Berlin, Germany (PRnow). He was born in Wartheland in 1944 and grew up in the idyllic Baltic Sea town of Eckernförde after fleeing. From the age of 16, he went to sea during his summer holidays. After graduating from high school in Neumünster, Holstein, he first joined the merchant shipping industry (graduating with a seaman’s certificate) and then the navy because he really wanted to sail on a deep-water ship, the barque „Gorch Fock“ (II).
He later completed many military exercises as a press officer, ultimately with the rank of lieutenant captain in the reserve.
He earned his degree in geography, German studies and education at the FU and TU Berlin as a long-distance lorry driver on European and Australian routes and as a boatswain and („dream“) skipper for Stern and Kreisschifffahrt.
In 1991, after numerous voyages, including on research vessels such as METEOR and POLARSTERN, he completed his doctorate in natural sciences at the University of Greifswald (under Stralsund Professor Dr Hans-Dietrich Birr) on the coasts of the Russian Arctic.
Eventually, the passionate kayaker discovered his primary journalistic interest: shipping. He has remained true to it to this day.
As a freelance journalist (and for many years as editor-in-chief, chief reporter and head of department), he reports on his numerous worldwide sea voyages on freighters, tall ships and ocean and river cruise ships in text and pictures for travel and special interest magazines as well as daily, weekly and trade journals, and has written several books.
He has been introducing future tourism managers to maritime tourism at the FH for over ten years. At PRnow, he is responsible for everything on, in and around the water.
