Thursday, April 14, 2011
Due Period But Just Brown
GORCH FOCK
In 1913 the Danish shipyard Frederikshavns og Værft flydedok, northwest of Denmark, began construction of MORTEN JENSEN, a four-masted schooner commissioned for use as a freighter. During the next nine years was changing hands, name and flag, including the capture by a German submarine and sold to German owners. In 1922 it acquired the German Navy to replace the training ship that had been handed over to the Allies as war booty. Entered into yards to make necessary repairs, among which stressed the elimination of one of his clubs, going to have three, and was christened with a name very unfavorable: Niobe, mythological character full of misfortune. In 1932, on a journey that had brought him near Fehmarn, German Baltic island, was consummated the tragedy. That hot July 26, midsummer, there arose a great storm that hit suddenly and cruelly to the boat capsized. The high temperatures had led the crew to have all the hatches and portholes open, which became a death trap to sink quickly, and as to that of one who had made his name at the whim of the gods took away all her children The NIOB also lost 69 of its crew at the hands of Poseidon.
mourn the dead after the disaster of Niobe, it was decided to replace it immediately. So, The Gorch Fock (*), the first a three-masted sloop, was launched on May 3, 1933 and was assembled on 27 June. It took only one hundred days in their construction. It was the first in a series of sail training ships, designed and built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, for the continuation of the German tradition, characterized by well-trained sailors. He began his teaching and it found the Second World War.
The May 1, 1945 his crew sank in Rügen, in shallow water not be captured by the Russians. Was recovered in 1948 by the Soviet Navy and, once restored, was renamed in TOVARISHCH. After various adventures eminent economists, on November 29, 2003 recovered his first name: GORCH FOCK.
World War II ended, the German Navy was reorganized, and one of the first decisions taken was to build a new sail training ship. To this was charged again for the prestigious Hamburg shipyard Blohm & Voss making a new class sailing Gorch Fock, like his predecessors lost in war, the HORST WESSEL (now Eagle), the LEO ALBERT SCHLAGATER ( Current SAGRES) and MIRCEA (just like the first GORCH FOCK), for which it would use the same planes.
the late fifties began building a three-masted sloop with a steel hull length 89.32 meters, 12 meters wide and a depth of 5 meters. She was launched on August 25, 1958 under the name of GORCH FOCK in memory of his predecessor, and once completed assembly presented a tonnage of 1,760 tons and 45 meters in depth. Although it has a sail area of \u200b\u200b1,952 m² was installed an auxiliary engine of 1,600 hp Deutz MWM. The tragic sinking of the German barque PAMIR occurred in 1957 prompted the introduction of more compartments and greater resilience in case of heel.
Its interior is designed to accommodate a crew of 240 people, 80 officers and sailors and 160 cadets.
Thus began the journey of this new training ship carrying his beautiful prints seafaring many ports worldwide. Between 1987 and 1988 he toured the world between 1996 and 1997 made a return trip to Bangkok, which lasted 343 days. Regularly participates in competitions high board boats competing with all the most famous sailing ships known.
With the passage of time have been implemented many reforms. In 1991 air conditioning was installed, but most striking perhaps, was the removal of asbestos that had been used in their manufacture, also changed the engine for another six-cylinder diesel of 1,220 kw. In order to achieve a speed of 13, 7 knots.
A major player in the marine life has been his FOCK GORCH figurehead. At first he placed a wooden albatross worn at the bow for several years without any problems, but was lost in a storm and from there had to be replaced several times. In 1969 he was replaced by a polyester was lighter. In 2000 he was replaced by another timber, returning to the origins, but in December 2002 was lost in a storm. His replacement was also made of wood. In December 2003 another storm destroyed it. On February 24, 2004 was an albatross placed new carbon fiber reinforced polyester, so far we have not been known to have suffered more setbacks.
The Gorch Fock in 2010 jumped into the media world for half a painful event: a cadet fell from one of the masts and died on the spot when they were docked in the port of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. This made the rest of treatment denouncing rebel cadets absolutely incompatible with the dignity and honor of individuals. The German Defense Ministry took up the matter immediately, suspending the course and ordered the vessel returned to her home port of Kiel, to initiate relevant investigations, not sailing again until everything was not clear, given that the allegations are extremely serious.
These events, if proven, soiling the good name of a vessel from which the German people feel proud, in fact, the ten-mark banknote looked at GORCH FOCK. Everything should be clarified as soon as possible to return to their teaching and future officers to proud of having been prepared on a ship for which it has been more than fifteen thousand cadets.
Good luck GORCH FOCK.
(*) pseudonym of the German poet and novelist Johann Kinau, a sea lover who died in 1916 during the Battle of Jutland.
© Coral González
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