The Team
Peter Förthmann, Management
Jörg-Peter Kusserow, Design and Development
Jens Teich, IT
Doro & Greg Kruegermann, US representatives
Peter Förthmann
"Peter Förthmann has a unique knowledge of self-steering. Born in 1947, he learned to sail as soon as he learned to walk, growing up by the water in Hamburg. A sailor on commercial ships, a yachtsman (26 different yachts - so far), an engineer and a highly practical man, Peter Förthmann's creative contribution to the evolution of windvane steering systems is virtually unparalleled. It is thanks in no small part to him that these systems are still thriving in the age of bits and bytes."
(Author's biography taken from Selfsteering Under Sail, Adlard Coles Nautical, 1998)
"Many sailors agree that Peter's WINDPILOT is currently the best gear available. Being both the inventor and the manufacturer of this ingenious device, Peter has indeed shown that his name should stand alongside those of his great precursors: Blondie Hasler, Marcel Gianoli, Nick Franklin. This book confirms Peter Förthmann's position as the world authority on wind-operated self-steering gears."
(Jimmy Cornell's Foreword taken from Selfsteering Under Sail, Adlard Coles Nautical, 1998)
Peter Förthmann writes technical books, organizes Bluewater Seminars in Germany and has presented countless lectures on self-steering under sail at various events and locations around the world including Annapolis, Atlantic City, Chicago, Cowes, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Las Palmas, London, Miami and Vienna.
He is also a freelance journalist and member of the UK Yachting Journalists' Association.
Jörg-Peter Kusserow
It all began in 1981 when Jörg bought a WINDPILOT for his 14t ketch SY Thor ready for 'the big trip'. His return from the Caribbean marked the start of a highly fruitful creative collaboration and an enduring friendship with Peter Förthmann. The pair have gone on to rewrite the book on windvane steering systems, collecting an array of internationally recognized patents along the way.
Jens Teich
A sailor, freelance programmer and IT systems analyst, Jens looks after our computer systems and networks, systems integration and database development. Jens also speaks German and English
Doro and Greg Kruegermann
Los Angeles
Dorothee Etz dropped out for a while in 1992 to sail from Sweden to Panama and then on to New Zealand aboard a Bavaria 42 with a WINDPILOT Pacific at the helm. She then lived for some time on Vanuatu. Life changed dramatically during a stopover in Los Angeles on a flight to Europe: Greg Kruegermann, who had emigrated with his family from Germany to the US 35 years previously before making it big in the pickles business, was fascinated by the sailor in pink and made his move. LA-based Doro and Greg have been representing WINDPILOT in the USA since 1996. Doro speaks German and English, while Greg has German, English and Spanish.
