Mourning for Pieter Beeldsnijder

Martin Hager

 · 28.03.2016

Mourning for Pieter BeeldsnijderPhoto: Unbekannt
Mourning for Pieter Beeldsnijder | er
The Dutch yacht designer died last week at the age of 78. Pieter Beeldsnijder drew and styled more than 2500 yachts, ships and tenders in 59 years. These included famous designs such as "Athena", "Gliss", "Ethereal" and "Hanuman".
boote/exclusiv/M3551278Photo: Unbekannt

But he didn't just design sailing yachts and for customers. He realised his own long-held dream of owning his own motor yacht with his 20-metre "Bonker", which he of course designed himself and has travelled a lot on since launching it in 2008.

In front of "Belle de Jour": Pieter Beeldsnijder (right), the yacht owner (centre) and Flevo Jachtbouw boss Aart van Twillert in front of the 30-metre-long steel/aluminium displacement vessel. | r.Photo: UnbekanntIn front of "Belle de Jour": Pieter Beeldsnijder (right), the yacht owner (centre) and Flevo Jachtbouw boss Aart van Twillert in front of the 30-metre-long steel/aluminium displacement vessel. | r.

Not so long ago, we enjoyed his company and entertaining, pleasant manner on board his latest design at the time, the almost 30 metre long steel/aluminium displacer "Belle de Jour". We marvelled at his sheer inexhaustible knowledge and a treasure trove of anecdotes that made every meeting with him an enriching experience.

He has been part of the maritime industry for 59 years and has long been an integral part of it.

With the 90 metre long "Athena", which dominated the rankings of the world's largest sailing yachts for over eleven years, the designer, who was closely associated with Royal Huisman, finally made his mark in the history books of superyachting.

Whether sailing yacht, motor yacht, tender or Dutch sloop - Pieter Beeldsnijder's designs were always elegant, classic and had clear lines.

The PB Design Studio is currently working on several new-build projects, including the J-Class racer "Svea", for which the team from Edam designed the interior.

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Martin Hager

Martin Hager

Editor in Chief YACHT

Martin Hager is editor-in-chief of the titles YACHT and BOOTE EXCLUSIV and has been working for Delius Klasing Verlag for 20 years. He was born in Heidelberg in 1978 and started sailing at the age of six, in an Opti of course. This was soon followed by 420s, Sprinta Sport and 470s, which he also sailed on the regatta course with his brother. His parents regularly took him on charter trips through the Greek and Balearic Islands. Even at a young age, it was clear to him that he wanted to turn his passion for water sports into a career. After graduating from high school and completing an internship at the Rathje boatbuilding company in Kiel, it was clear that he did not want to become a classic boatbuilder. Instead, he successfully studied shipbuilding and marine engineering in the Schleswig-Holstein state capital and focused on yacht design wherever he could. His diploma thesis dealt with the “Testing of a new speed prediction method for sailing yachts”. In 2004, the superyacht magazine BOOTE EXCLUSIV was looking for an editor with technical and nautical background knowledge, a position that was perfect for Martin Hager. The application was successful and a two-year traineeship was arranged. After twelve years as an editor, the editorial team changed and he took over responsibility for BOOTE EXCLUSIV as editor-in-chief in 2017. After long-time YACHT editor-in-chief Jochen Rieker moved to the role of publisher, Martin Hager also took over the position of editor-in-chief of Europe's largest sailing magazine YACHT, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, at the beginning of 2023. When he's not working on topics for the two water sports titles, Martin Hager likes to go out on the water himself - preferably with kite and wingfoil equipment or on a little after-work trip across the Alster.

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