Guido Dwersteg

A bit like ‘the virgin to the child’ is how the single-handed sailor from Koblenz describes his rather unusual path to sailing.

After all, when he signed up to a sports boat school in late summer 2007 – at the age of 37 – he actually only wanted to get his licence for a small motorboat so that he could cruise around on the Moselle at home. A short time later, he suddenly found himself on board a training yacht on the Dutch Ijsselmeer, where he more or less spontaneously took part in a training course for the so-called Sport Coastal Skipper’s Licence (SKS). His instructor at the time had persuaded him to do so and when he actually held his first sailing licence in his hands after a week, it was clear that he had found a new passion.

A lot has happened since then. Just one year later, he became the owner of his CARPE DIEM – a small Bavaria 32 Holiday – and just another four years later, he set off on a single-handed Atlantic voyage from Fehmarn to the Caribbean and back. He covered over 11,000 nautical miles on the two-year voyage before returning to home waters in October 2014.

His second feat followed in 2017, when he circumnavigated the Scandinavian peninsula with CARPE DIEM, travelling over 4,000 nautical miles in the process. The journey first took him across the Baltic Sea into the Russian inland area before he then sailed across the Barents Sea and past the North Cape back towards Fehmarn.

Since then, the sailor from Koblenz has become known to a wide audience, not least because of his film documentaries and books, which have sold thousands of copies. We are therefore delighted to have gained an experienced skipper for the POLARIS in Guido.