Text by Anette Bengelsdorf
Cast-off requires a delicate touch and plenty of helping hands. At just under 19 metres in length, this yacht is too large even for the largest marina on Lake Constance. At the jetty, the bow and stern protrude a metre beyond the piles. But the manoeuvre goes off without a hitch. Silently, the electric motor pushes the slender beauty out onto the lake, where a cool breeze ripples the water.
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Hoisting the mainsail now requires some muscle. With a luff length of 17.5 metres, this can only be achieved through teamwork. After all, the yacht is equipped with only the bare essentials in terms of technology. It is intended to be a teacher. A teacher of seamanship. Only the genoa has been fitted with a furling system; its drum is hidden below deck. No sooner is the sail unfurled than the yacht shows what it is capable of, cutting through the water at six knots.
The rediscovery of a classic wooden racing car
This racing yacht dates back to a time when yachts were built from wood and designers took aesthetics into account alongside building regulations and speed potential.
This beauty was built in 1932 by Abeking & Rasmussen as a 75-m² archipelago cruiser. A Dr Walter Schmidt from Berlin, a member of the Seglerhaus am Wannsee sailing club, christened her ‘Schwanenweiß’. There on Lake Wannsee, “Schwanenweiß”, together with two other 75-m² archipelago cruisers, took on their biggest rivals, the 75-m² National Cruisers. Reportedly, they sailed circles around them. In 1929, “Albatros III” with sail number G1 and, in 1931, “Albatros IV”, G2, also saw the light of day at A&R in Lemwerder on the River Weser. Both were commissioned by Dr Julius Springer of the Berlin-based Springer-Verlag and provided “Schwanenweiß” with excellent company at regattas.
With her subsequent owner, Felix Meyer-Absberg, the “Schwanenweiß” moved to a new home port and found a new home at the Lindau Sailing Club on Lake Constance. From then on, the archipelago cruiser, like all his yachts, bore the name “Argo”. It was a miracle. Despite all the turmoil of the war and post-war years, the two former companions, “Albatros III” – now called “Benny” – and “Albatros IV” – now “Aloha” – also found their way to the LSC harbour on Lake Constance. Until 1970, the three sisters lay side by side at the jetty. Extra-long berths had to be created for the racing yachts.
“Argo” transforms from a coastal cruiser into a regatta racer
When Meyer-Absberg fell ill in 1961, Helmut Vetter, a young pharmacist from Ravensburg, bought the ‘Argo’ from him. As a passionate regatta sailor, he immediately made a splash on the scene. However, in the 75-m² skerry cruiser class, there were soon no rivals left apart from “Benny”. With a new wooden mast and top-notch rigging, he therefore had the skerry cruiser measured as a 14.5 KR. From 1964 to 1969, “Argo” won the Blue Ribbon in the “Round Lake Constance” race with a single exception.
But that alone was not enough for Helmut Vetter. In 1972, he gave the ‘Argo’ a facelift based on his own ideas and under his supervision. Everything except the hull was stripped away. A new cabin superstructure now blended harmoniously into the slender silhouette. The deck plan then had to be adapted to reflect the practical experience of recent years. The cockpit was divided and the tiller replaced by a steering wheel to provide the helmsman with an unobstructed workspace. The old wooden rig was replaced by a state-of-the-art, tapered aluminium mast, which, at a length of 22.5 metres above deck, provided more sail area. Beilken tailored 250 kilograms of Dacron sails for the impressive rig. The 700 metres of running rigging could now be operated with less effort, aided by large-calibre winches. A baby forestay with a stretcher made it possible to sail the top-rigged racer in future even with a small crew and smaller headsails.
Helmut Vetter also took his creative vision to the extreme below deck. A galley on the port side with storage space for crockery and ample provisions to cater for a large crew on longer voyages, together with an opposite washroom featuring a shower, washbasin and chemical toilet, made the Renner immediately suitable for cruising. The elegant appearance was also taken care of. Green silk wallpaper on the cabin ceiling made the mahogany of the interior finish gleam. According to old sources, the refit is said to have cost 200,000 Deutschmarks. Afterwards, the ‘Argo’ was measured to IOR standards. The former 75-m² archipelago cruiser had now become an open-class yacht with running cold and hot water.
The owner’s son, Udo Vetter, recalls that fateful day following the launch of the yacht, which had undergone an extensive refit. When the family arrived at the harbour, only the mast of the “Argo” was still visible above the water. Despite the pumps being connected, it had filled with water overnight and sunk. The reasons for this, says Vetter, remain a mystery to this day.
Tuning experiments on Lake Constance
Freshly refitted, the ‘Argo’ went on to win the Blue Riband again in 1974 and 1976. But she was temperamental in stronger winds. If the ‘Argo’ heeled over so much that she dragged the winches through the water, she lost all speed. Things couldn’t go on like that. Helmut Vetter now fitted his “Argo” with trapezes, which were uncharacteristic of classic yachts. With six men on the edge, one less reef needed to be tied in. Yet the competition on the regatta course was becoming ever more numerous, modern and faster.
Vetter’s response to this challenge was a new spinnaker. It measured 400 square metres. However, as the wind picked up, its enormous surface area made the yacht so unstable that it became impossible to steer. As is customary for a skerry cruiser, the rudder blade was attached to the keel. Now the hull had to be redesigned. Vetter moved the keel aft, increased its length, shape and surface area, and fitted the yacht with a free-standing rudder blade. By now, at the very latest, ‘Argo’ bore no resemblance to a 75-m² archipelago cruiser.
With winds of 2 to 3 on the Beaufort scale, the “Argo” was now doing eleven and a half knots with the giant spinnaker and six crew members on the trapeze – faster than her hull speed. Vetter explains that the stern wave rose three-quarters of a metre higher than the yacht’s stern.
In 1984, the souped-up classic won the Blue Ribbon for the last time. From then on, the lightweight Liberas dominated the scene. It was a heavy blow for the former star. The wooden beauty was so prominent that the locally based writer Martin Walser couldn’t resist sailing the legendary long-distance race with her.
Uncertain future for “Argo”
Whenever the ‘Argo’ entered a harbour back then, it drew a huge crowd. Because of its spectacular beauty and, even more so, because of the complicated manoeuvres. The propeller shaft was not in the centre of the hull, and reversing was virtually impossible. If the ‘toothpick’ was then positioned at right angles to the wind, it took on a life of its own, as Udo Vetter puts it.
Once again, everything was stripped down to the hull. Helmut Vetter was 79 years old by the time he decided in 1998 to stop competing in regattas. With even more living comfort and electric winches, “Argo” was to earn her keep in future as a pure cruising yacht. But it was not to be. The following spring, he closed his eyes for the last time.
Now the heirs were left with an empty shell. What was to become of the ‘Argo’? Neither Udo Vetter nor his sister Bianca had restoration on their agenda, but they refurbished the hull to such an extent that the work could be completed at some unspecified point in the future. Until 2022, the “Argo” and its dismantled parts waited in a barn for this moment.
Then the heiress, Bianca Vetter, decided to get the yacht she had grown up on back on the water. She funded the restoration and set up an association to give young people the chance to sail on a historic yacht.
“Argo” is transforming from a family yacht into a youth project
Today, the ‘Argo’ is out on the lake for the second time in her new life. The wind has now died down; not a single wave has lapped against the immaculate new teak deck. Extreme sailing on the trapeze with the large spinnaker is off the cards. From now on, a gennaker will make manoeuvres easier and safer for the young sailors.
When Juliane Hempel, a yacht designer and classic yacht expert from Radolfzell, was brought on board the project, her primary focus was on safety and stability. The yacht designer 3D-scanned the hull and digitally reconstructed it. She calculated the weight and centre of gravity, and determined the righting moment. The mast was shortened by two metres, allowing the ballast to be significantly reduced. The rigging specialist then drew up a well-balanced sail plan.
With a young crew, the “Argo” will be making an appearance at the Rundum again this year. She made her first appearance there even before her restoration. Hitchhiking on “Ernst”, the gravel barge owned by Meichle and Mohr, she accompanied the starting field off Lindau in June 2023, wrapped in a waterproof white foil cover, with guests of honour, champagne and canapés. It marked the start of her new life.
“Argo” as a floating classroom
Given that the “Argo” had been sitting in a barn for 30 years, its hull was in surprisingly good condition, Karsten Timmerherm noted after it had been towed to the Michelsen shipyard. Only a few cracks needed repairing. Furthermore, the foredeck area was unstable. The old T-section, whose job it was to counteract the pull of the forestay with a force of around two tonnes, was too soft. It was replaced by a three-metre-long, custom-welded box section made of stainless steel. Longitudinal beams on the deck provide additional rigidity. The hull was then painted white. “Argo” had regained her classic appearance.
The helmsman sits at the tiller once again in the two-part cockpit, whilst the mainsheet is operated from the aft compartment. With its harmonious, low-profile deck structure, the ‘Argo’ looks, at least above water, like a 75-square-metre archipelago cruiser once more. However, a decision was deliberately made not to dismantle the hull, which had been heavily and atypically modified. The effort and costs involved would have been disproportionately high.
The interior is simple and functional. No cooking facilities, no cupboards, nothing to make a cruising yacht feel homely. A fridge on the port side and a toilet opposite are all the yacht has to offer in terms of comfort. In future, it will provide around eight berths, which are to be installed either as tube berths or hammocks. The electric motor, which has replaced the old, heavy diesel engine, also saves space.
The mooring manoeuvre once again requires all hands on deck. Bianca Vetter is delighted: “The ‘Argo’, its victories, its refits, its crews and admirers – they have been a constant presence in my life over the past 70 years,” she said. On every weekend when there was no regatta, she would sleep in the dog’s berth. During the day, she found a wonderful spot to read in the bow. Even today, the ‘Argo’ owner still draws on her childhood memories. She was only ever roused when helping hands were needed for harbour manoeuvres.
This is how young people around Lake Constance get on board
At the request of Bianca Vetter, the yacht is to be made available, as part of an experiential learning project, primarily to young people with sailing experience from the yacht clubs around the lake. As a historic yacht where teamwork counts and seamanship can be learnt. The focus is on active collaboration, joint planning, joint preparation, taking on responsibility and, ultimately, teamwork.
From now on, all sailing clubs and associations around Lake Constance can book day trips on the “Argo” for young people aged between 14 and 25, accompanied by a supervisor. Sailing experience is required. Clubs can book either via the contact form on the Website or by email to info@argoev.org can be contacted.
Converted, sunk, tuned, restored
The “Argo” has had an eventful life. Built by A&R as a 75-m² Schärenkreuzer 19, it never saw salt water, but moved from the waters around Berlin to Lake Constance, where it caused a stir on the regatta scene. It underwent repeated major modifications: the cockpit was split, the tiller was replaced by a wheel, and the boat was fitted with an aluminium rig and a new superstructure. In the meantime, she was measured to IOR standards, fitted with a huge spinnaker and trapezes – which, incidentally, were not permitted under IOR rules – and went on to win races in the open class. In a further refit, the keel was altered and moved aft, and the rudder was suspended freely. In 1989, the owner’s heirs put the boat into hibernation in a barn, a slumber that was to last until 2022. The vessel was then restored at the Michelsen yacht and boat yard. The hull structure proved to be sound, but the teak deck was replaced, as was the superstructure. Below deck, the fit-out remained spartan, with only a toilet and a fridge providing the bare minimum of seaworthiness.
Technical specifications of the “Argo”
- Shipyard: Abeking & Rasmussen, 1932
- Design: Henry Rasmussen
- Total length: 8.60 m
- Waterline length: 12.95 m
- Width: 2.85 m
- Draught: 2.20 m
- Weight: 9.0 tonnes
- Wing area (today): 95.0 m²
- Theoretical airspeed: 9.0 knots
- Lift-to-drag ratio: 4.7
- Motor (Torqeedo): 12 kW
