already discovered the world."
At the time, she could not have imagined that the world has now been plagued by a pandemic for almost two years, which is not only accompanied by all kinds of contact restrictions and event bans. It has also thwarted the travel plans of many people.
And perhaps it is also the case with Haack-Vörsmann, who is now 67, that she has found time for other things, not least because she has already seen so much of the world. Time, for example, to lead the largest association of long-distance sailors in this country into the next few years.
At yesterday's Trans-Ocean meeting in Cuxhaven, she stood for election as TO Chair - and was unanimously elected by the association members present.
The association had most recently been led on an interim basis by Deputy Chairman Egon Lutomsky and the other members of the Executive Board. The previous Chairman, Peter Wiedekamm, who succeeded Martin Birkhoff in autumn 2019, had unexpectedly announced his resignation after less than a year in office - without giving any reasons. Since then, the top position at TO has been vacant.
With Lore Haack-Vörsmann, a woman is now at the helm for the first time in Trans Ocean's history. And one who knows about long-distance sailing like few others in Germany. There are well over 250,000 nautical miles in her wake. She has completed most of them on her own keel, but countless others as a co-sailor on windjammers or on board other yachts with which she has travelled to the high latitudes.
Haack-Vörsmann has been sailing since she was a child. "I learnt to sail at the age of six in an Opti on a bog pond near Walsrode," she said in the aforementioned interview with YACHT. Later, the family travelled to Lake Plön at weekends, where the children were allowed to explore the waters on a daggerboard. A few years later, they travelled on their parents' Vilm on their first major cruises. "Norway, the Shetlands, Scotland - everything was open to us."
As an adult, the windjammers did it for her. She explored the tropics and the Arctic regions on various ships. It was not until the age of 52 that Haack-Vörsmann became the owner of a robust, twelve-metre-long, eight-tonne ship herself, a Vilm 2, with which she mostly sailed north as a single-handed sailor from then on. In between, however, she also goes sailing with her husband and children.
And now she is to lead Trans Ocean into the future. She is looking forward to the new task, said Lore Haack-Vörsmann after her election. She reveals exactly what lies ahead of her and how she intends to make the organisation fit for the future in an interview to be published in the upcoming YACHT 1/2022.
TO Prize for Herrmann, TO Award for "Reeds" authors
In addition to the new chairwoman, there was more to celebrate in the evening during the festive event following the general meeting. First and foremost Boris Herrmann. The German sailing professional, who had been supported by Trans Ocean from a very young age, was delighted to receive the Trans Ocean Award. This is the highest honour that the association awards annually to sailors who have achieved outstanding results. Herrmann was honoured for his brilliant performance in the recent Vendée Globe.
Herrmann, who was unable to be in Cuxhaven himself but delivered a video message, was delighted with the honour. The association, of which he is a member, should definitely maintain its support for ocean sailing, he said. He was honoured by his long-time friend Dirk Mennewisch. He said: "I admire the stoic calm and composure with which Boris sails in conditions that I find unbearably tough." Mennewisch had once completed a transatlantic cruise on a racer together with Herrmann.
Marcel Dolega and Joanna Barck received the Trans-Ocean Medal for very special voyages. The couple set off on a long voyage with their Koopmans 40 "Chulugi" in 2014. Their journey initially took them from the Mediterranean via the Cape Verde Islands to Gambia. From there, they travelled across the Atlantic to South America and then back to South Africa a few years later. The pair travelled northwards along the east coast of Africa to Kenya and finally crossed over to India. As the coronavirus crisis prevented them from travelling on to Thailand and Indonesia, the pair eventually returned to the Mediterranean through the Red Sea. Although they did not sail around the world, they did complete a full circumnavigation of Africa.
The Trans-Ocean Award, which is presented for exceptional achievements outside of travelling or regattas, went to Mark Fishwick and Perrin Towler this year. The two are the authors of the "Reeds Nautical Almanac". The standard nautical work for every sailor travelling the waters around Northern Europe will be 90 years old next year; it is regularly updated and supplemented. Trans-Ocean member Bert Frisch said in his tribute to the author duo: "None of us would think of setting sail without the 'Reeds'. We call it the 'blue wonder'."
Katrina Westphal, skipper of the "Störtebeker" of the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt, was honoured with the pewter cup for achievements in regattas at the festive evening. She and her crew successfully took part in the Rolex Fastnet Race this year (see YACHT 19/2021). She reviewed the Fastnet Race for the TO members present in Cuxhaven and those watching via video transmission from all over the world.
The voyages of two single-handed sailors had already been honoured with the World Sailing Award the previous year, but the presentation could only take place now: Sebastian Groth had sailed around the world for three years on a Beneteau First 35, Andreas Dohmeier for eight years on a Hanseat Commodore 42.
Overall, the jury awarded significantly fewer prizes this year than in the past. This was due to the global coronavirus pandemic, which prevented many crews from completing their voyages in 2021.
Finally, Bert Frisch presented a new TO initiative: the Catch of the Day. This is a rubbish collection campaign. Inspired by examples from other countries, he called on sailors to get a landing net and fish rubbish out of the water at least once a day - even if this is only a small contribution to protecting the environment and the sea in particular.
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Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
