Found this fascinating first hand story and video made by a sailor aboard
one of the last Windjammers.
Set a spell, listen and watch a marvelous story. You'll be glad you did!
Passat (ship, 1911)
From: Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
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Information about the vessel may be found at IMO 5614581. A ship can change name and flag state through time, but the IMO number remains the same through the hull's entire lifetime. As a result, it can be useful to identify a ship by using the IMO number. |
English:
Passat is a German four-masted steel barque and one of the Flying
P-Liners, the famous sailing ships of the German shipping company F.
Laeisz. The name "Passat" means trade wind in German. She is one of the
last surviving windjammers.
Launched in 1911 by Blohm & Voss shipyard, Hamburg, the ship was
used for decades as a cargo ship (nitrate carrier) until well into the
age of steamships. In 1932 she was sold to Gustaf Erikson of Finland.
She participated in "The Last Grain Races", famous races around Cape
Horn by the last working sailing ships. Among her crew was the bosun
Niels Jannasch who later became the director of Canada's Maritime Museum
of the Atlantic. In 1951 Passat became an auxiliary sailing school ship
of the German merchant marine. In 1957 Passat was decommissioned.
The ship is now a youth hostel, venue, museum ship, and landmark anchored in Travemünde, a borough of Lübeck, Germany.
The ship is now a youth hostel, venue, museum ship, and landmark anchored in Travemünde, a borough of Lübeck, Germany.
:o)
What a great find. That was a fantastic video. You can read about those ships all you want but seeing it on film with the excellent narration is really fascinating. Seeing the size of the spars was really something.
ReplyDeleteI saw your comment on the YouTube page.
Thankfully he was there with a camera - such a hard life being a real sailor back then. It was a wonderful gem of a story - glad you watched it! :o)
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