Fredrik Sundberg

Yacht Broker Fredrik Sundberg has always been fascinated by the sea and by nature. He grew up on Lake Vänern, Sweden and by chance, as a 13-year-old boy, came across a white sports boat with a large black 50hp outboard engine from Mercury. A boat that had hardly passed a survey but she was fast! That was the most important thing…

He writes: “A few years later, my friend asked me to join an evening regatta aboard his sailboat at our local sailing club. The yacht was an Albin Express. I was hooked!

This was the start of many fantastic years, competing in Swedish championships and regattas, aboard various yachts. The Albin Express, at the time, was the largest keelboat class in the Nordic region and attracted over 100 yachts to the line-up.

My interest in sailing also led me to apply my trade elsewhere in the marine industry. At the beginning of 2000, I started as Sales Manager at Rutgerson Marin in Marstrand, where we delivered deck equipment to the shipyards of Orust and sail rings to sailmakers all around the world.

The journey continued to Seldén Mast in Gothenburg – where I became Export Manager of the OEM department and had the opportunity to visit the shipyards in Europe. It was enlightening to have the opportunity to work with designers, developing the best alternative for the optimal rig.

After 6 years at Seldén, I was offered the role of Product Manager for Maxi Sailboats, recently acquired at the time by Najadvarvet . Two new models were to be developed. Unfortunately, it was not long before there was a crisis in the marine industry and far too few yachts were sold. I will always be grateful for the invaluable experience I gained in production at Orust and for meeting so many wonderful sailors during this time.

After a few years in the ‘ordinary’ world, it was exciting to return to yacht brokerage and be part of the crew at Berthon Scandinavia AB.

During my years in the yachting business, I have had the opportunity to sail many different yachts and in many different places. I share my passion for sailing and yachting with my family. The best summer days are spent at sea, but for the really windy days, we leave the yacht in the marina, take out our windsurfing boards and rig the small sails.

I prefer yachts with good performance, but regatta sailing has in recent years been replaced by more cruising sailing, so comfort on-board has become more important. The Swedish west coast is fantastic, but I now find I have a growing curiosity about a longer sailing trip at some point. Once you start thinking about it, it is difficult to let it go. My daughter’s dream is to sail around the world so maybe we can start with the Atlantic together.”