Author Archives: peter
The fall guy
RIDING THE RAZOR´S EDGE – ONE-WAY TRAFFIC ON SPONSORSHIP STREET The fall guy
Golden Globe Race # 3 – before start
USUAL PROCEDURE? 2018 July
Puzzling things out
PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER Puzzling things out
Peter and the market
WINDPILOT – INTRIGUE AND COPYCATS Intrigue and copycats
Hydrovane – Windpilot
WINDPILOT – PROPERLY EFFECTIVE WINDVANE STEERING SYSTEMS Hydrovane
Golden Globe Race 2018 – emergency rudder
IN EXTREMIS – LOSING THE RUDDER SOS Rudder
Achilles heels – Saildrives
THE HOW AND THE WHY From the harbour tug operator to the car driver with an empty tank, anyone with first-hand experience knows the best way to set a large load moving in the right direction is to push it … Continue reading
Influencers
INFLUENCERS AND INFLUENZA – THE SILENT POWER Influencers and influenza: both have the capacity to render one powerless, but while influenza’s challenge to the immune system is impossible to overlook, the influence on our thought processes of sources we trust … Continue reading
Cardinal sins – the rudder
RUDDER, TILLER, WHEEL STEERING, EMERGENCY TILLER Is overconfidence the order of the day? Have we lost our respect for the forces of nature? Naively succumbed to the marketers’ forked tongue? Is the new really always better than the old? Are … Continue reading
Golden Globe Race 2018 – La Longue Route 2018
PLANNING A LONG VOYAGE Six months is really quite a long time, at least when it comes to travel planning. 2018 January
Hanse Yachts – experiences – three times
EXPERIENCES WITH A BRAND NEW HANSE 588 I know Ariana und Jayme Souza since about 9 years, and of course it has been about transom ornaments. Jayme, living and working as surgeon in Salvador at that time and a sailor … Continue reading
The importance of a strong rudder
APPEARANCE AND REALITY A tour of European trade fairs and marinas reveals which marketing campaigns and promotions have gained the most traction and highlights the latest trends and developments to have been packaged up, badged (invariably) as important improvements and … Continue reading
Longue Route 2018
GENESIS OF THE LONGUE ROUTE 2018 To plagiarize shamelessly Jack London – or his wife Charmian, both wrote exactly the same sentence without specifying the author – “it’s all the fault of Captain Joshua Slocum and his ship the Spray!” … Continue reading
Golden Globe Race 2018 – Longue Route 2018
THE EARLY BIRD AND THE WORM The time is racing away. Watch out or you might find yourself left behind, washed up – a social outcast even. You have to keep up, everyone says so. Perhaps there’s comfort to be … Continue reading
Peter – 70 years
PETER FOERTHMANN – 70 Years – UNPLUGGED With 70 years on the clock, my life’s drone has soared to a height at which one could be forgiven for expecting a measure of wisdom, a modicum of life experience. Peter – … Continue reading
From Aries to Windpilot
THE CHANGE FROM ARIES TO WINDPILOT MADE SIMPLE As the years have passed, innumerable UK-based boats that once had an Aries in pride of place have switched to the Windpilot Pacific. The differences are striking – time marches on (at … Continue reading
Self steering on catamarans
Relief from manual steering for catamaran crews Catamaran sailors too have the right to close their eyes once in a while. Ocean-going catamarans at sea are almost without exception steered by electric autopilots, with permanently installed inboard autopilot systems generally … Continue reading
Transom ornaments part #2
BIMINI – PERSONEL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Transom ornaments 2
Transom ornaments part #1
INSTALLATION, OBSERVATIONS, ( OVER ) ANALYSIS Transom ornaments 1
Tom Cunliffe – a sailor to the core
MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT In my (ever more swiftly flowing) life, it is moments of human contact and personal connection that truly touch my soul, warm my heart and provide lifelong pleasure.