Frans Bolweg (30 March 1950 – 10 January 2015) was a sailor, scout, speaker, National Race Officer and since 1995 International Judge from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Sailing life

Frans Bolweg had a short career, in

Clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

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and

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

, as regatta sailor however developed himself into a race organizer 'pur sang'. After a management crisis in 1983 at the 'Watersportvereniging Monnickendam', Bolweg among others like Henri van der Lubbe and Kees Kooij took the initiative for the 'Surf, Zeil en Watersportvereniging

Uitdam Uitdam is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Waterland, and lies on the coast of the IJsselmeer, about 12 km northeast of Amsterdam. The village was first mentioned in 1345 as Udam, and mea ...

'. The goal for this yacht club is to focus on new developments in the sport of sailing. At first this yacht club gave one of the first platforms in the Netherlands for International

Windsurf Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

competitions on open water. Later, Bolweg was the leading race officer in the first Match race event during the 1989 SPA Regatta at

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Medemblik was a prosperous ...

as well as many other sailing events in the Netherlands. Also the new development to introduce a new event for the former Olympic classes drew Bolweg's interest. He was race officer during the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

edition of the

Vintage Yachting Games The Vintage Yachting Games are an international Quadrennial multi class sailing event for former Olympic classes and the former Classes of the Paralympic Games. The Vintage Games is held every four years. The idea behind the Vintage is to Org ...

and International judge during the

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edition in Bellano (ITA). Bolweg was also during many sailing events 'the voice' of the event. On countless events, like the former SPA Regatta, Delta LLoyd regatta and the team sailing competition at the Maashaven in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

he worked as the speaker to inform the audience in an entertaining and professional way.

Personal life

Born in Amsterdam as third son of Maximilianus Wilhelmus Bolweg and Annetta Geertruida Maria Bolweg (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Nefkens). His mother, herself an experienced regatta sailor in the 12 foot dinghy, taught him how to sail. Bolweg moved in his early childhood to Laren, where he received his education. His father, who was working in the

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...

business, tried to interest Bolweg for a study and career in that line of business as well. Since Bolweg had the ambition to go to

drama school A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...

this made him leave the elderly house and find his own way in life. For over twenty years, during the European winter season, Bolweg went for study and meditation to

Buddhist monasteries Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. On the age of 25 Bolweg developed a cancer in his left eye. After regression of this cancer he kept a 'seaman like' appearance. In 2014 cancer returned in his organs, this time without hope. Bolweg lived on the patrol boat "Jade" in Monnickendam. Jade Patroll

References

1950 births 2015 deaths Sportspeople from Amsterdam Dutch male sailors (sport) Europe class sailors Laser class sailors Dutch referees and umpires Deaths from cancer in the Netherlands Deaths from eye cancer {{Netherlands-yachtracing-bio-stub