STORIES OF THE SEA Painted by Andrzej Flach
We are honoured to introduce Mr Andrzej Flach, a talented artist specialising in marine painting, a member of the Foundation of Disabled People’s Art , living in Krakow for 69 years . While working together on the 2021 calendar project, we took the opportunity to ask him a few questions and he agreed to tell us a bit about himself and his passion. Let’s start from the beginning. You were born in Gdańsk and moved to Krakow with your parents when you were 5 years old. Yes, that’s true. I was born in GdańskWrzeszcz, a year af ter the turmoil
of World War II subsided, in the 17th century palace situated in Wajdeloty Street. The palace had been once owned by Schulz, the richest merchant in Gdańsk and a co-founder of the Danziger Aktien Bierbrauerei company comprising, among others, a brewery, a windmill and a manufacturing plant where anchors and chains were made. Af ter the war, my father was a freight forwarding manager at Gdańsk Brewer y. In addition to working at DAB, he also ran his own forwarding company. Unfortunately, there was no place for private business in the post-war political system. The unfavourable political climate made our family move as far as Krakow in 1951.
You were five when you left Gdańsk. Have you any memories of the city? What I remember from my childhood are frequent trips to Sopot. I spent a lot of time with my nanny there, playing on the beach and the pier. I think it was then that the sea, breeze and sand became inherent elements of my natural environment. Your memories and seaside roots did not let you leave the sea and water… I loved water and I couldn’t imagine living without it. I was a lifeguard, a member of the sailing team. I spent all holidays either at the Masurian Lakes or at the seaside or on cruises. Cruises were the best part of my youthful life. Indeed, you had an eventful sailing career. It began at the Polish Yacht Club in Krakow and my first important cruise was aboard Zawisza Czarny with commander Bolesław Romanowski. We sailed to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Leningrad. In 1962, I was among 12 persons chosen from all sailing schools in Poland to take part in the navy training cruise aboard Iskra schooner. It was during that cruise that I experienced the only “real” storm at the Botnicka Bay (I’ve wanted to paint such storm ever since, but I haven’t succeeded yet). While on the sailing instructor course, I sailed on board of jolly boats along the whole Polish coast: from the Hel Peninsula to the Szczecin Lagoon. I wanted to live from sailing but obviously it wasn’t my fate, although I passed the entrance exam to the maritime academy. I had an uncle who lived in the UK, not an added value at that time… With passing years and the changing family situation, my sailing adventure came to an end but memories have stayed with me. You can say that my sailing adventure is
16 | Summer 2020 | We love to help
