28.06.2024
Volos in Greece - a portrait of the beginner-friendly sailing area!
Employees introduce themselves: Michael
What is it like behind the scenes of BAVARIA YACHTS? Who are we and how do we work? We introduce you to Michael who is a foreman for the production of our motorboats.
Michael is 24 years of age and one of the first who has done an apprenticeship in boatbuilding at BAVARIA.
This he began in 2011 and he was very happy with it: “The training was very varied, I had specialised on new building, on fitting out and re-fitting. In the yard, I also learnt a lot of technical things, like the electrical installations on the motorboats, for example. This was something that I learnt by myself and voluntarily but now I am foreman building motorboats. These have a lot of technical equipment on board.”
Like most of his colleagues, Michael comes from the region.
Which raises the question how he came to choose boatbuilding as a career, so far from the coast and the sea. Michael laughs, boats are not new to him: „In the past I often sailed with my uncle. After finishing school, I found it hard to decide which career path I wanted to choose as an apprentice. Working with wood, composites or metal. Then my uncle said: Why not consider boatbuilding, these guys do all of that!“
A wise piece of advice and one that suited Michael perfectly.
During his apprenticeship, he also had to move up to the coast to attend boatbuilding school in Travemünde, on the Baltic shore. There, he met many other apprentices from other yards and it was then that he realised how lucky he was to be trained by Bavaria Yachts: “Here, we can really build boats, from beginning to end. Many small yards only do repairs. Here, we do everything: GRP, electrics, carpentry, also some repairs. This opens up many possibilities for the future!”
He likes to learn, also outside his normal working hours.
He has just passed his test for the amateur radio license. “There one also learns a lot about electronics, which is special knowledge that I can also use at BAVARIA. I would one day also like to pass my exams as master boatbuilder, but then, I am still young and have time…” In any case, he already has a strong connection to boats. Not only the ones he builds at Bavaria, for he owns a small motorboat and also a sailing dinghy. What he likes to do with these? Preferably go on holidays to Scandinavia and there, in the wonderful landscapes, enjoy the waters of lakes and coast.