The yachting industry has lost a significant member of its community. Jörg Beiderbeck, the founder of Beiderbeck Designs and a noted naval architect for more than three decades, died in Bremen, Germany following a long illness on August 2. He was 69 years old.
Beiderbeck was born on October 6, 1946 in Wolfenbüttel, Germany. Following studies in Kiel in 1979, he put his new skills in ship design to practice at a yard in Tunisia. He returned to Germany, though, working in the far northern state of Schleswig (today Schleswig-Holstein, where Kiel is a key city). Beiderbeck started his yachting career in 1986, designing projects in house for Lürssen at its Bremen headquarters. Be Mine, built in 1989, was the first megayacht he penned for the shipyard. At 131 feet (40 meters), she was quite significant for her time. Interesting enough, two decades after her initial launch, Be Mine came home, so to speak, to Beiderbeck: The then-owner tapped him, as the head of Bremen-based Beiderbeck Designs, for a refit. (Beiderbeck worked directly for Lürssen for 10 years before hanging his own shingle.) The yacht received larger ports, new alfresco furnishings, and additional alfresco lighting.
As is often the case with namesake companies, some people assumed that Beiderbeck Designs was always a one-man shop. However, the mid-1990s saw Beiderbeck meet two young men who would eventually work with him and later take over day-to-day operations with his blessing. They attended a class he gave while serving as a lecturer at a technical school in Bremen. The two were Immo Lüdeling, who was hired in 1997 and became a partner in 2001, and Tim Ulrich, who came onboard in 2010. Both (flanking Beiderbeck in the photo at top) continue to operate Beiderbeck Designs, along with Marcus Lowinski.
While he stepped down from overseeing the design studio in 2010, Beiderbeck remained active in yachting. He attended major yacht shows, and the studio’s management team welcomed his input on a variety of matters. The three partners released the following as part of a statement: “Beiderbeck Designs GmbH has lost not only the man who gave it is name, but one of its four partners. It’s not only Beiderbeck Designs that is grieving. We will all miss his advice and his expertise. We will honor Jörg Beiderbeck’s memory and continue along the same road, so that his aspirations in design and ideas will follow on behind him.”
On a personal note, I met Beiderbeck soon after I joined the yachting industry in 1993. I will never forget this big bear of a man who at first seemed quite intimidating. He soon revealed himself to be as passionate about proper design as he was about anything that could possibly impact the industry. On one occasion, for example, at an industry event, he spotted me across the room and came straight over, instructing me in no uncertain terms to “tell your President to stop.”
Beiderbeck is survived by two children and his girlfriend.
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