A classic: The Plunder boats are moored in Bregenz!

Pascal Schürmann

· 18.06.2026

1923: Three Austrians in the middle of the Great Pond – Franz Plunder at the tiller, Josef Einsle on the left, Fred Jochum on the right, photographed by their German sailing companion Josef Ledergerber

Plunder was built under the supervision of Germanischer Lloyd ‘to the highest standard’

In the boatyard at Bodenseewerft Hard, the 14-metre-long hull is being built to a design created by the owner, Franz Plunder

Launch on 1 April 1923 in Hard on Lake Constance, attended by more than 10,000 onlookers

The ‘Sowitasgoht’ in early July 1923 in the port of Neumühlen, prior to its departure from Hamburg

8 Images

Photo: Vorarlberg Museum

In 1923, designer Franz Plunder sailed across the Atlantic on the “Sowitasgoht V”

With the exhibition ‘The Atlantic Dream’, the Vorarlberg Museum has been dedicating a comprehensive exhibition to the Bregenz-based boatbuilder, sculptor and adventurer Franz Plunder (1891–1974) since April 2025. Over a hundred years ago, he caused an international sensation with a spectacular Atlantic crossing in a sailing boat he had built himself. Two of his sailing boats can be admired up close in Bregenz this weekend.

At Marina Bregenz, between Dampferhafen and Pipeline, the “Sowitasgoht VII”, built in 1937, is moored, along with another “Sowitasgoht” which was built in the 1960s to Plunder’s designs. The boats will be open to visitors on Friday 19 June at 3.00 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday at 11.00 am and 3.00 pm. The owners will be on hand to chat and answer any questions.

Eye-catchers: Plunder boats and the 8mR Class World Championships in Bregenz

At the same time, Bregenz is hosting a number of other vessels this weekend, some of which are historic. The 8-metre yacht World Championship gets underway on Monday at the Bregenz Yacht Club. Several of the participating boats are over a hundred years old and will be on display on Sunday in and around Bregenz harbour, where the official opening of the World Championship will also take place at 4.00 pm.

Among the participating yachts is a vessel that was refitted by Franz Plunder in the 1930s: the “Elfe II” from the Lindau Sailing Club.

YACHT article about the designer Franz Plunder and his adventurous Atlantic crossing

A week later, from Thursday to Saturday, another highlight follows in the form of the ‘Porcupine II’. This elegant two-masted ship was built in Bremen in 1934 based on Plunder’s designs. It is one of the most impressive examples of his work still in existence today.

The display of the ships complements the exhibition on Franz Plunder’s life’s work at the Vorarlberg Museum in a special way: what is recounted there through photographs, models, drawings and documents can be experienced first-hand in the harbour.

The exhibition ‘The Atlantic Dream: Franz Plunder – Boatbuilder, Sculptor, Adventurer’ runs until 6 January 2027. The next guided tour of the exhibition will take place on Sunday 12 July.

Pascal Schürmann

Editor YACHT

Pascal Schürmann joined YACHT in Hamburg in 2001. As head of copywriting and head of the editorial team, he makes sure that all articles make it into the magazine on time and that they are both informative and entertaining to read. He was born in the Bergisches Land region near Cologne. He learned how to handle the tiller and sheet as a teenager in a touring dinghy on the Sneeker Meer and on a tall ship on the IJsselmeer. During and after his studies, he sailed on the Baltic Sea and in the Mediterranean. As a trained business journalist, he is also responsible for boat financing and yacht insurance reports at YACHT, but also has a soft spot for blue water topics.

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A classic: The Plunder boats are moored in Bregenz!

Eye-catchers: Plunder boats and the 8mR Class World Championships in Bregenz

Pascal Schürmann

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