Two days ago a friend of mine sent a whatsapp with a picture attached. It showed one of the great Omega 42-shots from our little sea trial with “WINDFAENGER” we celebrated a few weeks ago (read the article of that amazing weekend here). But this time the picture came with some overlaying headlines. Well, apparently, the boat must have made such a great impression on my friend, that he decided to take her onto the frontpage cover.
“My friend” is Kai Köckeritz, versatile and skilled sailor and Editor in Chief of the German sailing magazine “Segeln”, which translates into “Sailing”. This magazine is especially dedicated to cruising. I know Kai for a long time and had realized some projects with him but we also share some nice memories of sailing trips together, like on the Excess catamaran some two years ago.
Not just a boat
Of course I was very happy seeing the Omega 42 on the front page. The whole issue of this magazine was dedicated to the “Nordic Charm”, colors blue and yellow resemble the Swedish flag. An article about the Swedish yacht and her designer, Peter Norlin, was more than fitting, I´d say. But for me, knowing that there is always a great battle taking place both inside among the editorial staff and of course among the advertisers who at last “pay” for the magazines, having the Omega 42 making it to the top is a big, big thing.
Of course, I haven´t paid for anything here, so it is a re-assurance that indeed the boat alone was enough to convince the makers of the magazine. It is also a re-assurance for me that my decision to invest in that boat was right: She indeed is what we assume her to be: One of the most beautifully designed, most attractive and exciting, most balanced and performing classic boats ever to be designed! As Kai writes in the Editorial: “… here I discovered a story that one surely cannot explain rationally. It is a story of passion and the love of sailing. And this is how, after 12 years, we now again have an Omega 42 as our frontpage cover picture.”
Personal connections
Kai wrote a very nice eight pages review of the boat. It was not so much the focus on the technical stuff that touched me, but his emotional approach. As he rightfully pointed out: “This is a boat of an era long gone” and that the Omega 42 is a yacht “that cannot be fully understood by looking at her bare data alone”. She was something very special even back then when Norlin came up with her captivating lines and she is still unexplainable in a time when cruisers become bigger and bigger, even 9 meter boats have double steering wheels and bow thrusters.
As I learned, the former publisher of the magazine “Segeln” used to own an Omega 42 himself and the first ever issue of this magazine being printed and delivered featured an Omega 42 too. And this emotional connection, reaching back to her maker some 45 years ago as well as personal connections to memories of a time long gone adds to her enchanting design. As he writes: “You just can´t take your eyes off of her.” And that is certainly true.
More than a yacht
For me it is a wonderful start into my own personal story with the Omega 42, seeing this boat decorating the front page of this magazine. Another confirmation that my decision to go for this yacht and certainly a wonderful acknowledgement of the hard work, the passion and the determination of Heiner and his crew in the shipyard as well as the perseverance of Stefan, the owner of WINDFAENGER, who basically financed the ground work that had to be done to finish the boat.
Because, as you can read in the article, “except for the moulds for the hull, everything was gone. Making contact with the Norlin family was very hard, not so say, impossible. There were no plans whatsoever for the rigging, so they had to re-design it together with Seldén from scratch, like so many other details of the yacht, especially the interior.” No wonder that the 2.000 projected working hours for hull #001 exceeded the plan by factor two in the end. Thank god they pulled it off – and she is now reality. Much, much more, than a front page beauty. God, I can´t wait to see my boat, hull #002, starting to be build …
You might also be interested in reading these connected articles:
My first contact with the Omega 42
Napping princess: Meeting the Omega 42 in her winter storage
Decision made, I will get one myself!