"Gorch Fock" on a training voyage

The "Gorch Fock" on a training trip: The German Navy's sail training ship began its 182nd training voyage abroad today. At 10:00 a.m. the the "Gorch Fock" her home port of Kiel and now sets course for Spain, Portugal and the Azores. The officer candidates gain their first seafaring experience on board.

Sailing training ship Gorch Fock. Photo: Michael Nitz

Under the command of frigate captain Elmar Bornkessel, the voyage begins southwards, initially without the junior officers. The route will take the ship from Vigo (Spain) via Portimão (Portugal) to Funchal on Madeira. Horta and Ponta Delgada on the Azores are then on the agenda. The last foreign port of call on this voyage will be Lerwick (Shetland Islands, UK) before the ship returns on 25 June 2025 for the Kieler Woche windjammer parade.

Around 250 naval officer cadets from Crew 2024 will gain their first experience on board the tall ship as part of their basic maritime training. Among them are cadets from Cameroon, Tunisia, Colombia, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, the Republic of Korea and Iraq. On board the sail training ship, the course participants learn the basic nautical skills. They experience the importance of teamwork and camaraderie in practice before moving on to the academic part of their training at the Bundeswehr universities in Hamburg and Munich.

"Our aim is to create positive experiences with seafaring in addition to achieving the training objectives. It would be great if everyone could experience the joy of seafaring and camaraderie. For us, a successful voyage means that everyone returns safe and sound and has gained valuable experience," says the commander.

Tradition & impressive figures

Since its commissioning in December 1958, the Sail training ship of the navy has an impressive track record:

• 16,000 officer and non-commissioned officer candidates trained
• 400 harbours in 60 countries on 5 continents visited
• Over 770,000 nautical miles travelled (equivalent to 35 circumnavigations)

More about the history of the "Gorch Fock" experience:

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