| INTRODUCTION |
|
On September 5, 1996, the Dutch cargo ketch Albatros delivered 100 tons of soyabean meal from the Dutch port of Rotterdam to the North Norfolk port of Wells-next-the-Sea. Those who stood on Wells Quay two days later and watched Albatros sail back to Rotterdam were present at an historic moment. For Albatros, the last sail driven cargo ship in Europe, it was the end of a 98-year career as a freight carrier. For Wells, the last commercial port in North Norfolk, it was the end of more than 500 years of handling cargo. For both, it was the end of a unique relationship. Starting in 1990, Albatros carried more than 100 cargoes to Wells. Her warps were time warps, her presence an echo of an earlier time (known now, except to the town's oldest inhabitants, only from sepia photographs) when Wells Quay was lined by two and three masted ships. Her departure left an emotional as well as physical void and her special place in local history was duly commemorated on a tablet outside the Harbour Office. Fast forward to 2000. Since Albatros left it for the last time as a cargo vessel, the Quay has changed. The Granary has been converted to apartments. The Maritime Museum has conceived an ambitious development scheme. Some of the shops have been given new uses.
Albatros has changed too. Where she once carried animal
feed, timber, phosphates and fertilizers she As such, Albatros can be chartered in 2001 for a variety of purposes including environmental education for schoolchildren, sail training and adventure training for young people, RYA Certification Cruises, Long Distance Cruises Round Britain and to the Baltic, Shorter Cruises across the North Sea to Holland and Denmark, Cruise-Seminars on topics such as the environment, coastal history and seabirds, Executive Development Cruises, and Film and Advertising work. The purpose of this site is to outline facts of common interest to all those who may want to use Albatros for one of these purposes. Further Specific information is avaliable either in other patrs of the site or by email.
|
| HISTORY |
|
Albatros was built in 1899 as a North Sea Klipper (also known as a galliot) at the Kalkman yard in Capelle aan de Yssel. Her first owner was Johannes Muller of Middleharnis near Rotterdam. She traded for 20 years on the Dutch coastal waters and the Baltic before being sold to Captain Lolk in Denmark in 1920. She was given an engine in the 1930s and remained in commission under Lolk and a later owner, Rasmussen (who replaced the powerplant in 1964 and reduced her rig to steadying sails) until she was laid up in Copenhagen in 1978. Ton Brouwer found her there in 1980, took her to Amsterdam and restored her original rig, rebuilt the power plant and brought her in to compliance with then current standards. In 1988 she was reclassified by Germanischer Lloyd to carry cargo under sail. Her
new agents, Romi Shipping in Holland and Union Transport in the
UK, worked hard to establish viable cargoes. One of them was a
regular contract between Ghent With time out each year between January and mid March for painting, inspection and maintenance, Albatros traded year round, covering an average of about 15,000 nautical miles. Captain Brouwer and his mate sailed the ship on most voyages with up to six trainees from Dutch nautical colleges and the German organization, 'Liekedecker Verein', Sailing in four seasons, navigating thin water on both sides of the North Sea, and with 'Weather Permitting' contracts, Albatros established an enviable record of speed and punctuality, sometimes making faster passages than motor driven ships. The integrity of her rebuild, the effectiveness of her maintenance program and the seamanship of her Master meant there were few moments of drama. In 1997, Captain Brouwer decided to shift from freight to education and Albatros was transformed at a cost of 100,000 Pounds Sterling from a small cargo vessel to a relatively large schoolship running a program called 'Sailing for the Environment'. The program ran seven months a year and mainly involved day-trips for up to 36 children aged 10-13in Dutch coastal and inshore waters. At weekends and in school holidays, Albatros operated as a charter vessel for adults and children in the same areas. The program was structured around five learning stations: chemistry, fish, plankton, energy and navigation and shipboard life. Each lasted between 20 and 30 minutes. Teaching was done by volunteers who lived on board with the crew under the guidance of a professional teacher. Each trip lasted five hours. The program was been extremely successful and was often featured in the Dutch media
|
| THE SHIP |
|
Although Albatros has spent much of her long life in Denmark, she is typical of the type of cargo vessel built in Holland for the North Sea trade at the end of what is now the century before last. She is 33.2 metres on deck with a short forward overhang and a longer one on the counter stern. Her maximum beam is 6.2 metres. She draws 1.90 metres, less than when she carned leeboards which proved impracticable in the North Sea. She is rigged as a gaff ketch and she can also set a maximum of four foresails plus main and mizzen topsails. Fully rigged she can carry 415 sq. metres of sail in almost infinite configurations. Her inherently buoyant hull form, high ballast ratio, shallow draft, low aspect rig and flexible sail plan explain why she has been able to keep the sea in conditions that have sent lesser and newer vessels in search of shelter and to sail safely in the thin margins of the North Sea. Albatros is now, in fact if not in name, a world heritage vessel. She is one of the oldest ships still afloat and few among her peers can stay at sea in more adverse conditions. A superb example of a time-tested design, she was expertly built of first class materials and has been well maintained and continuously improved. She has been substantially rebuilt in recent years. And she is as fit for purpose now as the day she was built - and is probably even more seaworthy. Given continued care there is no reason she should not still be keeping the sea in all weathers at the end of her second century. Albatros is currently being reconfigured to carry up to sixteen passengers and a crew of three. Each well appointed passenger cabin will provide space for clothing and personal effects. The shared shower facilities will be refurbished to a high standard.
The panelled saloon has large windows port and starboard and has two tables that together seat up to 12 people for meals. The galley is adjacent to the saloon. There is room on deck for up to 75 people. The costs of maintaining and operating Albatros are very substantial. And the sailing season on the North Sea is relatively short. This means that Albatros must pay her way and that, with specific exceptions (see below), clients will be paying commercial rates. Prices for 2001 for Environmental Education Programmes/Sail Training Programmes/Adventure Training Programmes/RYA Certification Cruises/Baltic Cruises/Round Britain Cruises/North Sea Cruises/Cruise-Seminars/ Executive Development Cruises/Film/Advertising/ are enclosed together with details of the services and facilities offered. (For Prices/Rates email here) Two programs will, in principle, be subsidized by the Trustees of the Albatros Project. These are environmental education programs and sail training and adventure training programs for young people. The purpose of these subsidies is to enable young people who would not otherwise be able to participate in these programs to do so. Details of the resources available from the Trust are available from The Trustees, The Albatros Project (address and telephone number) |
now
carries passengers. She remains fit for purpose, but for a different
purpose. After leaving Wells for the last time as a cargo carrier,
Albatros spent three years in Holland as a shipboard classroom
for environmental education and an occasional passenger charter
vessel. Now she is back in Wells, not as cargo carrier but as
a fully found passenger ship.
and Wells carrying soyabean meal for a local mill. Other freights
included timber, phosphates, soda and corn between ports in Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Scotland,
the Channel Islands and on the East and South Coasts of England.
But the Wells route became a mainstay. Between 1990 and 1997 Albatros
made 104 voyages to North Norfolk, all but three with cargo, and
all but a few exceptions (included fertilizer from Middlesborough)
from Ghent or Rotterdam.
The
converted cargo hold has been refitted to serve either as a bunkroom,
a classroom, a conference room, a seminar room or a dayroom. In
classroom configuration, it will accommodate up to 36 children.
As a conference or seminar room, equipped with state of the art
video and computer projection facilities it will accommodate 10
adults in comfort. As a dayroom it can accommodate up to 45 adults.
