He actually wanted to take me into the pit once. To his workplace at the Auguste Victoria colliery, around one and a half kilometres underground. Somehow it never worked out, and Michael Knuth has since taken early retirement.
Our meeting now takes place above ground, at his and his wife's home. Gudula and Michael Knuthleben live in a former mining settlement, the neighbours are miners like him. Water shimmers beyond the garden - the Datteln-Hamm Canal.
On the opposite bank, in a former industrial harbour, is the Westphalian sports boat centre Marina Rünthe. This is where Yachtcharter Knuth is based. The company owner is Gudula Knuth. Always on hand when she needs support: her husband Michael.
Before entering the pit, the first thing they explained to me was the self-rescuer, says Michael Knuth and immediately pulls out one of these breathing apparatus so that I know what he's talking about. Then he shows me a display case. On top of it is a figure of St Barbara, the patron saint of miners. Inside the cabinet are a weather lamp, a mantle man and other utensils, as well as two shiny lumps of coal and a gingerbread heart labelled "Glückauf".
Michael Knuth, born in 1964, comes from a family of miners in Kamen. After finishing secondary school, he trained at a colliery. And something else happened in the early 1980s: there was a "spark" between him and Gudula. They have known each other since they were 14 years old and from then on they are a couple. Gudula, also born in 1964, becomes a commercial clerk.
Michael works underground in tunnelling. In 1989, they both acquired a miner's house on the Datteln-Hamm canal that was in need of renovation. They rolled up their sleeves and turned it into a cosy home of their own - their home to this day.
At the time, they had no idea that the Rünthe marina would later be built within sight. Because in those days, everything in the "Pott" still revolved around coal and steel. Chance (or fate) soon intervened once again.
Michael Knuth wants to become a helmsman and starts further training. At the technical school, a teacher offers a recreational boating licence course in addition to the usual workload. Michael Knuth booked the course and then chartered a boat. This is how he and his wife got out on the water.
In the early 1990s, the coal crisis on the Rhine and Ruhr came to a head. Gudula and Michael, now married, start thinking about a second mainstay. Their thoughts are fuelled by a project that has started on the canal bank opposite their house - the conversion of the industrial harbour there into a marina. They quickly realise: "We'll buy a boat and rent it out. Even some local skippers thought the plan was more than bold at the time. Michael Knuth used to counter:
"You're boating here too. Why? Because it's nice. You see!"
In 1995, with the opening of the Westfälisches Sportbootzentrum Marina Rünthe, Yachtcharter Knuth is launched. Gudula Knuth owns the company, her husband continues to work in mining. The Knuth fleet has grown to four boats since the company was founded.
And the future? Gudula Knuth says that everything will be taken care of. Et kütt, wie et kütt, as the Rhinelanders say. But wait, this is Westphalia! Michael Knuth's laugh lines are dancing. "Yep," he says emphatically.
