Jörn Grote had imagined his return home differently. It is a late summer's day when he reaches the small Schleswig-Holstein community of Güster and moors up at the jetty of his parents' house. He spent his youth here, right on a branch of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. And this is also where he learnt how to handle the tiller and sheet. His father once said that you could sail out into the wide world from home. Little did Grote know that he would one day come back to Güster from far away - on his own keel!
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When the time came in September 2016, however, his arrival was not made easy. He had just crossed the Atlantic in his "Archangel", a Buccaneer 40, travelled up the Elbe and wanted to steer the trimaran back to his home waters. But the local authorities thought the boat was too big for that. Reason: "A trimaran is designed to sail around the world or cross the Atlantic, but it is not suitable for sailing or mooring on a comparatively small lake." Even going to court does not help Grote. The judges decide: The boat must not remain in the water.
German narrow-mindedness
Jörn Grote did not expect this. Yet it was precisely this restrictive and pedantic approach to bureaucracy that once prompted him to leave Germany. He was away for 28 years, experienced numerous adventures that many only dream of and found a new home in the Caribbean. Now he returned home almost nine years ago for family reasons - and German narrow-mindedness caught up with him. His parents had recently died and he and his siblings had to look after the family home. He also wants to give the boat he bought in 2013 a thorough refit while he is there.
The official decision does not deter him from his endeavour. Without further ado, he literally takes matters into his own hands. With the help of cables and winches, he pulls the trimaran, which weighs several tonnes, is twelve metres long and seven and a half metres wide, ashore. Now that the boat is out of the water, the authorities are satisfied.
Grote tries and dares
That is all history. In the meantime, his parents' house has been sold. And the "Archangel" is moored in a boat shed, a stone's throw away from the Kiel Fjord. Only the refit is not quite finished yet. The hulls shine in a new orange colour, the cabins were first gutted and then rebuilt, and the electrics, engine and sails are also new. However, there is still some remaining work to be done.
When Jörn Grote talks about his dispute with the authorities, he smiles. It's just one of many anecdotes that the 60-year-old has to tell from his eventful life. But it illustrates Grote's go-getter mentality. He tackles things, tries things out and takes risks. He has got through life well so far. And that's exactly how he intends to continue on his upcoming trip around the world. He has certainly gained enough practical experience for this.
In the mid-seventies - Jörn Grote was just twelve years old - he came into contact with sailing for the first time. His father had bought a 420 dinghy for the waters on his doorstep. The junior quickly got involved and made the boat his own. But it would be a few more years before he was fully bitten by the sailing bug. After school, he trained as a photographer. In the early 1980s, he moved to West Berlin. He opened a studio there and repaired old furniture on the side. Being able to handle tools and machines would be an advantage for him.
Sailing time-out ends with a fresh start in the Caribbean
Far from the coast, he is always drawn back to the water. He travelled the Elbe on cutters and went out to sea on the "Falado von Rhodos", a small square-rigged sailing boat. He finally gained his first ocean experience on a trip from Spain to the Netherlands - "and I completely fell in love with sailing". It wasn't long before he sold his Berlin studio. He put the money into his first own boat, an eight-and-a-half metre Miglitsch cruiser. The plan is to take it to the Mediterranean.
A year of sailing is on the agenda. However, friends advise against the Mediterranean: too cold in winter. So why not go to the Canary Islands, he asks himself. Once there, he meets many people who are preparing to cross the Atlantic. So he reconsiders his plans: why not cross the ocean too?
He reaches the Caribbean in 1989. He has just 100 US dollars in his pocket when he arrives, he says. Half of it was lost when he cleared in. So he had to find a job quickly - and it wasn't long in coming. The owner of a ferrocement yacht, a boat made of concrete, is looking for a charter captain. Jörn Grote is the right man for the 13 metre long "Soliloquy". He does not have a driving licence. Nor did he need one, he says. "If you've sailed your boat across the Atlantic, that's enough proof for many people." One test drive and he has the job.
Timber dealer in the Caribbean
But the collaboration is not to last long. A few months later, Hurricane Hugo devastated large parts of the Caribbean and the south-east of the United States. The "Soliloquy" is also hit hard and suffers severe damage. It was so badly damaged that the owner wanted to get rid of it - and so it came into Grote's possession. He takes care of the yacht and makes her fit again. From then on, she is the new home of him and his wife Yasmin Baksh, whom he had previously met in Trinidad.
Soon afterwards, Grote learnt that Burma teak was being grown on large plantations in Trinidad. He recognises his opportunity. While the world market price for teak in the early 1990s was around 15 dollars per square foot, in Trinidad it was only a tenth. Grote loads up his concrete boat and sails to Venezuela: "I was the only carpenter who had the right wood on board." With what he couldn't get rid of, he and his wife sailed on through the Caribbean, selling the leftovers to other boat builders. It is a profitable business.
While he sells the wood, his wife offers jewellery and clothing in the local hotels: "We were a floating boutique, were welcomed on all the islands and had friends everywhere." This went on for two years. From Trinidad to Venezuela, then up the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands. 4,000 nautical miles, always without an engine.
Grote works as a boat builder
In the mid-nineties, the couple's life increasingly moved ashore. They have their first of four children and move first to Tobago, and a little later to Trinidad. At this time, the boating industry on the island was still in its infancy. However, the number of yachts travelling to the island in the south of the Caribbean during the summer months is increasing. Word has got around that Trinidad is safe during the hurricane season.
As the number of sailors increases, so does the need for boat builders. Grote once again recognises the opportunity and founds a repair yard together with a partner. "We did everything," he reports, "rudders, keels, teak decks, fibreglass work and new paintwork." Between 2000 and 2008, around 200 owners commissioned them to work on their boats.
In Trinidad, you can be a boat builder even without formal training, he says. It is precisely this freedom and the joie de vivre of the people that has always fascinated him about the Caribbean. It is not a certificate that is decisive, but the ability to master the work to be done. "Anyone with a talent for manual labour will find a job in the Caribbean," Grote is convinced.
New business segment: boat transfers
In addition to repairs, a new business segment is developing for him: more and more owners who give their boat to Grote also want to have it transferred by him. One of the first is the "Signe". "This 35 metre long, ketch-rigged yacht was my masterpiece," says Grote. In addition to a new coat of paint, the hull is to be decorated with real gold. It is one of the largest ships that he is restoring in Trinidad. The repairs are followed by numerous transfers - within the Caribbean, to the USA, to Europe. One in particular has remained in his memory.
"If you have a talent for manual labour, you can always find a job in the Caribbean without any major problems."
It is mid-December and the "Signe" is due to be moved from New York to Antigua. Soon after departure, the weather deteriorates rapidly. At four o'clock at night it happens: a knock-down, the boat is thrown on its side. At this precise moment, a crew member climbs out of the cabin onto the deck. As the woman is not yet hooked in, she goes overboard. "I just saw her fly past me," says Grote. But she is lucky. With presence of mind, she grabs a rope and can be pulled back on board.
When the boat rights itself again, there is water in the engine room, communications are dead and the Epirb emergency beacon has broken free and triggered an alarm. As a result, the coastguard sends an aeroplane to search for the supposed castaways. However, they only spot drifting equipment that had been washed away when the ship was in the waves. Only when they reach Bermuda can the crew of the "Signe" clear up the mistake. The boat and crew had escaped with a black eye.
Grote wants to travel the world
The shipyard in Trinidad will initially continue to run in parallel with the transfers. Over time, however, it becomes increasingly challenging to coordinate both. In 2008, the decision is therefore made to close it. This left more time for transfer jobs. There are plenty of them, every year Grote brings a yacht to the Caribbean and one or two boats to Europe - sometimes as captain, sometimes as watch leader.
In addition to modern yachts, there are also classics such as the "Thendara", a 35-metre yacht from 1936. 21 transatlantic cruises are his final total: "I love long journeys. Once the work is done and the provisions are stowed away, you can put your mobile phone aside and just sail - what could be better?"
Today, he says, the most important thing about an ocean passage is the preparation: "I've sailed with many captains over the years. The best of them have the least to say." Their ships are so well prepared that they reach their destination without difficulty, he says. "Preparation is everything."
This also applies to the project that he now wants to tackle. The final work is now underway in the Kiel boat hall. Everything has to be finished by the end of July, as the harbour crane will then be repaired for several months. "So time is pressing. We want to set off while the weather is still nice." Then it will be back to the Caribbean in stages, with stopovers with friends and acquaintances, before Jörn Grote and his wife want to venture into the unknown in 2026. The intention is to go to the Pacific via Panama.
He will continue to offer transfers, but there is no more planning yet, he says. "The Pacific is far too big for that." What he and his wife have firmly resolved to do, however, is to "keep sailing around the world."
For long journeys: the Buccaneer 40
The "Archangel" is a Buccaneer 40, designed by Australian Lock Crowther. The trimaran is designed as a fast cruising and family boat for the Pacific. It is considered both seaworthy and fast. The "Archangel" was built in St Vincent in 1981 and Jörn Grote took over the boat in 2013.
- Boat name: Archangel
- Boat type: Buccaneer 40
- Designer: Lock Crowther
- Year of construction: 1981
- Total length: 12,34 m
- Waterline length: 11,43 m
- Width: 8,38 m
- Draught (min./max.): 1,07/1,83 m
- Weight: 4,3 t
- sail area (main & genoa): 99,6 m²
