By Fabio Pozzo | 25 Luglio 2018 | Modificato il: 25 Luglio 2018
On board “Fjord III” with three generations of German Frers. The youngest: “My father and grandfather? They taught me that boat lines must be good for sailing but also pleasing to the eye.”
La famiglia che disegnò Luna Rossa per la prima volta sotto la stessa vela
A bordo di “Fjord III” con tre generazioni di German Frers. Il più giovane: «Mio padre e mio nonno? Mi hanno insegnato che le linee delle barche devono essere buone per la vela ma allo stesso tempo devono essere dolci allo sguardo»
English translation
The family that designed Luna Rossa together under the same sail
They have the same sparkle in their eyes and caress the wooden curves of the boat, the Fjord III, designed in 1947 by the progenitor of their family of designers. They are the Frers, Argentine and now Italian, and they are all named German.
German Frers Senior started designing boats in Buenos Aires in 1925. His son German, now 77, continued the tradition and opened a studio in Milan.
They’ve designed over 1300 hulls, including the Stealth for Giovanni Agnelli, Venice’s Moro, Luna Rossa, and Swan yachts.
Recently, German, Mani, and 18-year-old German Junior sailed together at the Argentario Sailing Week, discussing boats and their family’s legacy in design.
German, Mani, and 18-year-old son German Junior sailed together for the first time at the Argentario Sailing Week, the gathering of vintage boats in the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge circuit.
On board (with Alessandra Sensini as well), they naturally talked about boats and passion. “My father, German Sr., taught me to be passionate about what I do. He and gave me the magic he infused into his designs. These are the principles that inspired me over the years trying to pass on to my son,” says German Frers.
“Dad is a man of few words, who leads by example – it’s Mani speaking now -. He passed on the passion and pleasure of sailing to me, but also the drive to always improve. I remember when I was a child. One day he brought home pieces of wood from the shipyard. He allowed us to use his tools to build anything we could imagine, encouraging us to be creative. We are used to doing things and having fun together.
For years we had a family boat, Heroina, like the ship that belonged to one of my ancestors and fought in the Falklands War in 1841, on which I took my son when he was just 6 months old.”
“Sailing encouraged me to live in the moment,” says German Jr. “My father and grandfather? They taught me that boat lines must be good for sailing but also pleasing to the eye.”
