"Gorch Fock" leaves Kiel for Africa

From a press release by the Rostock Naval Command

On Friday, 8 March 2024 at 10 a.m., the German Navy's sail training ship will leave its home port of Kiel to begin its 177th training voyage abroad (AAR). This time, the barque will only set sail with its regular crew. 115 officer cadets from the 2023 crew will not board until 22 March 2024 in the Spanish port of Gijon.

The voyage will take the "Gorch Fock" on to Tangier (Morocco) and Porto (Portugal), where the crew change will take place and "new" junior officers will come on board. Among others, cadets from France, Ghana, Cameroon, Colombia, Senegal, Thailand and Togo will take part in the training on the "Gorch Fock".

From Porto, the ship will sail via St. Malo (France) back to its home port of Kiel, where it is expected to arrive in time for Kieler Woche on 14 June 2024. The "Gorch Fock" will not only participate there as the flagship, but will also lead the windjammer parade on Saturday, 29 June 2024.

Background

The "Gorch Fock" is the navy's sail training ship and is used to train officer candidates for the naval forces.

Since its commissioning in December 1958, around 15,000 officer and non-commissioned officer candidates have been trained on the planks of the "Gorch Fock". In the course of her training voyages, she has visited around 390 harbours in almost 60 countries on five continents, covering more than 760,000 nautical miles, the equivalent of 35 circumnavigations of the globe.