The Salt and the Rigging The sea was a language learned before words. Born in Flensburg in 1865, Vilhelm Arnesen grew up watching his father, a ship captain, build and assemble model ships. These small, intricate structures provided a first lesson in the geometry of vessels—the way a mast meets the deck and how rigging holds a shape against the air. This early familiarity with the mechanics of sailing ships stayed with him, moving fro…