Friday 19th November 2021
Trip abroad after renovation
“Gorch Fock” sets sail again
After a long renovation and with better internet on board, the sailing training ship “Gorch Fock” starts a trip abroad. Via Lisbon it goes to the Canary Islands and in the new year to the Mediterranean – where officer candidates are being trained again.
End of the long wait for the regular crew of the “Gorch Fock”: The sailing training ship starts today from its home port in Kiel on a trip abroad. Originally the first long trip of the three-master was supposed to start in the middle of last week after years of renovation. However, this was delayed by germs in the drinking water system of the Bundeswehr training ship. The problem has now been resolved.
Commander Nils Brandt and his regular crew of 120 men and women set course for the Canary Islands. The ship will make a stopover in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. After a long break due to the shipyard, the crew is supposed to train under favorable weather conditions off the Canary Islands.
For Christmas and the New Year, the ship moored in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the northeast of the island of Tenerife. The first of a total of around 220 candidate officers are not expected to go on board until January 3, 2022. On the “Gorch Fock” you should learn the nautical skills in two training stages. In mid-January, the ship and the first cadets sailed for the Mediterranean. The second group of cadets will then begin their training in Malaga, Spain.
At the beginning of October, the completely redesigned Bark returned to Kiel after years in the shipyard. The costs for the renovation had risen in the past few years from the initially planned 10 to 135 million euros. What is new, for example, is better Internet access for the crew at sea. Films cannot be streamed with it, but short messages and e-mails can be written. In the home port of Kiel, the ship and crew are expected back on March 25th after around 10,000 nautical miles (around 18,500 kilometers).