He has experienced many adventures. Between 1977 and 1987, the now 79-year-old sailed around the world on the self-built catamaran "Shangri-La". In 1991 and 1992, he crossed the North Atlantic to New York in an authentic Viking boat and in 1998, he sailed across the Pacific in an open boat in the footsteps of Captain Bligh. Most recently, he cruised the Pacific with his Proa "Ana-Varu".
However, it is not for his great adventures that the man from Lübeck has now been awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, but for his social commitment to disadvantaged young people. Since 2006, Burghard Pieske, who studied nautical engineering and education, has been taking part in the "Youth in Action" project. Euro-Viking " and under the motto "Sailing instead of boozing. Rowing instead of brawling", he takes young people on board his Viking boats to retrace the ancient routes of the Vikings throughout Europe. The participants are pushed to their limits - and often beyond. For many of the young people, the project is the turning point in their lives that they absolutely had to experience. Many of the participants then manage to find a job or obtain a school-leaving certificate.
"My lonely Pacific crossing, all my expeditions are a kind of self-discovery, perhaps self-expression, in any case all very much centred on me, absolutely useless for society," said Pieske last year in an interview with the family weekly "Der Reporter", "but something has developed from this life of adventure that now reaches further. I try to extract the lessons I learnt from my life at sea and put them into this youth project. I see Euro-Viking as my life's work."
The official award ceremony is scheduled for 23 January 2024.
