Alma Doepel
 The Alma Doepel
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Alma Doepel is the name of the last remaining square sailor in Australia .
history
Launch and technical data
The Alma Doepel was designed as a wooden three-masted topsail schooner in 1903 at the shipyard in Bellingen ( New South Wales ) and was named after the daughter of the builder, Frederick Doepel. She received an extremely flat hull with two center swords fore and aft, as she was intended from the beginning for coastal travel in the shallow waters around Australia.
Early years
Until 1917, Alma Doepel was on the road for its client and owner in Australian coastal waters, mainly transporting timber and wool. In 1917 it was transferred to Henry Jones Ltd. sold, a then renowned jam factory , and operated as part of the mosquito fleet between Hobart in Tasmania and Melbourne until 1937 . For three decades, the Alma Doepel's record runs were almost proverbial.
Intermezzo in the military
In 1937 the ship was dismantled, converted to a motor ship and made available to the Australian Navy as AK 82 in 1942 . During these years she was stationed in New Guinea .
Back to Tasmania
In 1946 Alma Doepel returned to Hobart, where it was re-rigged to become a pole-mast schooner and from then on operated on its regular Hobart-Melbourne route. From 1961 to 1975 it was used in limestone transport between Southport and Electrona .
Comeback as a training ship
In 1976 Sail & Adventures Ltd. bought in Victoria the ship anchored in the port of Electrona for the price of the scrap value of the machines and converted it into a topsail schooner . Remodeling and restoration lasted until 1987. A year later, she led the sailing ship parade in Sydney Harbor. Afterwards she served as a training ship with home port Melbourne for the young sailors of Australia. Their home ports are traditionally Hobart and Melbourne. They are crewed by 11 men and 40 cadets. This mission ended in 1999 because there was no money for repairs. Two years later, Alma Doepel was moved to Port Macquarie , where it was open to the public as a permanent exhibition at Lady Nelson Wharf. Since 2009 the Alma Doepel in Melbourne has been restored again.
literature
- Otmar Schäuffelen: The last large sailing ships , Bielefeld, 1994; ISBN 3-7688-0860-2
