Press splitter July 18th 2006

The biggest and the smallest
The visitors of the Sail always want to see interesting and beautiful ships. However a “Miss Contest” of the beautiful ships will not take place, because a rating could never be objective. This year’s hit list of the big ones is led by the GORCH FOCK, the sail training ship of the German Navy (length: 89.32 m), followed by the three-masted gaff schooner GROSSHERZOGIN ELISABETH (64,40 m). The Dutch bark ARTEMIS (60 m) takes the third place.
The ranking of the big ships continues with the staysail schooner SUNTHORICE (57.20 m), the glorious Polish brig FRYDERYK CHOPIN (55,40 m) and the three-masted topsail schooner FRIDTJOF NANSEN (52 m) that will appear in a new blue dress instead of a black one. Also the Dutch 3-masted topsail schooner MARE FRISUM (52 m) and the barquentine THALASSA that sails under a Dutch flag as well belong to the old friends. The pretty brig MERCEDES is nearly 50 m long. In 2005 the former Atlantic trawler turned into a noble ship.
The smallest participant of the Hanse Sail only measures 4.30 m, the solar ship SONNI. The jolly-boat TOHUWABOHU III (5.50 m), the motor boat SPORTY 19 (5.78 m) and the BLUE & WHITE (5.80 m) are not much bigger. The majority of the ships are traditional sailing vessels, among them 21 superb windjammers like 3-masted schooners, topsail-schooner, Venetian galleasses, ketches, brigs and brigantines between a length of 20 and 50 m. All other sailers are sloops, yachts, cutter and jolly-boats. However, no matter how big they are, every one is treasured and nice to see. It’s always a pleasure to sail along with them.

"Lissy", the peers of Elsfleth
The big, old East Frisian sailing lady pays her respects to the 16th Hanse Sail in Rostock: GROSSHERZOGIN ELISABETH from the port of registry in Elsfleth already visits the Sail for the 7th time. However, in the circle of traditional sailing vessels of Germany and around the North and Baltic Sea the noble beauty is simply called “Lissy”.
With her sail surface of 1010 square meters the proud “Lissy” had have oceans under keel in her history of 97 years. GROSSHERZOGIN ELISABETH was built as a cargo sailer in the Netherlands in 1909. After that it has sailed between Africa and South America under a different name for many years and has changed the owner several times until a captain from Hamburg discovered the ship in Sweden in 1973. He arranged for the rebuilding of the ship according to the original plans and wanted to rig the ship again as a 3-mast schooner.
Today’s “Lissy” sailed as a sailing cruise-liner under the flags of France and Panama until it became a training ship of the navigation school in Elsfleth due to great sponsoring. After a bad fire in 1993, many areas of the big sailer were destroyed. So the GROSSHERZOGIN ELISABETH could rise like a phoenix into a new „second life“. The association of training ships in Elsfleth, entrepreneurs and private sponsors from Lower Saxony take an impressive teamwork by rebuilding “Lissy”.

"Ein Bett im Kornfeld" (a bed in the cornfield) at Warnow river
Thomas Gottschalk „ennobled“ him as „König von Mallorca“ (king of Mallorca) because of his wild gigs in the wide span discos of El Arenal. However, at that time Jürgen Drews was already on his way “barfuß durch den Sommer” from his„ Bett im Kornfeld“ as a record millionaire. The crooner born in Berlin in 1948 is considered as a skipjack in the German show business. The emotional life of the former „Les Humphries Singers“ resembles an adventure story.
After the big fireworks Jürgen Drews will be the special guest on the Hanse Sail stage on Saturday (August 12th) from 10.45 pm to 12.00 pm. Before poetic rockmusic by the Rostock band „Bad Penny“ and Rock’n Roll by "Dr. Rost-Kapelle" will be on the agenda.

„Kattu maram“ – linked lumbers
In the habitual language use sailing vessels, ferries, boats for trips and travel are called catamaran. „Kattu maram“ comes from India and means „linked lumbers“. On the coast of the subcontinent, in Sri Lanka, Indonesia or on the island of the South Seas those boats made of linked tree trunks – clamped to two- or three-part rafts –are still in use. Two catamaran sailers are on the ship’s list of the 16th Hanse Sail: JANINA from Hamburg and CATORION from the Yacht-Club in Rostock-Gehlsdorf. The name of the ship connects the short form of its type (cat) with the constellation “Orion”.
The eleven m long ship is equipped with 60 square metre sailcloth. By the way, the shipyard of Wismar built catamaran-folding sailing boats in the sixties. In Rostock the fast catamaran-ferry DELPHIN of the shipping company TT-Line is still kept in mind as the former nippy boat from and to Trelleborg (Sweden).

Tall-Ship-Hotline:
Phone +49 (0)381 403 12 66 from Monday to Friday, 10 am - 5 pm
Here you can get more information about the 16th Hanse Sail Rostock, the ships, the mooring, events and parking possibilities.