Anyone who, like Yrvind, who grew up on the archipelago island of Brännö off the coast of Gothenburg, is still involved with the boats of which he designed and built so many, will sooner or later be caught up in his past. In Yrvind's case, this didn't just happen while he was working on the book, but when he came across one of his old boats on the classifieds market. He is currently bringing it up to the level of his current knowledge.
Top sailing performances
However, this project is just one of many that the Swede has successfully completed in his rich sailing career. Yrvind was the first Swedish single-handed sailor to round Cape Horn, and he did so with an aluminium boat just 5.90 metres long - a "size record" that still stands today. Yrvind was awarded the Seamanship Medal by the British Royal Cruising Club. He invented a recognised mini sextant no bigger than a thumbnail. And his image stands in the American Hall of Fame for single-handed sailors between deceased greats such as Slocum, Chichester, Tabarly and Moitessier.
Ocean-going constructions
Above all, however, the self-taught sailor built numerous miniature ocean-going boats and travelled the world with them. His passion began in 1962 with an extended cruise in the Baltic Sea on a tiny sloop, compared to which the 14-footer (4.25 metres long) "Anna", in which he sailed to England five years later, was large. He put his experience into the self-built "Bris", a fully covered six-metre sailing canoe that was built in his mother's garage on Brännö in 1971. Sven Yrvin, who was still called Sven Lundin at the time, crossed the Atlantic seven times.
Worldwide recognition
Word spread around the world that this was no accident and the Swede and his "Bris" became a prominent and respected curiosity in the ocean sailing scene during this time. In 1976, the aforementioned circumnavigation of Cape Horn took place in the 5.90 metre long "Bris II". In the 1980s, Yrvind constructed numerous microboats and published the cracks. He has not stopped to this day and has travelled the high seas several times with his self-built boats to test them out.
The book "A dyslexic venturesome voyage" contains the full story of all these adventures and, above all, many important insights that can be useful to anyone who is seriously concerned with the seaworthiness of small and large boats.
The book is in English, has 109 pages and contains 70 illustrations. It can be ordered from amazon for 30.20 euros.
