When *BOOTE* featured Renate Weineck in its 8/2026 issue – Aged 77, she has been sailing alone on the Baltic Sea since her husband’s death, spending six months of the year on her ten-metre-long Nimbus 335 –, this triggered a surprising wave of reactions. Hundreds of comments, almost all of them full of respect. But there were critical ones too: that it was irresponsible from a safety point of view, that anyone could drive a motorboat, and that anyone with enough money could simply afford it. In between, there were plenty of practical questions – about passing through locks, the weather, and being on her own. We rang Renate Weineck again. She’s currently in a Swedish harbour, waiting for better weather, and responds to it all with calm and humour.
"I replied to the first hundred comments"
When the interview appears in BOOTE magazine, on Facebook and Instagram, Renate Weineck is out on the water as usual. Gotland and the Swedish east coast are on her itinerary for this year’s sailing trip. During the phone call, she is sitting in a Swedish harbour in strong winds, waiting. The weather is due to improve soon, after which she’ll head on to Ystad, and from there across to Wiek.
Until then, she’s got her hands full, as thousands of ‘likes’ and hundreds of comments are waiting for her. Yet she hasn’t even been able to read the full article since it was published – she can’t buy *BOOTE* in Sweden. A member of an inland waterway skippers’ group comes to her rescue: he goes to the newsagent’s, buys the magazine and sends her photos of the article.
“I used to reply to the first hundred comments,” she says. “At some point I stopped doing that because it was simply too much.” However, the vast majority of comments bring her great joy. Take, for example, one with a very practical question. A woman wanted to know how you actually go about it: travelling alone. “So I explained in detail how I do it. She thanked me very warmly.” That, she says, is exactly what she finds so rewarding.
In fact, she is just as surprised as she is touched by how many women have got in touch. “I was amazed at how many women wrote to say they thought it was brilliant – and that they wouldn’t have dared to do it themselves,” she says. Some are now considering following her example. “If you can get someone to start thinking, ‘I could do that too’ – I think that’s a really great thing.” Because many of the women who commented, like herself, used to go sailing with their husbands – and had given up sailing following their deaths. One writes that she sold the boat, and “perhaps she’s now thinking: ‘What a shame.’ Because maybe she could have carried on after all.”
One reader commented: “I used to enjoy this hobby with my husband, and after he passed away, I knew I’d carry on on my own. It’s all still very fresh and I’m only just getting back on my feet, but in my opinion it’s got nothing to do with being a man or a woman – if you want to go boating, you just do it. More women should have the confidence to give it a go.”
What moved Renate Weineck most, she says, was the number of people – both men and women – who, inspired by the interview, began to consider setting out on their own in the first place. One even rang the editorial office. A widower for a year now, he hasn’t yet taken his boat out of the shed. He’d like to share his experiences with Renate and pluck up the courage to get back out on the water, on his own.
Criticism and composure
The retired senior teacher of mathematics and biology, however, takes note of the critical comments with her characteristic composure. One woman wrote that she should avoid travelling alone so as not to put herself and others in danger. “Things can happen at home too,” Renate Weineck remarks dryly, adding: “I’m not overly cautious – but I’m not the adventurous type who’s determined to go out in a force 5 gale either. I don’t need that.”
As for the commentator who said that anyone can drive a motorboat, and the one who pointed out that it’s all down to money: “I just brush that off. It’s not worth worrying about.”
"Mum, am I supposed to be proud of you now?"
And what about the family? Her daughter and son react with a similar sense of calm to that their mother exemplifies. Renate’s daughter, a theoretical physicist, science journalist and author, has long since made a name for herself in professional circles. “So now you’re well-known in the industry too,” she remarked dryly. On the way to catch their holiday flight, her adult son quickly picks up a copy of *BOOTE* from the newsagent’s and then asks over the phone: “Mum, am I supposed to be proud of you now?” Renate recounts this with a laugh and replies with a smiling “yes, yes”. Her grandchildren, just before their prom and distracted by dresses, excitement and high emotions, have nevertheless been passing the article round the class.
Alone, but not lonely
As well as respectful and critical comments, she also keeps seeing people asking if they can come along for the ride. But apart from her own family, Renate Weineck doesn’t want that. “I’ve become too independent for that now,” she says. “I don’t have to take anyone else into account. I can decide what I do, when, how and where.” To that end, she has even gone so far as to remove the Göta Canal – for which she would definitely need more crew – from her route without further ado. The large teddy bear Rumtreibär and his smaller counterpart Rumtreibärchen remain the only permanent crew members.
She briefly recalls the old days, when she and her husband would repeatedly have to rush home just in time for work to start. The IJsselmeer, force 7 winds, her husband at the helm. He kept muttering the same thing to himself: “My poor boat, my poor boat, my poor boat.” She still remembers exactly what she replied: “And the poor wife!” “Oh, you’ll get over it.” She laughs as she tells the story and then pauses briefly.
She doesn’t mind being on her own any more, but “you’ve got to be able to cope with it. Anyone who can’t probably has a problem,” she observes. In the evenings, she reads or watches television. “You’ve got to know at least a bit about what’s going on, after all.”
There’s never a dull moment during the day anyway – that’s when walks, exploring and bike rides are on the agenda. The bike is actually a bit too heavy for her, but when it needs lifting out of the boat, “there’s always someone around to help. That’s when you get chatting to people. It’s always great fun.” Add to that the harbour drama and lake adventures – her inner logbook fills up all by itself with stories.
"An annual nightmare trip keeps man and machine in shape"
This season has once again shown that, however careful you are, it is not always possible to avoid the risks on the Baltic Sea. The crossing from Visby on Gotland back to the Swedish mainland went quite differently from plan.
Before setting off on a long leg, the skipper checks five different weather apps: the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Windy, Windfinder, the Danish Meteorological Institute and Predict Wind. “If they all agree, that’s all well and good. If not, you just have to wait.”
The weather forecasts had given the all-clear, but then the weather turned out to be quite severe after all. “After the first quarter of an hour, I really did consider turning back.” But then she changed her mind: her Nimbus had held out for a quarter of an hour – so it would surely last the rest of the way. “I pressed my knees against the handlebars, held on tight with both hands and kept a close eye on the display: Where were the big freighters coming from? Was one getting too close? Did I need to go a bit faster or change course?”
She measures the swell using an unorthodox method: the pedometer on her wrist. “Even though I was sitting still in my chair, it recorded 5,000 steps – because the boat was moving so much.” At some point during this crossing, it stopped counting. “When it stops counting, I always say: ‘It’s calmer now, so we’re good to go.’ The last hour within sight of land did indeed improve. She made it. Her conclusion: ‘One nightmare trip a year keeps both man and machine in shape.’”
Homewards
In Sweden, nobody recognises Renate as the solo skipper who talks about her experiences on her boat, the ‘Rumtreiber’, in an interview with a German magazine. But now she’s heading back to Germany: Ystad, Wiek, Greifswald, then Sellin on Rügen. “I’ll stay there a bit longer – I’ll do a big load of washing so I don’t have to lug it all back home,” she says. To round off this year’s trip, her favourite spots such as Usedom and Krummin are still on the itinerary, before the boat is taken out of the water in Wolgast in October. Perhaps she’ll strike up a conversation with one or two readers, or one or two other female skippers, along the way.
Then it’s back home to Schwalbach. “Nature in summer, culture in winter” is their motto. Theatre, museums and concerts in Frankfurt. Friends, the yacht club, inland waterway skippers’ get-togethers, sport and, last but not least, the after-parties following family celebrations. That’s enough to keep them busy until mid-April, when it all starts again. The adventurers have to get out onto the water.
Ursula Meer
Redakteurin Panorama und Reise