Rollo Gebhard
Rollo Gebhard (7 July 1921 – 27 December 2013) was a German multiple single hand maritime circumnavigator and author of books.[1]
Rollo Gebhard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rollo Gebhard 7 July 1921 |
| Died | 27 December 2013 (aged 92) |
| Nationality |  Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Circumnavigator and Author |
Life
His father was a private scholar. The family lived in many places around Europe. In WW II, he served in the Air Force (Luftwaffe) as a photographer. In 1956 he bought his first boat, Solveig I (Swedish: sun-strength). With this dinghy he sailed to the Red Sea. With his wooden Solveig II he crossed the Atlantic in 1963 single handed. SY Solveig III was his third boat, actually a yacht. He did two round the world cruises single handed with that from 1967 to 1970 and 1975.
In 1983 he started off to an 8-year cruise with his girl friend Angelika Zilcher (later his wife), including a term of 6 month without a stop. Soon after in 1991, he founded a Society for dolphin conservation.
From 2001 to 2003, he did a Europe-Russia-Europe cruise with his 7th boat Solveig VII, a Dutch-built motorcruiser.
He published several books about his trips and about sailing itself.