Gorch Fock: Once Africa and back

"Gorch Fock" returns from the 177th training voyage abroad

On Friday, 14 June 2024, the sail training ship will return at 10 a.m. in time for Kiel Week. A total of over 6,000 nautical miles were travelled, including 4,208 nautical miles under sail. The successful training voyage, during which a total of 225 officer cadets underwent maritime training, called at the ports of Gijon (Spain), Tangier (Morocco), Porto (Portugal) and Saint-Malo (France). Among them were cadets from France, Cameroon, Ghana, Colombia, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. The ship is currently moored in Heikendorf Bay (photo).

For the commander, Captain Andreas-Peter Graf von Kielmansegg, this was his last voyage as commander of the ship. He draws a positive conclusion from this voyage: "For me, it is not so much the outstanding individual events that characterise my memories of this training voyage. It's more the days spent together at sea and the nautical miles sailed together in very different weather conditions - it's the feeling of having gone to sea as part of a crew. Because behind every mile travelled together there is strength, endurance, commitment and passion, which each crew member demonstrated impressively throughout the voyage. That, above all, is what I will remember."

Preparations for Kiel Week, where the barque will not only be the flagship, but will also lead the Windjammer Parade on 29 June 2024, begin with the arrival. The summer break will then begin before training trips to Poland and the Hanse Sail in Rostock are on the programme at the beginning of August. In the autumn, the "Gorch Fock" will go into a short lay-up in the shipyard so that she can set sail again in 2025.