In short

Passionate sailor, driven trainer, visionary sail-project developer are a few plug-lines that describes Skipper Swede and could happily be added to any generic sailing CV template. Therefore a more comprehensive description of Skipper Swede was produced, so that you may get to know the sailor under the wet-weather-gear and behind the snappy lines from the book.

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Official

Skipper Swede is a registered company in the Netherlands (he is quite proud of this himself). He is also quite proud of achieving the RYA/MCA certification of both YachtMaster Ocean and YachtMaster Instructor, the highest levels in that particular scheme. He has also been Chief Instructor for several RYA Training Centres, head developer of training material and co-founder of sailing organisations. The resumé is becoming quite extensive, ranging from a multitude of training/skippering jobs to sail repairs and boat maintenance (along with numerous land-oriented pursuits), all whilst cultivating personal interests such as his own boat and writing.

The business card reads:

• Hilariously Obnoxious Author
• Force8 Qualified Master Chef
• Ambitious Sail Training Developer
• Passionate Boat Lover
• Quite a nice guy

...and that sums it up perfectly!

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training

Training is one of the larger areas of passion and profession for Skipper Swede. To teach new sailors useful methods, to pass on tips and tricks and to see someone grow in their skills, knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport, is a reward in itself.

Skipper Swede has been a certified instructor since 2012 and delivered training primarily within the RYA scheme, helping people achieve the Competent Crew, Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper and YachtMaster levels/certifications. He has also set up custom-made training programmes and individual training for sailors at various levels. He's been instructing in Greece, UK, Caribbean and (of course) Sweden in the past and has a broad knowledge of different sail training areas.

Currently he's working full time as a RYA instructor in the Netherlands, along with doing occasional private tuition. On his (limited) free time he's involved in developing progressive training material and course content, helping people to expand their knowledge and skills.

If you would like to set up a training session, please send an email to info@skipperswede.com. He would love to have a discussion and work out an awesome training plan for you!

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Sail, sail, sail

So a tiny bit of background info might be an idea as well. As much as we like to talk about ourselves, most people get bored quickly when listening to others reiteration of "Ode to my own life". So we shall keep this short.

Sailing began at a very early age on his parents' sailboat and just as many other kids, Skipper Swede was shoved into an optimist and pushed out to sea at the age of 8. The sailing bug had itself a generous serving, and by around 12 he was racing quite competitively and kept going all the way into his early adult years. The professional sailing life did not start until his 30's as "real" land-based jobs took preference, but from then he has been able to work as an instructor, charter skipper, flotilla skipper, delivery skipper and race skipper, full time.

He often gets the question which one he likes the most out of the different jobs, and the answer is, charmingly enough; "All of it"!

It's all part of the same thing, all different sides of a very multi-dimensional coin. It all falls under the lovely big umbrella of Sailing, and what you do is only various facets of it. The passion for sailing is the core, and that makes you do the different jobs with enthusiasm, with excitement and with joy. And do them bloody well, because you love it!

If you would like Skipper Swede to do a bloody good job for you, please send an email to info@skipperswede.com. He would love to work out a solution to your sailing needs!

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To skipper, or not to skipper

Even though Skipper Swede is a skipper, Skipper Swede thinks that there are more qualities to skippering, than just being a skipper.

Said in a more understandable way, he loves to do almost every single job on a boat, and every kind of job that has to do with boating. He loves to cook delicious meals at a dramatic heel-angle and considers himself a qualified Force8 Master Chef. He creates awesome bags, wallets and other items out of recycled sail material on his trusted Sailrite-machine. He is a proud owner of 2 sextants and has a child-like fascination for Astro-Nav. His own boat, a Carrera 290, is a constant source of fiberglassing, sanding, painting and any other type of maintenance job you can think of. And when at sea, he takes pride in doing all the different jobs on the boat, ranging from meticulous cleaning, to tactical navigation, to sail trim, to victualling and to administrational chores.

If you would like to know more about what Skipper Swede does, if you would like to have some maintenance done, or if you would like one of his awesome recycled sail material bags, please send an email to info@skipperswede.com.

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Equality

This decently modern subject seems to be another plug-line for many companies, a word to hide behind for many individuals, and a source of humongous aggravation for those who disagree. Skipper Swede has quite a strongly formed opinion about equality which is:

"The boat does not care about your gender. It does not care about your race, colour origin or nationality. It does not care about your political, religious or any other view you may have. The only thing the boat cares about is to be sailed as safely and efficient from A to B as possible, and to be well taken care of.

So if the boat does not care, why the hell should we?!"

Because of this uncompromising standpoint, Skipper Swede is a proud advocate for an equal, no-nonsense and effective approach to jobs on board, a point-of-view that usually does not sit well with old geezers who are either stuck in the dark ages or who have such enormous egos that they get bruised by a fart ripping in the neighboring city.

Skipper Swede is also a proud advocate for female sailing and sail training and is very involved in this development with his fiancée, who is also a YMO and YMI with years of sailing and training under her belt.

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Feedback (a feather up Skipper Swede's @$$)

"We enjoyed having "Skipper Swede" on board and were very impressed with his knowledge and teaching skills"
- Patrick D

"Skipper Swede was our fantastic instructor that week , he has a great passion for sailing, and is really a gifted teacher"
- Partick S

"We found Skipper Swede to be professional and inspiring (last course). This past spring we returned and completed our Day Skipper certification with Skipper Swede being our instructor. I wanted to let you know how impressed we were with him yet again. I would highly recommend him to any students. He continues to inspire us to further our training, and for that we are very thankful. He is a natural when it comes to teaching and provides an environment of exceptional balance between ‘work’ and ‘play'. I sincerely hope that you are proud to have him as a member of your team!"
- Scott M

"Skipper Swede was an outstanding instructor who was never tired to answer questions. He made this course to be one of the best by teaching way more than necessary, and on top he had fantastic cooking skills!"
- Andy M

"I had many instructors but Skipper Swede was really good......next to that he is also a terrific cook. So at difficult seas he took really good care of us. I tend to have seasickness at heavy seas so for me it is impossible to cook at that moment. With him there was always something to eat. He also did a debriefing after every leg so we would take his critical points into consideration at the next leg. So you learn a lot on the way. (The best parts of the course was for me) to go over your boundaries but still have a very save feeling due to the instructor (Skipper Swede) who was sticking to my side. With this instructor I will achieve my goals, I am sure he will make this work for me!"
- Mascha

"I was deeply impressed by his enthueasm for teaching novices like me"
-Marks

"Great teacher, very elaborate in answering questions, very passionate on teaching sailing skills. The practical sailing, mooring and navigational tips and tricks given by Skipper Swede was the best part of the course"
- Bram

"Skipper Swede did a great job explainging the underlying mechanisms of navigation and boat maneuvering, making the topics easier to grasp for a technical mind like mine"
- Ard

"Most professional RYA instructor we've had so far; very methodical and pragmatic at the same time"
- George & Constanze

"Great guy, he pushes to participants to be better and better, not make any mistakes and think of everything. it puts the pressure on but I was looking for training not a vacation, so that perfect. In addition to the RYA curriculum he continuously adds his own view on how to do things in the safest and best way, which was very helpful, I learnt more than I signed up for. a big thumbs up I enjoyed it, it was fun! It was nice to receive a summary at the end of each day. helpful to know what went well and where are opportunities for improvement to focus on. All in all i am happy to spread the word that you deliver an outstanding course"
- Luuk

"Skipper Swede was fantastic, answering all our questions and putting us at ease, his teaching methods are perfect and when returning for more courses, I would insist on having him again"
- Mark W

"Skipper Swede managed to combine the course in a very effective manner and was very professional in his dealing with our children"
- Keg Family

"Skipper Swede is an excellent instructor, he gave clear instructions and allowed everyone to try out on their own"
- Jefferey Y

"Skipper Swede is a patient and professional instructor, always willing to take questions and generous with instruction beyond the syllabus"
- Lucy D

"Skipper Swede is an amazing instructor, learned more than I hoped for!"
- Darrel N

"Skipper Swede is an excellent instructor, whose professional approach and fantastic tuition ensured everyone gained so much experience and appreciation for sailing!"
- James M

"Skipper Swede is an excellent instructor with plenty of real world experience to help explain the theory"
- Michael K

"Skipper Swede is a natural instructor, very patient and very effective in teaching the material in an engaging manner. He made the week memorable!"
- Damian L

"Can’t say enough about the care and general helpfulness of Skipper Swede! He was there when we needed him – on and off – the boat. He gave useful tips and advice and the odd ‘war story’ from his sailing experience"
- Farid K

"Skipper Swede is an outstanding instructor, in knowledge of the subject matter, professionalism and kindness. I feel, that with this week of instruction, I can perform as a reliable, safe and knowledgeable crew member!"
- Jimmy B