QUEST: for George Dibbern an episodic series about George Dibbern (1889 – 1962) sailor- philosopher and self-declared world citizen, author of Quest.

QUEST: FOR GEORGE DIBBERN inspires the mind and spirit as it wrestles with realms both political and personal. Quest is first depicted as a book-on-film as Dibbern sails away from pre-Nazi . The later three seasons uncover Dibbern’s birth to death story in a documentary-style exposé adapted from Erika Grundmann’s Dark Sun: Te Rapunga and the Quest of George Dibbern. Ms. Grundmann gives a decade of her life following Dibbern’s path around the world, honestly reporting on his philosophy and adventures, his friendships and correspondents, which include famed author Henry Miller, as well as Dibbern’s wife and daughters.

Born in 1889 Germany Dibbern inherits a love for boating and he gave his life to traveling across oceans. George Dibbern searches for human understanding in the face of rising fascism as he explores the beauty and wonderment of Earth. While George Dibbern garnered modest fame as the first self-proclaimed “citizen of the world” who used his boat-without-a-port to promote brotherhood and peace this episodic series is a celebration of humanity, the free Spirit and the power of writing.

OUTLINE

SEASON 1- 3 Centers on QUEST by George Dibbern with a prologue and thirty-one chapters, taking audiences from 1929 to 1940, from Germany to . SEASON 4 - 6 Shifts to DARK SUN - TE RAPUNGA & THE QUEST OF GEORGE DIBBERN where Erika Grundmann reveals the full account of Dibbern's life as she retraces his voyage and life around the globe.

PROLOGUE: Erika Grundmann hears about Quest at a dinner with friends. Henry Miller reaches out by letter to George during his internment. The seeds of the later half of the series are set before we open Quest.

2 CHAPTER ONE: Berlin, 1929 The story begins before dawn on George's last day on the job building a road to a cemetery. He stands apart from the others who are desperately trying to figure out the way forward. George believes in a brotherhood of man.

CHAPTER TWO: Leaving Home George leaves his wife and three daughters to make his way in the great Unknown.

CHAPTER THREE: "Hallelujah, I'm a bum." George gets going with his nephew and a debutant named Doe who has a crocodile purse that helps pay for the needs of the boat Te Rapunga. "Vagabonds of the sea".

CHAPTER FOUR & FIVE: Make Way Te Rapunga makes it through calm and fog as she makes her first steps into the world. During a prolonged hospital stay the crew finds the warmth of friendship amongst travelers and landlubbers alike.

CHAPTER SIX: The Atlantic Te Rapunga enters real ocean and her crew hold their silence and their stomachs. "So very, very small ..."

CHAPTER SEVEN: Scilly Islands, Round Island At port they party and outfit themselves and the vessel some more before being pulled out by the revered tugboat. George refines his abilities and determinations. "Living each day as it comes ..."

CHAPTER EIGHT: Corcubion, Oporto, Portugal Christmas on Te Rapunga. "Wealthy in friendship ..."

CHAPTER NINE: Portugal, Cadiz, Corona The crew faces the challenges of being individual members of a team. "How easy it sometimes is to be a good fairy."

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CHAPTER TEN: Mediterranean, Ibiza Doe von Fritsch departs the boat and George befriends Gypsy as they prepare for the Atlantic crossing. "There is a power from outside which drives us ..."

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Palma, Dragonera and Majorca Follies on shore and on board, the intrepid Te Rapunga takes her first passengers for a leg of the journey. "What children we are, sailing, dreaming, into the world."

CHAPTER TWELVE: Gulf of Naples to Iviza George meets Cilette and Charles of the San Luca who share a Spirit. "We are freeborn and cannot be forced.” - "Not out of joy, only out of pain do we become conscious of our actions."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Capri, Corsica, Monte Carlo, Cannes, St. Tropez, Cabrera George entertains on Te Rapunga while exploring the mad places along the shores of Capri. "If one never parts from good friends ..."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Iviza and Europa Point George wrestles with his longing for the past and the future. "More and more I feel that the mist ..."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Gibraltar Unexpected visitors and serendipitous meeting with Doe. The mate saves Te Rapunga. "Deep is the bottom, quiet, unconcerned, the fishes draw the illuminated tracks. And we? Are we the longing of the stars? Are we those shining fishes? ... "

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Las Palmas Getting to know all the sea life. "Behind us we leave a trail ..." The mate picks up a pup. Doe tries to get back on the boat. "I can see that pain too ..." - "Our trip is only a means ..." 4

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Across the Atlantic to Kingston, Jamaica George falls deeper in love with wind and sea. "That love is a conquering force ..." - "We have discovered America ..." "Doesn't the enchantment ..." - Doe still on board George sighs, "two years have gone already ..."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The Panama Canal to Cristobal Te Rapunga makes her way to the Pacific. "Peaceful Ocean might be ..." - "What queer tricks fate plays ..."

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Pacific, 1932 *daily journal Through calms and storms, George, the mate and their dog, Sniffy brave the Pacific. - "Who says sailing is a pleasure?" - "Never will I forget the sunrise ..." - "How beautiful the night is, and the fire on the horizon, far off!"

CHAPTER TWENTY: Pacific *daily journal Onward on the sea and in his thoughts. - "One even ponders over the words "boundary," "fence," ..." - "Things begin to clear up within me, and I am feeling happy, so I sing."

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Pacific *daily journal Seven weeks at sea now. All hell breaks loose. "Truly one is an idiot to be afraid." - "Excitement takes hold of me. ..."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Pacific *daily journal The mainsail keeps tearing apart, they are rationing the meals and bailing water. Full of pain and joy. - "Yes, there is a different law at sea ..." - "We have to go beyond ourselves, break our own boundaries."

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: Bound for *daily journal Pushed past the limit, George and the mate finally make it past the Golden Gate Bridge and onto land again. "I always wear the rubber boots ..." - "How can wars ever be abolished?"

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: California, Grand Canyon George dives into American life where he interviews and speaks in public. He ponders the ways toward peace and says good bye to Doe one more time. "And if this majority gains political power ... Or it may be that out of selfishness..."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Back to sea, , bound for N.Z. George remembers Mother Rangi and his time in New Zealand with the Maori people. In Hawaii George meets a family and stays the night then longer. "At present I can no longer be a member of one nation, only a member of a bigger group, humanity." – "Where people are so natural and unconventional, how can one not feel joyous?"

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Samoa George continues to learn how to be a bridge-builder between nations. He meets many new friends. "Here all is color, life, warmth." - "Only if one is tolerant ..."

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: to New Zealand Back on sea for the final leg before reaching his destination, George sings. Questions about God, death, storms and money prevail. "With great hopes I have come ..." - "Ake, ake! - forward, forward!"

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: New Zealand Without Mother Rangi George tries to figure out his purpose and plan. Young people save George's hope. "Perhaps you people don't notice ..." - "To win the love of the immigrant ... Banks fail, love never."

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: George and the mate team up again to compete in the Trans- Tasman Race with a new crew. Drama on the seas again with boat racing. "The room is full of this independent spirit. ..." - "Beauty must always remain beauty; ..."

6 CHAPTER THIRTY George finds his joy and purpose in friendship. "... I still believe that the right kind of woman ..." - "... For the spirit of the sea is friendship." - "A ship must fly some flag."

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Auckland The mate finds his future on land. George makes a phone call home. "If we believe, that good is a force ..."

7 QUEST QUOTES

“To live life to its fullest, not to anchor but to go on, that is the liberation and the freedom the sea gives.” - George Dibbern

“There are some people one knows without ever having seen them before, with whom one, without further formality, because it is a waste of time, immediately speaks of that which seems most important at the moment; it may be art, science, religion, love. Or does not speak at all because each understands the other, and does as a matter of course the thing he would consider impossible at any other time, with any other person. There is a power from outside which drives us, under whose force friendships are recognized, crimes committed, and marriages closed.” - George Dibbern, Quest, page 106

“No, our trip is only a means to an end; the adventure lies in the sail through the ocean of the spirit, to find a sea (see) way to God. No fear must I have. I must sail into the unknown [with] … a heart full of warm love, love for men, for the world, for beauty, purity, truth, which we call God. Thus it is; and so let come what will. And now may the bird of my longing spread its wings to a flight across the big ocean. . . . ‘. . . A far away glittering is enticing me A whispering darkness is calling me Into a misty perhaps. . . .’ - George Dibbern, Quest, page 182

“What a lot of nice people we know! How much they have done for us and how little we have been able to do for them. Sometimes it is hard having no money, when one sees certain little things one could do which would bring a tremendous amount of happiness to those whose lives are often so difficult. Oh, just once to have money! How much good I really could do with it. And in such a totally different way from charity which is organized and cold. How many people have money and plenty of the willingness to give, but not the knowledge how, so that they are only sponged upon, and finally grow disgusted and give only to charity as the easiest way out. It seems to be the rule in life that he who has money does not know what to do with it, and he who knows what to do with it, unselfishly, has none. Money in itself is not bad; why should it be? And one day we will learn how to give wisely. Perhaps some day even I may have the opportunity—who knows?” - George Dibbern, Quest, page 313

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“What do officials know about the loyalty of the people they mistrust? And how can they expect loyalty when they themselves show nothing but suspicion? The British law is supposed to allow free speech and to give a man the benefit of the doubt, so that he is no criminal until proved guilty. In wartime it seems this rule is forgotten. Yet this privilege is the very thing that Europeans came out into the colonies to find—this freedom. And who built the colonies? Wasn’t it the immigrant? Didn’t everybody add his share to the development of the country? To win the love of the immigrant should be the aim of a country; in this lies the security of the State, for no one betrays what he loves. But love cannot be forced into being through laws, and a country cannot safeguard itself through laws, only through love.” - George Dibbern, Quest, page 329

“Again one sees the scramble for security at the cost of freedom. We are all chasing security, countries and individuals alike. But in these unsettled times what guarantees a man security? Certainly not money. No, one’s greatest security is to be loved. Banks fail, love never.” - George Dibbern, Quest, page 329

“Again, driving alongside of her, I feel that closeness, that peculiar mixture that a woman can be to a man, irrespective of her age, because there is no age; she is mother, sweetheart, daughter to him, not the object of passion, but the object of reverence, and a refuge. And with my trouble, with the tornness of my heart, my loneliness, I speak, and my thoughts for the first time soar up again like keen birds, drawing spirals higher and higher, and she dares to fly with them. I would like to go with her to a hilltop, overlooking the land of the past, setting off a new course; I would like to take her to the sea, speak to her about the ocean and the wind that brought me ashore. She is hungry for life, a tree ready to be transplanted, having no longer room in the soil in which it stands. “Break out or die,” is a command that comes to all of us once; ours is the decision.” - George Dibbern, Quest, page 330

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Te Rapunga

George and his crew

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INTRODUCTION to DARK SUN: THE QUEST OF GEORGE DIBBERN by Erika Grundmann

The conversation centered around writing in a language other than one’s mother tongue. Could it be done? Could it be done well? Yes, insisted our friends. A resounding yes! They had on their shelf a book written in English by a German, a sea adventure story that was also much more. The author, George Dibbern, had so vividly captured the essence of storms and calms at sea, described with honesty and humour the turbulence of his own feelings of freedom, and the sense of guilt that pervaded that freedom. How could a man simply up and leave his family?

And yet, didn’t everyone, in some small way, envy him his freedom and his determination to live as he saw fit—with his conscience as his only guide? Quest was a great book, they insisted, but, apologetically they explained, they would not let it out of their house for they had had such difficulty to find a copy of the long out-of-print book so revered by Henry Miller. Thus began my “quest” for Quest.

I started out confident that I would find a copy in one of the many used bookstores in the city of Victoria where we lived at the time. In those early days when internet was not yet as pervasive as it is today, it took innumerable letters of inquiry, forays into bookshops in many cities, pleas to friends to be on the lookout—three years of persistent searching—till I located a Quest to purchase. By that time, having borrowed a copy through interlibrary loan, I was hooked on George Dibbern, and was well into the research which led to my writing his biography. I was also determined to do whatever I could to generate a reprint of the elusive book that fostered so much discussion.

George Dibbern has been described variously as a n’er do well, a rascal, rogue, rapscallion; selfish, irresponsible, unable to settle down; a fun-loving adventurer and ladies’ man who never grew up. He was also admired and envied as a sailor-philosopher, a thinker and doer, a lover of life, an inspiration. The New York Herald Tribune’s Thomas Sugrue dubbed him “Part Jack London and part Bernard of Clairvaux.”

11 His own wife considered him a composite of a popular, fictional German sailor character, Kuttel-Daddel-Du (the name is self- explanatory!), and the Flying Dutchman. He was all of these things— and a gifted storyteller as well. In front of a typewriter, however, his thoughts became as cramped as his body, particularly when writing in the language that was not his mother tongue—but that was no deterrent for him.

Dibbern arrived in Victoria on the west coast of , from New Zealand, in 1937 aboard his 32 foot ketch with the Maori name Te Rapunga — for the first time (in defiance of the Nazi decree recognizing the as the only permissible German flag) flying the flag of his own design, representing his personal beliefs. He met, and was smitten with, a beautiful young woman, Gladys Nightingale (later known as Sharie Farrell), who reciprocated his feelings and was willing to “go the road” with him for a while. His family in Germany still came first; this she understood and accepted. Equally important was the fact that she was a competent typist. Dibbern tried dictating his story to Gladys, and found he could work effectively with her.

He spent the winter of 1937-38 in , where in a rented room with a view to Hollyburn Mountain, he would spend his days preparing notes. Evenings, Gladys, who worked as a stenographer-typist at Westinghouse nearby, would come for supper and afterwards while George dictated she typed. In spring, Eileen Morris, the adventurous young woman who had dared to join the crew of Te Rapunga for the voyage from New Zealand and who had been looking after the boat in Victoria, returned to Vancouver. Together Gladys and Eileen reviewed the manuscript and completed an initial edit, but both have insisted in interviews that the “writing” of it was George’s entirely.

The manuscript was accepted by W.W. Norton of New York City in 1940. Considerably more editing was required before it could go to press. World War II had begun. Dibbern felt he had outgrown nation- hood and refused to renew his German passport. Instead he created his own declaring himself a friend of all peoples and a citizen of the world. His visitor’s permit to the United States had expired and he was forced to leave. He knew he faced the possibility of internment, so he was determined to get the manuscript into final shape for publication before returning with Eileen to New Zealand.

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Having “cleared for seas” Te Rapunga and her crew sailed to the territorial limit three miles off the Kona coast of Hawaii. For seventy- two days they sailed throughout the night and drifted back during the day, back and forth, while George and Eileen, with a fresh perspective, fine-tuned the manuscript and Eileen retyped it. As they had not visited any other country since their departure from the United States, they were permitted to land in Honolulu only for the time it took to reprovision, to effect necessary repairs—and to mail the revised manuscript to the publisher.

Quest appeared in print in March 1941. George Dibbern had already been interned in New Zealand in January of that year. Major newspapers like the New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune published reviews of the book written by a German, in English. In 1945 American author Henry Miller read Quest and was so enthusiastic about the telling of the adventure and about Dibbern’s ideas that he wrote to him “as a brother.” This letter initiated a friendship by correspondence which continued till Dibbern’s death in 1962 and beyond, for Miller contributed the foreword to the German edition of Quest released in 1965 under the title Unter eigener Flagge. Miller’s six- page essay of glowing praise for Quest (first published in Circle 7-8, 1946), was reproduced in Miller’s Stand Still Like the Hummingbird (New York: New Directions, 1962) and is still widely read.

H. Austin Stevens of the New York Times, in his book review of 23 March 1941 wrote: “George Dibbern’s account of his restless wanderings has a quality of its own. . . . His diary-like narrative shows some rough edges and other evidence of an unskilled hand. One wonders at times that more edition was not done, and then it turns out that the passage that seemed awkward and windy succeeds in catching the event better than any disciplined pen could have.”

Though at times it is indeed apparent that English is not Dibbern’s mother tongue, and there are instances of German syntax and what one might label “Germanisms,” the editorial decision was made to not effect any major changes to the text for this reprint. Judging by the on-going demand for affordable copies and the inquiries I have received from disappointed seekers of Quest, it is evident that the book has stood the test of time, just as it is.

13 Joseph Henry Jackson, in his column “Bookman’s Notebook” (San Francisco Chronicle, 16 January 1946) wrote “… Dibbern is too unusual a human being, I believe, to be forgotten by the publishing world. Certainly HE shouldn’t be allowed to go out of print like an old book.”

Needless to say, I agree.

Erika Grundmann

Manson’s Landing BC Canada May 2008

DARK SUN: THE QUEST OF GEORGE DIBBERN Chapters

Kindred Soul: 1945 Birth of a Sailor: 1889–1907 Season Four Striking Out: 1907–1910 pre-Quest Paradise and Purgatory: 1910–1919 Dreams to Despair: 1919–1930

Breaking Free: 1930–1932 Voyage of Self-Discovery: 1932–1934 Taste of Success: 1934 Season Five New Direction: 1935 Quest years Taking a Stand: 1935–1937 Canada Vision: 1937–1939 Man Without a Country: 1939–1941 Third Reich’s Reach: 1930–1941

Just Another Journey: 1941–1945 After the War: 1945–1946 Fallen Idol: 1947 Season Six Beware What You Wish: 1948–1950 post-Quest At Anchor: 1950–1953 Bare Skin and Olive Oil: 1953–1956 Cake and Catastrophe: 1957–1959 He Followed His Own Star: 1959–1962 Closed Circle

14 FLAG – 1937

George Dibbern felt a flag ought to represent one's principles. Since the swastika, declared to be obligatory by the Nazi Party in September 1935, clashed with his beliefs, he refused to raise it and as a result created a flag of his own design. Friend Beatrice Krauss in Hawaii surprised him one day when she presented him with a flag she had made for Te Rapunga.

Dibbern's explanation of the symbolism of his flag was as follows: It has a white ground with a red cross of St. George cutting a dark blue circle; and in the upper left hand corner is a blue star. The white stands for equal rights, not equality, but equal rights for men to evolve, each according to his individuality. On this right the human world stands or falls.

The dark blue circle stands for the brotherhood of man, for though we fight like brothers we must grow a loyalty to our one family if we are to survive. On top of the circle of brotherhood lies the red cross of freedom and of pain. It is through freedom to experience, and the pain experience brings, that we learn.

The blue circle also represents a planet, like the earth, which receives its light from the sun as we have received our light from God. But I believe that God is within each of us, and that our aim should be to be conscious of him, to become a self-shining light, a star. So the star in the corner represents my aim. It is a blue star because I try to become a brother of a new brotherhood.

15 TE RAPUNGA’s FUTURE UNPUBLISHED NEWS! A wealthy landowner just recently purchased Te Rapunga and will make her sea worthy again!

Here’s from recent e-mails:

“I read your biography & George’s Quest with great delight. As I read I felt compelled to track down and acquire Te Rapunga. …

In an increasingly polarized world, George’s message deserves amplification. … We plan to transport the Te Rapunga from Auckland to in early February. …

Regarding future plans re sailing. We plan to get her sea worthy and fully operational. The only modern concessions being the engine, navigation and safety equipment. …

Re possible film. We would be open to letting the boat be used in a film project documenting George Dibbern's life.”

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