In the third part of our series we highlight two German-German sailing careers that could not have been more different. The comparison has turned into a thought-provoking document of contemporary history.
To anticipate: both are still active. However, the turning point had completely different effects on their sailing life today.
Schüman and Rafoth - as unique as their résumés may be - stand for the sailors behind the closed doors of the GDR. Unique résumés because in both cases sport was also a means of opening that door from time to time.
The fact that competitive sport was able to help here is better known than the fact that it was also possible for committed sea sailors to "earn" trips abroad. How it worked is told by the Rostock sailor Uwe Rafoth, whose story on the water began in the 1940s. He is also a contemporary witness of the beginnings of GDR sailing.
In contrast to the sailor Rafoth, the turning point for Jochen Schümann did not mean a "dramatic turning point" in the life of a sailor (quote from Schümann). That is surprising. But read for yourself. Never before has the German star of sailing wrote about his life in such detail as in this issue of YACHT.