Eye of the Wind
The Eye of the Wind under sail
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The Eye of the Wind is a two-masted sailing ship of the brig type , which was launched in 1911 in the C. Lühring shipyard as Friedrich . In its more than 100-year history, it has sailed a total distance that extends around the world four times. She has appeared in several movies.
portrait
As Friedrich , the sailing ship was launched in 1911 as a gaff schooner for its first owner, Captain Johann Friedrich Kolb from Fockbek (near Rendsburg ) from the renowned C. Lühring shipyard in Brake on the Unterweser , where according to the plaque that still exists on the ship today, it was called "Neubau 115" was run; the shipyard was known for its seaworthy ships. The Friedrich initially sailed as a freighter in the North and Baltic Seas. In March 1924, it was sold to the shipowner Axel Ageberg in Kalmar , Sweden , and renamed 'Sam'. Two years later she bought the shipping company KH Hendriksson in Stockevik and named her 'Merry'. With the Jönköpings two-stroke engine installed, she sailed the North and Baltic Seas as an engine schooner for 30 years.
In autumn 1955, the ship ran aground on the Swedish west coast in a severe autumn orca, but was salvaged and repaired. As a result, she was rigged to a one-and-a-half-masted galeas and renamed 'Rose Marie'. For some time her new responsibilities included driftnet fishing off Iceland. In the sixties, the ship, which was now used as a pure motor ship, was resold twice and finally renamed the 'Merry' again. On January 21, 1970, the entire aft ship and the engine room fell victim to a fire. The ship could be saved from being scrapped and initially came into the ownership of a US buyer who wanted to use it as a clubhouse, but this was never implemented.
In 1973 the ship went to a British-Australian company and was rebuilt as a schooner brig , then as a brigantine . As "Eye of the Wind" she sailed around the world four times and played roles in several movies, for example in The Blue Lagoon as "Northumberland", in Island of the Pirates (English Nate and Hayes , also known as Savage Islands ) with Tommy Lee Jones , also in Taipan and in 1996 as the training ship Albatross in White Squall - Torrent . These missions made them known to a wider audience. During this time she was also used as a training ship for young people.
In 2000 it was sold to a Danish owner who completely restored it and provided it with the most modern equipment and a powerful engine. This means that it now meets all modern safety standards as well as requirements for comfort and convenience. According to the company's own website, the restoration was done so moderately that it retained its character as an original tall ship. As before, sailing is carried out exclusively by hand.
Today the ship is available for interested fellow sailors and for individual management training, but also for chartering to private groups.
Additional equipment
- Hull: steel
- Deck: teak
- 6 passenger cabins (16 berths)
- 4 crew cabins (10 berths)
- Stay: saloon with on-board library, deck saloon, sun deck
- Navigation and communication: radar, GPS, radio (worldwide), satellite phone, fax, internet
- Safety: State-of-the-art safety, fire protection and rescue equipment in accordance with international guidelines
Brigantine or brig
Long-time co-owner Anthony 'Tiger' Timbs initially referred to the rig he designed as a brigantine or schooner brig . After installing the large, Mars and Bramrah from the funds for working on the film Blue Lagoon in 1981, he attached importance to the fact that it was now the only real brigantine (i.e. apparently three-quarter brig ), but that there was a lack of mass the ship type was already conceptually merged with the schooner brig long ago.
It is sometimes claimed that changes to the rigging were made when the owner changed hands in 2000. The current rig can already be seen clearly in the film Tai-Pan (1986). The current owner describes the ship with the generic term brig.
photos
Books
- Ulf Kaack / Harald Focke : "Eye of the Wind - on the trail of a dream" , Forum Verlag 2014, ISBN 3865863795
- Ina Koys : "The Ship That Changed A Thousand Lives - over a century of history and stories" (English), 2019, ISBN 3947536372 , only on Amazon