Page 24 - Folk Boat Year Book 2023

grandmother took hers from Sydney to MEET THE MAN WHO TOOK THE
Southampton, battling 10 metre-high PICTURES
seas along the way. As any marine photographer will tell
As well as the inevitable derivatives, you, there’s no substitute for getting
Sunden introduced his own, hugely close to the action. A long lens may be
successful GRP International Folkboat OK for the paperazzi but at sea where
(subsequently renamed the IF Boat for everything’s moving, it’s simply a
legal reasons) but it wasn’t until 1977 liability. Using a 12ft inflatable, Tim
that a glassfibre Folkboat was approved Wright (below) learned the hard way. In
by the Scandinavian Sailing Association. 1993 he was living aboard his 34 ft yacht
Closely resembling the original, right
down to weight distribution, it prospered
and thrived.
However, for some of us, the originals
are best. The one pictured here is a
genuine, 1947, Nordic Folkboat, built in
Sweden of fir and larch on oak and fully
restored in 2013 by Leo Goolden who
sailed her across the Atlantic.
This elegant resurrection, then won her
class in the Antigua Classics Yacht
Regatta. A busy young boatbuilder, Leo in the Caribbean and started
sold Lorema in 2017 to concentrate on photographing yachts just in order to
restoration projects but the memories survive. Today he’s still there, and
linger on. recognised as one of the best in the
business, spending much of the year
Just a simple girl... afloat but also covering regattas in the
After all, this ocean-conquering, UK and the Mediterranean.
headline-grabber was a concept with His superb shots of Lorema are typical
such humble pretentions; a basic, of his trademark approach and show
stripped-down, engineless shell designed exactly why his work is so much in
for picnicking, racing and lazy days on demand.
Scandinavian fjords. Surprises don’t
come much bigger than this. Details: www.photoaction.com

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