Your Ship’s Master

Hans Baumann, born in 1945, has been fond of navigation since his childhood. During his youth, he spent most of his leisure time with the Segelschule Thunersee (sailing school on the lake of Thun) and soon became a sailing teacher himself. With the goal of making his dreams of ships and the sea a profession, he started an apprenticeship with the Schweizerische Reederei AG as a sailor on the river Rhine when he was just 16. However, after a year acquiring experience and knowledge, he had to abandon his training as a sailor due to health issues. Instead, he did an apprenticeship as a photographer and remained faithful to this profession for several decades. Until recently, he had his own studio for commercial photography and worked as a teacher of photography at the Schule für Gestaltung Bern-Biel.
The fascination of navigation has always remained with him and he continued sailing on the lake of Thun as often as possible. In addition, he also sailed the oceans as an experienced and weatherproof skipper. Following his retirement in 2008, Hans was able to acquire the „Zephyr“ and realized a dream. He now intends to offer charters on Europe’s internal waterways. In 2007 he successfully completed the exam qualifying him as a professional sailor on the river Rhine. During this exam, he had to prove his abilities by steering a 2000-ton tanker. Thanks to his great experience, his calm and attentive manner as well as his respect towards the environment, Hans Baumann is the ideal ship’s master for a happy and relaxing trip aboard the „Zephyr“.