Jan Himp: Baltic Spirit, Mediterranean Heart

The Boat

Launched in 1970 at the Lübecker Bootswerft Fritz Staack & Co. shipyard in Lübeck-Herrenwyk, on the German Baltic coast, the Jan Himp carries in her lines the heritage of Northern European boatbuilding. Designed by Günter A. Staack —architect and builder in one, in the finest tradition of the German family-run yards— she was conceived as a sturdy, seaworthy offshore cruiser, capable of facing the open sea with range and character.

Her Secrets

With her 9.98 metres length overall, 6.65 at the waterline and 2.92 of beam, the Jan Himp belongs to the Nymphe model of the Staack yard, whose proportions and spirit she preserves. Her 1.40-metre draft and displacement of nearly 5 tonnes —with around 2 tonnes of ballast— give her remarkable stability without sacrificing agility. The hull, of fibreglass, pairs modern durability with a wooden mast that keeps the aesthetic of the classics alive. Under her original sail plan she carried a mainsail, genoa, headsails of various sizes and a generous spinnaker of some 73 square metres.

The Staack project aimed for a noble, balanced yacht —one that rewards the skipper who knows how to read the wind. Period catalogues noted that, once settled on course, the Nymphe held a steady gait and a docile manner under engine for a five-tonne boat. Today, the Jan Himp is powered by a 27 hp Yanmar, which replaced the small original Farymann diesel.

Flying the German flag and bearing registration number 133056, the Jan Himp is now based at the Port de Sitges, from where her skipper, Jan Freymuth, brings her to the Sitges Vela Clásica start line year after year. Her fine-lined silhouette, light hull and wooden rig have become a familiar sight in the fleet, where she elegantly represents the Baltic school of boatbuilding alongside the British, Mediterranean and Atlantic classics that share these waters with her.

The Jan Himp is not merely a veteran cruiser: she is a living testament to the German post-war boatbuilding tradition —an honest, well-built boat that, half a century after her launch, still cuts through Mediterranean waters with the same nobility with which she was born on the shores of the Baltic.

Technical Sheet – Jan Himp

• Name: Jan Himp

• Class: Classic / Vintage

• Rig type: Sloop (Marconi)

• Model: Nymphe (Staack)

• Designer: Günter A. Staack

• Builder: Lübecker Bootswerft Fritz Staack & Co. (Lübeck-Herrenwyk, Germany)

• Year built: 1970

• Length overall (LOA): 9.98 m

• Waterline length (LWL): 6.65 m

• Beam: 2.92 m

• Draft: 1.40 m

• Displacement: ~5 t (ballast ~2 t)

• Hull material: Fibreglass (wooden mast)

• Engine: Yanmar 27 hp

• Flag: Germany

• Registration No.: 133056

• Owner / Skipper: Jan Freymuth

• Crew: 4

• Club / Base: Port de Sitges

Highlights

• Design and construction from the German Baltic boatbuilding school

• Fibreglass hull with wooden mast: modern strength, classic aesthetic

• Staack yard’s Nymphe model, seaworthy and well-balanced

• A regular presence in the Sitges Vela Clásica fleet