(click to enlarge photos)
Published in The Seattle Times online on April 23, 2026
and in Pacific NW Magazine of the printed Times on April 26, 2026
Seattle family sails Norwegian racer through its 100th year
By Jean Sherrard
[For a late breaking update on the Oslo story, head down to the bottom of the column for Peter Giese’s spellbinding account – which includes news from the Norwegian royal family!]
Is there anything more graceful than a wind-filled sail — half an angel’s wing, completed in reflection?
For nearly 90 years, the Giese family has piloted that grace across Northwest inland waters aboard the Oslo, a 36-foot classic sailboat of the Six Metre racing class once sailed by Norway’s Crown Prince Olav, later King Olav V.
In the politically turbulent summer of 1936, German-born Hans Otto Giese (known by his middle name) and his Norwegian American wife, Borghild (“Borgy” to friends and family) crossed the Atlantic by steamship on their honeymoon, visiting relatives in Germany and Norway.
Convinced that a sleek sailboat’s elegant lines were perfectly suited to Puget Sound’s light air, Otto went shopping in Norway. In Trondheim he found the Oslo — 10 years old, built for the crown prince by designer Johan Anker and boatbuilder Christian Jensen. Otto bought her on the spot for $1,650, delivered to Seattle.
When the Oslo arrived in 1937, her mahogany planks had shrunk so badly they showed daylight. She was met at the dock by Anchor Jensen of Jensen Motor Boat — coincidentally sharing the same name as the Oslo’s Norwegian builders, who later built Seattle’s renowned Slo-Mo-Shun hydroplanes. For 50-plus years, Jensen cared for the Oslo: Mast down each fall, into the shed. Mast up each spring.
Each season, the Oslo proved herself, winning races across the region. So infectious was Otto’s enthusiasm that by the 1960s
Seattle boasted one of the largest Six Metre fleets in the world — 18 boats on the starting line each Wednesday night off Leschi. As Otto and Borgy raised their six children, the boat became part racer, part floating campground.
“We were potty-trained and Oslo-trained,” says son Peter Giese, youngest of the siblings. “With Captain Otto,” his brother Emil says, “we were racing competitively and cruising for discovery.” Their brother Stephen recalls the boat as “a member of the family, getting us through wonderful and sometimes hair-raising situations.”
After the war, Otto helped establish Seattle’s Corinthian Yacht Club, where, in his words, members were “athletes, not society people.” He remained at the Oslo’s helm well into his 80s, racing her for the last time at the 1985 Shaw Island Classic. He died the next year.
Today, the siblings who grew up on the sailboat boast other passions and with Otto’s unsentimental clarity have decided to sell. On May 2, the Oslo will make her final Opening Day parade under Giese family colors.
A boat built for a prince became, in time, a vessel of family memory, its seraph’s wing still catching the wind.
WEB EXTRAS
For our narrated 360 video, captured off of Leschi on Lake Washington, head over here.
And a huge thank you is owed to Howard Lev who, once again,
loaned us his sturdy cabin cruiser to travel from Lake Union to Leschi, where the Oslo is berthed. Also, gratitude in spades to Rob Wilkinson, who piloted Howard’s boat through the treacherous shoals of the Leschi Marina.
Below see more photos of the Giese family, including the magical Oslo under sail, even if on a near windless March day.
Peter Giese’s update – THE REST OF THE STORY
“Several years ago I thought it was time to sell Oslo. My brothers and I were becoming less physically capable of maintaining her, and we each had our own obligations. While my two children were raised aboard Oslo and cruised with us into B.C., their interests lay elsewhere. Our brother Emil convinced me it was time—let’s see her to 100! I placed ads with the Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Swiss, and Canadian national Six Meter associations, as well as the North American Six Meter Association (NASMA), the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, the Victoria Yacht Club, a local boat magazine, and on the International Six Meter Association (ISMA) website.
“NASMA had interest but could not afford trucking Oslo across the country to the East Coast. We received many inquiries. A sailor from Portland made a date to meet me at Leschi to see Oslo, but never showed—later claiming an ER visit. I never heard from them again. Another person demanded a clean history report of any liens, liabilities, and accidents, for which I lost $55; after sending the spotless report, I received no response. The only accidents Oslo had ever been in were touching soft mud or sand while adventuring throughout Puget Sound. There was another sailor in Boston who called several times but bowed out after learning the cost of transportation.
“Early in the advertising blitz, I contacted the Norwegian Consul for this area, inquiring whether the Royal Family was interested in reacquiring Oslo. I actually got a response: they would communicate with the Royal Family about Oslo’s history and availability. The Consul soon reported that the Family was not interested.
“We also got an email from a European company in the midst of rebranding, relishing the opportunity to showcase their new focus with Oslo as the prime example—of what, exactly, I did not know. They promised to maintain her in partnership with the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club, then gift Oslo to the Crown Prince when he became King. But what if he wasn’t a sailor?
“We received many offers that were all very similar: I agree with your price; send me your name and address and I will send you a cashier’s check to pay yourself and the shipper, which I will arrange. The vocabulary and sentence structure were always just a little off-kilter. When I wrote back asking about their sailing history and location, I got no answer.
“There were a few well-wishers who commented, and some mild inquiries, until late January, when I got a call from Brian. He had found our ad on the ISMA website. My first question: what is your sailing experience? Brian had competed in the 2024 and 2025 Six Meter World Championships, and had trailered a Six Meter from Vancouver to New York by himself in three days—sending me a photo of the Six on its trailer behind his beefy truck.
“We spoke at length, and by the end of the conversation we were both giddy and laughing: each of us was exactly what the other had been looking for. Brian wanted a project Six Meter he could maintain and race. He has a shop, is a woodworker, owns a sewing machine for the sails, and can machine parts in both wood and metal. He is an industrial designer. As our ad had made clear, the price for Oslo was secondary to finding her a proper home. We both scored.
“Brian came down to Seattle last weekend to see Oslo on the water—and I met him to confirm he actually existed. We went for a sail that started with just a few airs but freshened into a beautiful reach, where we saw 6 knots. Brian immediately felt the balance of Oslo under sail. He was born to tinker and truly appreciated her hundred-year-old fittings and the several unique procedures they require. The final proof: Brian was on the tiller as we sailed out from the berth into the lake.
“When the sail was over and we headed back into the slip—rounding the big turn, coasting in, not breaking an egg as we came alongside—we were still giddy.”