Sponsoring by Becker Marine Systems

Two of the high-performance stepping boats built by TU-Hamburg students are stationed close to Elbe water again for training purposes. The Hamburg Waterbike crew is supported by Becker Marine Systems, which provides their company premises. Since the boats, like "ordinary" pedal boats, are driven with pure muscle power, the legs of the drivers are the biggest weak point. Fatigue, muscle injuries or convulsions can have a significant influence on the performance of the Hamburg Waterbike crew. In order to minimize these weak points of the human drive unit, training is very important.

Our children are our future. It is not just a motto, but a culture which needs to be lived. Children must have the chance to play, learn and broaden their understanding. Living in the beautiful city of Hamburg means living in close proximity to the port and its ships. But how do ships work, and why do the different types look the way they do?

To bring this important topic closer to the school children, Becker arranged for a ship model to be placed in the playground of Iserbarg Primary School in Hamburg. The model is a 7-m long 'miniature' of an oil tanker which today sails the seven seas, and was generously donated by the HSVA (Hamburgische Schiffbau Versuchsanstalt) following its prior use to research optimisation of the hull shape and minimise environmantal stresses on ships. Only moments after being installed in the school playground it became the centre of attention for the children, and is now crossing their fantasy oceans.

Becker strives to give young people opportunities to begin their advancement in the professional world. Presently seven apprentices and trainees are being trained in the company, and several advanced education schemes are being offered to existing staff.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery –
"If you want to build a ship":

If you want to build a ship,
don't drum up people to collect wood
and don't assign them tasks and work,
but rather teach them to long for the
endless immensity of the sea.

Becker supports the local Kanusport Harburg Kayak club in teaching youngsters about the endless immensity of the sea and the local water of the river Elbe.

Becker supports the Hamburg-Harburg harbour festival. The Becker head office in Hamburg is located close to the harbour of Harburg. Harburg is the largest southern district of Hamburg. Every year in May the Harburg harbour festival is a major attraction and Becker will be continuing its support of the festival.

One year Becker team members took up the challenge to do their best in manoeuvring small sailing boats. To make it more fun no sails were used, and it was hard work to move the boats using only paddles. All Becker "sailors" had a lot of fun with these small boats and the hard-fought battles in seamanship with competing teams.

Across the Atlantic Ocean ...and back. The catamaran of Becker's team member Herbert Blümel was on an adventurous, one-year journey across the Atlantic ocean an back again. After taking a route via the North Sea, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay and down the coastlines of Spain and Portugal at Tenerife the"Blümel Cat" prepared for the big trip across the Atlantic. With the help of the trade winds the cat reached the Caribbean, arriving at Carlisle Bay in Barbados. It took the Blümel family travelling on board only 17 days to cross the big ocean on their trip of 2,800 nautical miles.