german windfall yachts

Abeking & Rasmussen WINWOOD

Sail Number: III/29

Type: Seefahrtkreuzer 30 qm (Windfall fleet)

LOA: 32’0” / 9.75m – LOD: 32’0” / 9.75m – LWL: 21’4” / 6.50m – Beam: 7’3” / 2.20m – Draft: 4’6” / 1.36m – Designer: Abeking & Rathmussen, Lines according to construction no. 2926 – Original Owner: Arsenal Kiel-Wiek (MRV) (name Odin) – Current Owner: James Green – Year Launched: 1936 – Built by: Abeking & Rathmussen, No. 3006 – Hull material: Wood (Mahogany on Oak) – Sail Area: 30-m² – Sv=Si(1.164-(0.21G/Si)) – Displacement: 6,000 lbs – Ballast: Lead – Engine: none

Historical:

Winwood, originally named Odin, was launched in 1936 as a Seefahrtkreuzer for use by the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine during World War II, primarily as regatta and recreational vehicles. Also said to have been used on a larger scale for secret reconnaissance, courier and espionage trips in foreign waters.

After the end of World War II, in 1945, approximately 100 of these vessels were taken as reparations from Germany by British forces, liberated, and used as winfall for sail-training and honing British’s navigation skills. For fifteen to twenty years they served the British valiantly, until their decommissioning, and release to private ownership.

The Windfall Yachts – A Legacy of Goodwill    by Michael Cudmore

Foreword by H.R.H The Duke of Edinburgh (see photo)

Michael Cudmore – The yachts were built in Germany in the 1930s to provide training for the German armed services. They were owned by the German Government and after the war were taken by the British Government as reparations. The majority were then sailed to England, where they were promptly dubbed Windfalls and initially allocated to Navy, Army and Air Force of the British and Commonwealth Services.

The yachts varied in size from 85 ft to 32 ft and included some very fine large craft. During the 1940’s the Windfall fleet was mainly condensed to three main classes: 100 square metre (sq m), 50 sq m and 30 sq m, with an overall length of 55 ft, 42 ft and 32 ft respectively. Virtually all are now under private ownership, sailing as classic boats and much admired at classic boat rallies or Tall Ships Races.

Despite being built for use in the Baltic they have since sailed far and wide, cruising extensively and racing in most of the Northern Hemisphere offshore races including the Fastnet, Bermuda and Trans-Atlantic Races. That they were very well constructed is amply demonstrated by the fact in 70 years not one has been lost at sea due to stress of weather.

The Seefahrtkreuzer Class

During the “Seglertag”-meeting in the state hall of the Vienna Hofburg in October 1927, aside from the big entertainment program, the question of which basis a new class for coastal and offshore racing should have, was discussed very controversially. The only yachts attempting to fulfil this purpose were the “Nationale Kreuzer”-class, but they had proven unfit.

Opposing parties were most of the German sailing clubs under the lead of the NRV and a team of 7 experts deployed by the “Deutscher Seglerverband”. The sailing clubs pleaded for a new so called ‘KR’-formula, similar to the International Rule which put the most important measures of the hull, the rig and the sail area in a mathematical relationship. Resulting from the calculations was a ‘KR’-value instead of ‘mR’-value. The 7 naval architects of the expert committee argued for classes with corresponding limit measures for length, depth, displacement, sail area, etc. Interestingly it was the committee arguing that a mathematical formula would first and foremost serve them as naval architects and not the owners, because these wouldn’t know what they’d get. The committee argued that architects always look for loopholes in the rule, in order to design the fastest yacht possible, the problem being that this leads to extreme designs which only favour speed. In an article written for the “Freundeskreis Klassische Yachten”, Klaus Kramer quotes the chairman of the commission Harry Wustrau: “Every measurement formula practically puts the buyer in the hands of the naval architect. It is wrong to say that the buyer gains the freedom of building whatever he wants. On the contrary, he will have to build what the naval architect wants, because every naval architect must have the ambition to exploit the formula in such a way, that produces the fastest yacht.”

It is a different story with the establishing of limit measures, because they decide the room, speed, seaworthiness and comfort relatively independent of the designer. “If we”, continues Wustrau, “muster the courage – finally, now – to set per-class limits to width, displacement and spaciousness as great as possible, based on proven designs and at the same time limit length, draft and rig-height as possible, then the results will certainly be solid and useable cruisers. The naval architect then has the thankworthy task to draw the fastest yacht around these requirements and limitations.”

The spokesman of the KR supporters, Erich Laeisz, agreed in the end under the condition that the sailing clubs asking for considering the compensation of different rigging types of two masted yachts, as well as the establishment of sail height being taken into account.

This compromise did not only save the following ball-night, but it lead to the construction regulations for the “Seefahrtkreuzer”-class-structure, devided into 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 150 and 250 sqm. This started the success story of the “Seefahrtkreuzer”-class.

• Owner/Guardian: Arsenal Kiel-Wiek (MRV)
• Owner/Guardian: Lee Nyboer, Grosse Point, USA
• Owner/Guardian: James Green

James Green Seefahrtkreuzer Register (Register of all seafaring cruisers known (to us), based on the ASMY and FKY register (RKY) and a list of Thorsten Wildies (Wedel), continued by Jan Huerkamp, 2004) Register – takel-ing.de WindFall Yachts Yacht AR

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CA House, 1 Northey Stree, Limehouse Basin, London E14 8BT

The Windfall Yachts, Charles Chambers

During the 1930s the Germans built up a large fleet of cruiser racer yachts to sail under the German Square Metre Rule. They were principally used for nautical training of German armed forces officers. At the end of World War II a large number of these German Government owned yachts were allocated to the victors with many finding their way into various, mainly British services, yacht clubs. They became known as the ‘Windfalls’ or ‘Booty Boats’. Charles is one of a handful of skippers qualified to sail Overlord on behalf of the Offshore Cruising Club. He will talk about the history of the boats and how the OCC boats are currently used.

Date: Wednesday 1 March 2023

Time: 19:00

Place: CA House or, for the webinar broadcast via Zoom, your own home or boat

Booking (to attend at CA House): To book places on any lecture, and to indicate whether you’ll be ordering food, click on [Book venue] . Please pay in advance on the website, or by contactless on the door. Any problems with the booking system, call or email Jeremy on 020 7537 2828/ [email protected]

Tickets (to attend at CA House): Members £4, non-members £7.

Booking (to join the webinar via Zoom): The webinar broadcast is open to members, including Crewing Service members, only. You will need to login to see the details below.

If you would like to join the webinar broadcast, please register via Zoom here . There will be no charge for viewing online.

Windfall Yacht Overlord underway Photo: ©Tom Cunliffe

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[email protected], new listing: 32ft. windfall 30 sq. metre class bermudian sloop – lying: yorkshire.

SUNA – HISTORY & DESCRIPTION

30sqm “Seefahrtkreuzer” yacht built in 1936 by Abeking and Rasmussen, Bremen by commission from the German state. Used 1936-1939 on the Baltic for matched class racing under the ‘Square Metre Rule” from the Keil Canal yacht harbour. Originally there were around 30 of this size, 20 at 50sqm and 12 100sqm. These larger vessels took part in international races such as the Fastnet Race before the onset of WWII

They were laid up for WWII and then seized by the British Navy in 1946 under reparation rights agreed in the armistice. They were used as a sail training vessels by UK Forces all across Europe with SUNA and 30 other matched vessels ending up in Malta and Gibraltar until the late 1960s. As so many members of the forces got to use these vessels for R and R they became known as the “Windfall Yachts”.

By the 1970s most of these vessels were retired and offered for public sale. SUNA ended up ashore on the UK South Coast in the 1980s where she was bought by a syndicate who also owned a 50sqm and a 100sqm vessel which they chartered out of Portsmouth. At that time she needed a comprehensive re-build of the topsides and a full internal fit out. She was returned to active use as part of the charter fleet in the 1990s.

Bought by the current owner in Fleetwood Sept 2008. Re-located to Hartlepool until 2010 when brought ashore for restoration in Goole. Launched Goole May 2013 and sailed to Scarborough. Dried out on the hard and antifouled 3 times, last one August 2018.

Useful web links:

15 minute HD video article “My Classic Boat” https://youtu.be/DO2Lek8Ncws

1985 TV programme on Windfalls https://youtu.be/E8y0B71r970

https://www.facebook.com/TheWindfallYachts

Work undertaken early 1990s (photos available) Commissioned by the Marabu-Kestrel Syndicate (John Kapp)

Topsides removed and hull stripped back to frames. Frames partnered were required. Keel removed and re-bolted New deck of pitch pine on ply. Oak edging. New mahogany coach house. Epoxy covered. Cockpit epoxy covered too. Second hand 1970s Kemp mast and roller boom Inboard engine fitted, offset shaft and 10” prop. Lombardini engine later changed for 11hp Renault. New sails and rigging at this point Interior fitted out with marine ply facings, 4 berths, Heads (vintage) and Cooker. Coded for charter, guard rails fitted on deck mounted stanchions.

Left the syndicate around 2003. Sailed from Portsmouth to Liverpool for several seasons and then to David Moss traditional Boatbuilders in Fleetwood for repairs 2007.

Work undertaken 2007 Interior bunks etc removed to allow repairs to the partner frames. Returned to water 2008 but with interior fit-out missing. The vessels wiring and bespoke electrical panel installed at that time.

The current owner bought her in that state, re-located her to Hartlepool by road and had two seasons there before bringing ashore for a comprehensive refit.

Work undertaken in 2010-2013

Engine removed and the interior remodelled adding a galley unit in the main saloon, replacing the heads for a brand new Jabsco item and adding timber privacy screens. Hull and interior paint stripped and re-coated with international Toplac. Coachroof hatch re-covered in marine ply. Guardrails removed and sections of deck pieced in The prow was re-modelled to get the smooth curve back. Paint removed from mahogany of coach house and treated with Deks-Olje All other fittings varnished. Sliding engine mount added, the interior structure at the stern augmented as part of this work. Backstay, inner forestay and outer shrouds replaced Custom made stronger mounts for mast cross tree added.

Surveyed before launch 2013. 2 no. keel bolts removed and inspected (Satisfactory). 4 or 5 Additional frame partnering repairs requested and were completed. Oak laminated frames, Copper fastenings.

Length OA 9.75m Length WL 6.45m Beam 2.2m Draft 1.5m Displacement (est) 3200kg IRC TRC rating 0.813 (2015)

Berths: 1 no. main wide berth with new mattress 2015**, additional section fits in the companionway to make it a very comfortable double. 1 no. pilot berth on starboard side 1 no. pilot berth option on port side. Original vinyl bunk cushions available for this berth

Sails: Main sail (1990s) Dacron two reef points, two patch repairs. RRG Dacron (est. 2004). Detachable UV cover for jib and main new in 2015. New Alado Roller furling jib installed 2015. (She will stand up to full sail in 20 knot wind) Spinnaker (small, 1990s) Cruising chute (small 1990s) Hank on storm Dacron Jib, Trysail (old). Large Dacron forestay sail (experimental light wind sail)

Running rigging: Most running rigging renewed in 2014 fit out. Topping lift is original. 2no Barlow winches in cockpit 1no (Modern) Winch on mast

Engine: Selva Phirana 9.9hp lightweight 4-stroke (22kgs) with Saildrive prop new in 2016. Serviced and gear selector overhauled and greased Oct 2018 (was missed in pre-sale checks) 12 litre fuel tank stowed when underway in lazarette Diesel tank under cockpit sole.

Deck Equipment: Spinnaker pole 10m Chain and warp Main anchor 15kg CQR Kedge anchor (delta)

Navigation: Standard Horizon DSC radio new in 2016 Linked to Garmin GPS72 fixed mount (2013) Linked to NASA GPS repeater (2013) for speed and direction Raymarine depth (deployable when needed)

Internal equipment: Origo double burner spirit stove (New 2005) Sink in position but just drains to bilge 2no electric bilge pumps on auto switches 1no manual bilge pump new LED cabin lighting 2014 new LED nav lighting 2014 Start battery (unknown age) Service battery (new 2018) Shore power Permanently wired battery charger

Other extra items available subject to negotiation: Eg. Diesel engine

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Marine News

Ar 63 ft seefahrtkreuzer racer cruiser yawl at sandeman yachts co.

Listing announcement "AR" EUR 695,000

Offered for sale "AR" Abeking & Rasmussen 63 ft 125 sq m Seefahrtkreuzer Racer Cruiser Yawl 1936

Few yachts enjoy almost 40 years of tender loving care by the same understanding and knowledgeable owners.

The astonishing 63ft Abeking & Rasmussen 125sqm Seefahrtkreuzer AR has, and when you step aboard you truly feel it. She is the embodiment of the classic yacht as fully functional art. Keeping her true to Henry Rasmussen's design for his own yacht has been paramount over the years, and apart from the inevitable and necessary structural refits, the only real concession to modernity in AR has been the subtle introduction of sail handling systems to enable this elegant, fast, safe, comfortable and seaworthy yacht to be sailed short-handed by a family.

Germany’s pre-eminent 20th Century designer of beautiful, strong, fast and able yachts, Danish born Henry Rasmussen, also knew how to sell them. His method of dealing with the Great Depression years was to travel to the USA and engage W. Starling Burgess in finding American newbuild clients for his Lemwerder, Bremen yard, Abeking & Rasmussen. He returned with orders for 14 yachts.

AR was born out of that marketing flair; her name would be the clue when she went on show at Kiel during the 1936 Olympic Games yachting regatta there, at which Rasmussen’s 8-Metre design GERMANIA III won Bronze representing Germany, and AR hosted many international guests.

Henry Rasmussen also knew how to design and build them. The Seefahrtkreuzer Rule was his own creation, and from it developed a line of beautiful yet sensible, fast yet seaworthy and seakindly yachts, with AR being one of its finest expressions – nowadays also in preservation.

Abeking & Rasmussen’s output was so astonishing (138 vessels - albeit of all sizes - in 1936 for example) that it is hard to imagine Henry (or “Jimmy” as he was known) having much time for sailing, but during the first season he did manage to cruise her back to his home town of Svendborg on the Danish island of Fyn, where no doubt she was noticed. Original power came from a suit of sails by the local Wilhelm Mählitz loft, and a 6 cylinder 24hp Selve petrol motor in calms.

AR was quickly sold to Willy Schröder of Altona (Hamburg), a member of Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, who renamed her HARRO IV and sailed the Baltic coast out of Travemünde, competing in North Sea Week 1938. In 1939 she passed into the ownership of highly successful German racing helmsman and fellow NDR member Heinz Horn, becoming his 13th SKJOLD.

She survived 1939-1945 and, like many other fine German yachts, then became a prize of war, the British “Windfall” yacht LIVELY, but unlike most Windfalls she remained in Germany as one of the newly formed British Kiel Yacht Club’s fleet. However, along with fellow club yachts KRANICH and AEGIR X, LIVELY did visit British waters during at least one summer under the command of the BKYC Rear Commodore, Tom Dixon, taking part in the 1951 Fastnet Race followed by the Royal Yacht Squadron’s race clockwise round the Isle of Wight for the Britannia Challenge Cup. That year’s Fastnet start was a torrid affair in strong westerlies with many yachts not making it beyond the Solent, including Kennon Jewett’s John G Alden-designed ketch MALABAR XIII, dismasted off the notorious Shingles Bank. LIVELY at least made it as far as Portland before retiring to Weymouth with a split mainsail. The season before, LIVELY had finished 3rd in the Copenhagen – Kiel Race, the third and final stage of the RORC’s 1950 “Scandinavian Series” (the earlier stages were: Dover – Kristiansand, and Arendal – Copenhagen). For the Copenhagen – Kiel stage all competitors were British forces “Windfall” yachts:

1.    HUTSCHI (British Zone SA) 100 sq m Seefahrtkreuzer Brauer/ Krüger 1935 2.    KRANICH (British Kiel YC) 100 sq m Seefahrtkreuzer Brauer/ Krüger 1935 3.    LIVELY (British Kiel YC) 125 sq m Seefahrtkreuzer HR/ A&R 1936 4.    AEGIR X (British Kiel YC) 100 sq m? 5.    KÖNIGIN (Royal Engineers YC) 100 sq m Seefahrtkreuzer HR/ A&R 1935 6.    FLAMINGO (British Kiel YC) 100 sq m Seefahrtkreuzer HR/ A&R 1935

LIVELY was sold in 1953 to Hanseatische Yachtschule at Glücksburg on Flensburg Fjord and renamed MÖWE. It was to be a long and happy story at this extraordinary institution which is still going strong. During almost 30 years of sail training and 120,000 sea miles, she won the Blue Ribbon of Flensburg Fjord and held for many years the sailing school’s internal speed records. The present owners bought her from the school in 1982, since when - as AR again - she has been cared for lovingly as a cherished member of the family, cruising the Baltic, Kattegat and Skagerrak, and racing successfully in the western Baltic classic yacht regattas organised by Freundeskreis Klassischer Yachten,

There seems hardly any period in her long life when AR has not been a happy ship; when you step aboard, you truly feel it.

To own AR is a very rare and highly recommended opportunity.

Click here for full details and image gallery  

JANINA – 100 sq m Sea Cruiser

€ 130.000,00

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Specification

General Information

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Engine, Electronics

Rigg and Sails

Construction

One of the few capable and fast 100 sq m “Seefahrtkreuzer“ that was built for a private owner and not, as so many others, for the German Navy or Luftwaffe. This fine example was launched in 1939 at the Kröger Werft in Warnemünde; a yard that built quite a few of these fine and seaworthy boats. However, most private owners at the time opted for the much cheaper and lighter skerry cruisers even if these did not possess the seagoing qualities of the “Seefahrtkreuzer”. After the war she became one of the many “Windfall Yachts“ that were taken by the British but she was returned to Germany during the 1950s. Re-rigged as a yawl by Abeking & Rasmussen, she was rigged back to her original sloop configuration during an extensive refit that commenced in 1990. She has since sailed many miles offshore, including several Atlantic circuits. A fast and seagoing offshore yacht with bags of gear!

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Windfall Yachts database

We have added a database of Windfall yachts to our DataBank. This contains summary information about these German-built yachts, culled from the definitive book by Mike Cudmore. The Bartlett holds Mike’s archive and welcomes enquiries. mailto:[email protected]

Access the database ….

In distress : Burning yacht sinks off wind farm

Jan-Ole Puls

 ·  04.09.2024

The disaster took its course around 50 nautical miles north-west of the North Sea island of Borkum, between the traffic separation zone and the Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm, around three nautical miles from the traffic separation zone. At around 22:40, a distress call was made by a service vessel from the wind farm, alerting the DGzRS rescue services. The distress call reported a sailing yacht that was fully engulfed in flames. Bremen Rescue immediately sent out a "Mayday Relay Call", i.e. a relay of an emergency call on behalf of another ship, and initiated initial rescue measures. This included the alerting of three German sea rescue boats.

A total of five rescue ships took part in the intensive search for survivors, injured people, life jackets and life rafts. The Dutch authorities also provided support with two additional ships. Two German and one Dutch SAR helicopter and an aircraft from the Dutch coastguard took over the search from the air, while numerous other ships supported the search from the water. The "Koning Willem 1" was in charge of the operation on site. MRCC Bremen therefore handed over coordination to the Dutch Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Den Helder.

Unexpected twist

After initial attempts to extinguish the fire, which were quickly successful, the yacht sank at around 1.30 am. YACHT was informed by the DGzRS control centre that the boat involved in the accident was a sailing yacht about ten metres long. The exact number of crew members who may have been on board at the time of the accident is still unclear. The destination of the voyage and the yacht's home port are also still unknown.

Despite the intensive efforts of the rescue services and the involvement of numerous ships and aircraft, the search for survivors was suspended by the JRCC Den Helder at 7.20 a.m. on Wednesday morning. So far, no survivors have been found. The exact cause of the fire and the fate of the people on board the sailing yacht are still unclear. Dutch police authorities have begun an investigation into the cause of the accident.

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