Portrait: Walter Meier-Kothe is a dealer in advanced sailing dreams

There are sailing heroes in Germany who make a living from marketing their fame. Everyone knows them. And there are sailors who earn their money discreetly in the background of yachting. They are less well known because discretion is part of their business. One of the latter is Walter Meier-Kothe, 80, who has represented the Finnish shipyard Baltic Yachts in German-speaking countries for half a century.

Baltic Yachts has been building high-performance sailing yachts since it was founded 51 years ago. Initially in the ten to 15 metre range and today up to a record-breaking 67 metres in length. It goes without saying that in this business you are not only dealing with big ships, but also with big egos and even bigger dreams.

Walter Meier-Kothe, born in Lodz, Poland, grew up in Bremen. As a teenager, he first explored the world in a folding boat, then as a competitive athlete in an Olympic racing kayak. Alongside his commercial training in his father's haulage company, he won two German championships and began selling high-quality racing kayaks and canoes from Denmark. When his father closed down the business, Walter's side job became his profession.

Having since moved to Hamburg, he shared his training area, the Alster, with the sailors. He rented a dinghy there on a day off from training - and discovered sailing. He learnt quickly. During the 1973 North Sea Week off Helgoland, the canoeing champion was already part of the crew of the Swan 43 "Rebecca". That was a real ocean-going yacht. On the North Sea, he met this daredevil photographer Peter Neumann, who travelled through the sky-high seas in a small motorboat to photograph yachts up close.

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Neumann and his newly founded Yacht Photo Service (YPS) resided in the legendary Hamburg villa at Elbchaussee 189 as a member of a community of wild sailors who were bursting with ideas and were just about to rock the traditional ocean racing scene. Highly unconventional hippies met sporty Hanseatic sailing nobles hungry for success. It was the perfect time to make a career in yachting.

In the founding phase, the ships operated under the name "C&C Yachts"

Walter Meier-Kothe went to the YPS office to get some photos for the owner of the "Rebecca" as a souvenir of his Heligoland cruise. Because the office was located on the elegant Elbchaussee, he wore a blazer and tie. He hadn't seen anything like that in the villa for a long time. It was there that he met two flatmates who would soon make a career for themselves and become his friends and business partners: Rolf Vrolijk, a dinghy sailor from Holland stranded in Hamburg, who won the America's Cup for Switzerland in 2003 and 2007 as the designer of the "Alinghi", and Michael Schmidt, who founded Hanseyachts in 1990 and developed it into one of the largest boat factories in Europe.

As Walter stood in front of the two in his smart tie and collar, Schmidt said in his direct manner: "They've just set up a shipyard in Finland. The way you look, you can sell boats to rich people." Walter thought so too. And so the Baltic Yachts business began.

When Baltic Yachts was founded in 1973, it initially marketed its boats under the name C&C Yachts. This was partly because the Finnish shipyard was still completely unknown and the well-established name C&C was a marketing vehicle. On the other hand, the Cuthbertson & Cassian Design Office, staffed by internationally renowned yacht designers, provided the Finns with revolutionary designs for their start-up, including all documentation right down to parts lists.

Baltic yachts were therefore not only characterised by the best styling right from the start, but also set new standards in boat building with their innovative sandwich technology. The hull and deck were not built using the conventional GRP construction method. The use of fibreglass mats with an optimised structure (unidirectional rovings), which enclosed a core of lightweight balsa wood like a sandwich, enabled a lighter, stiffer and better insulated construction. The sandwich principle has long been standard in the construction of high-quality yachts, albeit with improved materials.

Baltic's first luxury sandwich construction grounded without damage during the test drive

In autumn 1974, the first C&C 46 built by Baltic using this method, "Diva", first appeared at the Hamburg Boat Show and then on the Kiel Fjord. With a length of 14 metres, it was considered a large ship at the time. The Norwegian owner wanted a few kilos of caviar on board for the journey home, which immediately gave Walter an idea of the clientele he would have to deal with from then on.

Baltic's first luxury sandwich construction, which had been critically scrutinised because of its unusual balsa wood core, ran aground during the test drive. No damage. The next season, "Diva" qualified for the Norwegian Admiral's Cup team. Overhauled in Finland in 2023, the C&C 46 is still cruising Norway's fjords half a century after her launch.

With the "Diva", Baltic set an exclamation mark in the yacht scene. It combined comfort with outstanding sailing characteristics at a time when more and more owners were discovering regatta sailing for themselves and the term cruiser/racer was born. The Finns were way ahead of the game.

For an active regatta sailor like Walter Meier-Kothe, that was just fine. His business as a representative of the shipyard took off. At the end of 1974, he visited the shipyard in the Arctic Circle for the first time. A radical 12.60 metre racer, the "Tina I-Punkt", was being built there for the innovative Hamburg-based Thomas Friese. The design of the pitch-black ship - no interior fittings, no deck superstructure, enormous sail area, tiller instead of steering wheel - had been supplied by C&C, but had been modified by Rolf Vrolijk.

1978 Baltic Yachts separates from C&C and appoints Walter as official representative

The first season of this prototype brought "Tina I-Punkt" overall victory in the stormy 500 nautical mile Skagen regatta from Helgoland to Kiel. Baltic utilised the experience gained with the "Tina I-Punkt" and built a series of yachts of the same size but significantly more comfortable, which were offered as the C&C 42. Walter sold - and hardly missed a regatta himself. Together with Schmidt and Vrolijk, they proved that a better-built boat also sails faster.

At the end of 1975, C&C in Canada came up with the idea of expanding the Hamburg branch's turnover by producing its own smaller ships in Germany. Michael Schmidt, Rolf Vrolijk and Walter realised this idea in record time. Together with the well-known Kiel architect Herbert Weidling, a shipyard was built in Kiel-Wellsee.

The first C&C 30 half-tonner sold by Walter, "Lepanto", was launched in the spring of 1977. OK dinghy world champion Thomas Jungblut was brought on board by Walter and started his sailing career. He finished the season as the second-best half-tonner, and Walter managed to sell 30 of these boats in the first year. This corresponded to around a third of the German market in this competitive boat size. At the Hamburg boat show in autumn, Walter then relieved the architect Weidling of a good part of his fee by selling him the first Baltic 39. In 1978, Baltic Yachts parted company with C&C and appointed Walter as the official representative for the German-speaking countries, on a commission basis, as requested. It was the right decision, as Walter confirms: "My job is my hobby. I can sail as much as I want. It doesn't get any better than that."

Walter Meier-Kothe also remained successful as a sailor

What is the secret of his success? "I'm everywhere. Many customers have got to know me as a sailor, as one of them. That creates trust. And vice versa too. I quickly developed a gut feeling for whether a customer is serious and really interested. Above all, I always approached the owners when problems arose and never ducked away. At the end of the nineties, Baltic Yachts withdrew from series yacht building and decided in favour of individual construction. As a result, the projects became more and more complex over time, and people with very different ideas were sitting around the table. My strength is then to moderate and find solutions."

Walter Meier-Kothe also remained successful as a sailor. In 2000, as skipper of the 20-metre Baltic 67 "Uca", he set a record in the Skagen Regatta that still stands today: 43 hours, 46 minutes from Helgoland to Kiel lighthouse. "In Jammer Bay, we overtook a container ship under spinnaker. Top speed in the surf 26 knots," he recalls.

But this is only a small part of his sailing life, which mostly took him to almost all international regatta venues between Hawaii and the Mediterranean on Baltic racing yachts. Walter survived the "death regatta", the Fastnet Race of 1979, unscathed. The Fastnet Race of 1997 was a completely different story: on his fifth participation, he won all classes with his client Hasso Plattner's maxi yacht "Morning Glory".

With his own twelve-metre yacht/Vrolijk "Espada" (swordfish), which he had built at Michael Schmidt's yacht yard in Wedel as a sister ship to the innovative "Düsselboot", he only just missed out on taking part in the Admiral's Cup in 1981. With this boat, he was part of the German team at the 1982 Sardinia's Cup and the Austrian team at the 1983 Admiral's Cup. He still sails on the next "Espada", the Baltic 39 with the construction number 13, which he bought from a former customer.

Friend Hasso Plattner is one of his best customers

As a dealer for advanced sailing dreams, Walter lives with his Swiss-born wife Sabine ("I taught her to sail, she taught me to ski") at the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre, with a panoramic view over the fjord. The man sitting opposite you radiates optimism and trustworthiness with his ever-so-slightly mischievous smile. Clearly, the man has been shaped by a happy childhood and has long since found his centre. Not a bad prerequisite when customers often knock on his door with orders worth tens of millions. And many knocked on his door not just once, but again after a few years.

What do you experience in the mega world? Discretion is a point of honour, but you do find out a thing or two. After all, we're among sailors, so it's okay to have a chat. Here's one of them: his friend Hasso Plattner, who is the same age as Walter, founder of the SAP software company and an experienced regatta sailor, is one of his best customers. In 1988, he asked Walter to get him a second-hand IOR one-tonner, a twelve-metre racing yacht for the big sport. Albert Büll, also a Baltic customer, offered his one-tonner "Saudade". However, it was to cost exactly twice as much as Walter had estimated as an expert. Negotiating was impossible.

Plattner nevertheless agreed to the high price on the condition that Büll invest half of it in the purchase of SAP shares. This was in the year that SAP went public. Both parties were satisfied. Plattner because he got a good one-tonner, which was later successful as "Abab". Büll, because SAP has developed into the most valuable company in the German share index to date.

To this day, the "Visione" is considered a true icon among maxi yachts

It was also Hasso Plattner who, at the turn of the millennium, set out to explore new dimensions in boatbuilding. With Walter as project manager, together with Baltics Håkan Björkström, he commissioned a yacht with a cosy interior that would be compatible with winning the Maxi Rolex World Cup.

In 2002, the "Visione" was finished, an orgy in carbon and titanium, 44.8 metres long, weighing only 105 tonnes, 50 tonnes of which were in the keel. "The deck and rigging equipment had to be customised because of the dimensions. The available halyard swivels for the mast were as big and heavy as railway wagon wheels. I persuaded Peter Harken to finally develop a high-tech solution for these loads. Today it is standard," recalls the project manager. To this day, the "Visione" is considered a true icon among maxi yachts.

Ten years later, the 66 metre long carbon ketch "Hetairos" for the German-Swiss Otto Happel followed, a format that attracts admiring glances wherever it appears with its classic hull and two equally high masts.

In 1996, Walter Meier-Kothe received a call from a lady enquiring about a "larger sailing boat" for her boss. She didn't know how big the boat should be, and she kept a low profile. Walter tried a different approach: "If your boss were to buy a house in Hamburg, where would he want it?" The answer was: "In Blankenese."

That seemed to be serious. The "boss" later turned out to be Hans-Georg Näder, managing partner of the Otto Bock Group in Duderstadt, world market leader in the manufacture of prostheses.

Meier-Kothe sailed around the Mediterranean on the Baltic 50 "Espada" for twelve years

Näder invited Walter and Baltic shipyard manager P. G. Johansson to his 18-metre yacht "Pink Gin" in Porto Cervo to discuss a new build. After the tour, Näder surprised Walter by asking him to take the yacht out of the harbour, set sail and sail a bit on the cross. When this was accomplished without any problems, P. G. was asked to take the helm and moor "Pink Gin" at the buoy in front of the luxury hotel "Romazzino". P. G.'s question as to whether under sail or motor was answered reassuringly with "under motor". Test passed.

"Always keeping your nerve at the right moment," says Walter Meier-Kothe, looking back. The newly acquired customer has ordered three yachts from Baltic Yachts to date, 29 metres, 46 metres and 60 metres long. He also ordered a 17-metre canting keelboat with particularly racy styling. Näder's in-house designer was Rolf Vrolijk, who had long since outgrown the Elbchaussee community.

Hans Georg Näder later provided financial support to the Baltic shipyard, which was owned by the workforce, when - triggered by the financial crisis - the banks were no longer willing to provide advance payment guarantees and two major orders could not be finalised. Today, he holds 80 per cent of the shares. The order situation is excellent.

A reason for Walter to retire at the age of 80 and take it easy with his sailing? But no. For twelve years, he and his wife sailed around the Mediterranean on the Baltic 50 "Espada". He sold this yacht in 2020. What remained was the Baltic 39.

Today, the old lady is moored within sight of the Olympic harbour in Schilksee. He does most of the work on board himself. But professional duty still calls. An owner from Hamburg has just taken delivery of a 24-metre Baltic. He will maintain his contacts at the Maxi Rolex Cup off Sardinia in September, including with the two new customers who will be there with their environmentally optimised 21-metre Baltic 68 Café Racers.

With the "Raven", a 24-metre cruiser-racer on foils, Baltic has opened the door to a new dimension. Who thinks about old age? Walter's mother was still getting her daily newspaper from the newsagent at the age of 104.