Alberto Lineburger

Technical
March 18, 1918- June 22, 1996

Alberto Lineburger was born March 18, 1918, a descendant of Lithuanian immigrants who settled in southern Santa Catarina in the year 1890. His father, Jonas Whilhelm Lineburger, kept up farming and ranching, but made wheels for ox, leading his children to learn early how to handle tools when dealing with wood.

After his marriage in 1947, he moved to the city of Porto Alegre, 320 km away, where the prospect of work and income was most promising. It was a few years of great sacrifice because I already had a small son. Initially, he worked at Walter Wingers Florist in the Sadness Neighborhood, caring for and growing flowers and vegetables.

In the republic he lived he met a gentleman who worked at the Funk Shipyard, which made wooden ocean boats and was a master of shipbuilding. Knowing that he had skill in dealing with wood invited him to work there.

In a short time, Alberto Lineburger became the chief craftsman of this Shipyard.

In 1955, he started to build the first snipe for the sailor Valdemar Bier, named Brocoió, taking the numeral 10.423. The delivery of this first boat took place on September 26, 1955. At the beginning Alberto Lineburger had the very special help of the then Brazilian snipe champion Gabriel Gonzalez, whose pattern of his teachings followed throughout his working life.

His first boats began to emerge in the regattas, and the simple and dedicated manner of his work served the Snipists who sought him with excellence and satisfaction. This dedication and quality of his work led him to be chosen to build the super 20 snipes for the 1959 World Snipe World, whose boats were now called “Famous 12000” and are still sailing or kept as relics. There were numerous international and national titles obtained by sailors of various generations and nationalities: Paul Elvstrom (1959), Nelson Piccolo(1967), Torben Grael (1983) and Santiago Lange (1965) all world champions.

In short, Alberto Lineburger and his family always at breakfast, lunch and dinner talked about boats and sails, especially of the Snipe Class.

After the death of his father in 1962, Alberto Lineburger returned to Criciuma with his family, and now working with his children, far from sailing clubs, began to build throughout Brazil his snipes, whose requests were made by mail, whose correspondence they make part of our family collection. These were difficult times for sailors to mount a snipe and throw them into the water. Each had to equip their boat and suppliers were rare. An expression always present when receiving your boat “- It has to go to the cabinet”. It was a masterpiece its finish.

I know I could write a lot more, but I hope I can gradually register on the page edited by my daughter: lineburgerwoodensnipe.com, memorable pages of the Snipe Class in our lives.

Alberto Lineburger died on June 22, 1996, at the age of 78.

By Enio Lineburger
(Revised 2017)