Falado of Rhodes
Falado from Rhodes 2009 in Søby / Denmark
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The Brigantine Falado of Rhodes was a German sailing ship for groups of the Bundischen youth . It was built in 1968 in the Xalkidos shipyard on Rhodes after the design of a German designer and with the craftsmanship of Greek boat builders. The execution of essential woodwork in the style of Greek kaíkis was recognizable on the hull. It was named after the dreamland from a seafaring poem by Hans Leip . The ship sank on August 9, 2013 west of Iceland to 64 ° 4 '8 " N , 23 ° 5' 59" W .
history
The builder, first owner and skipper was the classical philologist, journalist and youth book publisher Herbert Hörhager, who initially wanted to research the true historical course of the Battle of Artemision and the Greek victory over the Persian fleet from a seafaring point of view with students . During this research, the idea matured to sail the world's oceans with youth groups and groups of the Bundische Jugend on an ocean-going sailing ship - instead of narrow coastal waters.
After Herbert Hörhager's death, the “Brigantine Falado von Rhodos eV” association was founded in Paderborn, which also inherited and operated the boat.
Description and rigging
Initially, the Falado from Rhodes was rigged as a gaff schooner or as a Mars stop sail schooner and was re- rigged in 1970 into a brigantine with a total sail area of approx. 200 m². The Falado of Rhodes had its typical red paintwork since it was launched. As a figurehead , a jumping dolphin graced its stem and a mahogany -Schnitzwerk the stern. The official home port was Schleswig . However, in the last few decades it was in winter storage in Kiel on the Blücherbrücke.
Territories, regattas, experiences
After exploring the Greek and Turkish islands, the Falado took off from Rhodes in 1971 with a young crew under the leadership of the former commander of the Gorch Fock , a sea captain . D. Hans Engel, took part in the Cutty Sark Tall Ship Race from Porto Cervo ( Sardinia ) to Valletta ( Malta ).
The first Atlantic crossing followed in 1971, after exploring the Caribbean and returning in 1972, allied groups took part in Operation Sail from Cowes ( Isle of Wight ) to Skagen ( Denmark ), which was also a feeder regatta to the Olympics in Kiel .
From 1973 to 1983 the areas of the North Sea and Baltic Sea with their islands, skerries and fjords were used. A major overhaul was due in 1974/1975; the interior fittings and the rigging had to be renewed, and the underwater hull had to be completely re-planked after being infested with the teredo navalis shipworm .
In a collision with a Danish coaster in 1977, the Falado of Rhodes sank in the Öresund . However, the ship was recovered and repaired at high costs, which were not fully covered by the polluter's insurer.
In 1983 the Falado of Rhodes crossed the Atlantic for the second time and called at various islands, reefs and bays in the Caribbean. After returning in 1984, she returned to her second home in the Mediterranean . From the winter camp in Istria we went back across the Atlantic and Biscay to the North and Baltic Seas; where preparatory work for the first circumnavigation of the world had to be tackled.
In 1988 the third Atlantic crossing followed from the Canary Islands across the Caribbean into the Panama Canal . From there it went on to the Pacific , then into the South Seas and to Australia and through the East Asian waters. Many crew changes and overhaul work far from home had to be organized and financed. With a lot of headwind from the Red Sea , the Falado of Rhodes reached the Mediterranean again in 1990.
In 1991 the boat drove across the Atlantic, Biscay and the North Sea back to the Baltic Sea, where a big celebration of the happy return was held in Eckernförde Bay . In 1992 and 1993 the sailing areas of the Baltic and North Sea were again in the foreground, with the eastern areas as far as Latvia being explored for the first time . In the winter of 1992/93 necessary shipyard work was carried out on the hull and a new, more powerful, water-cooled engine was installed. In autumn the Falado set off from Rhodes via the Canary Islands on her fourth Atlantic cruise to the Caribbean. In the summer of 1995, the crew started to cross the North Atlantic in Miami . Under difficult weather conditions, the ship reached Brest seven weeks late . From there, the Falado returned from Rhodes to Kiel in autumn.
The sailing area from 1996 to 2001 was again the Baltic Sea with visits to Finland and Estonia . In winter camp 2001 the ship was prepared and equipped for the Mediterranean voyage. The trips in 2002 led along the coast through the English Channel and the Biscay into the Mediterranean. In 2003 the groups sailed along the Croatian and Albanian coasts and have been reaching the islands and coasts of Greece and Turkey again for a long time . The winter camp in the Adriatic was left in 2005 with the destination Canary Islands in order to embark on the fifth Atlantic cruise. In the Caribbean, the courses ran through the Caribbean Sea with constant trade winds and warm weather throughout the winter .
In 2006 the trip from Miami went back to Europe in order to primarily sail the Baltic Sea and the Skagerrak in the following three years .
After a preparation in 2012 at the shipyard, it went again to the Canary Islands. In November she started the sixth Atlantic crossing into the Caribbean. From there the American east coast was driven up and then from New York via Halifax, Newfoundland and Labrador to Greenland and on to Iceland, which was reached on July 5, 2013.
Downfall
On August 9, 2013, the Falado of Rhodes sank about 10 nautical miles west of the Icelandic peninsula Reykjanesskagi . The twelve-man crew was from the Icelandic rescue organization ICE-SAR salvaged
The boat left the port of Rif on Iceland at around 10 a.m. on August 8, 2013 . The plan was to reach Keflavík in Iceland two days later . The 12-member crew of the 44 years old skipper , a 27-year-old CoSkipper, three other adults and seven young people aged 11 to 14 years. After circumnavigating Cape Snæfellsnes it was necessary to sail hard against a wind of force 5 Beaufort from the southeast, for which the engine was used to assist. There were wave heights of 2 meters, in some cases also cross lakes , which brought the ship to a heavy pounding. Every now and then waves went over the forecastle. It was known that the ship produces considerably more water in such conditions than in smooth seas, and so the bilge pumps were used regularly.
At around 10 p.m. the skipper noticed that the water level in the bilge was unusually high. When it was not possible to lower this water level despite vigorous pumping, an emergency call was made by marine radio at around 11:30 p.m. A fishing cutter located nearby was ready to help, and around 2 a.m. an Icelandic lifeboat reached the Falado of Rhodes . At first an attempt was made to use a more powerful diesel pump handed over by the sea rescue workers, but it could not be made to run. Obviously, the strainer attached to the inlet clogged within a few minutes. Due to the rising water level in the sailing ship, the Falado was evacuated from Rhodes around 4 a.m. and towed. Around 5 o'clock it was decided to cut the lines and let the Falado of Rhodes sink. The ship is 10 nautical miles west of Iceland at a depth of about 90 meters.
examination
Maritime casualties involving ships sailing under the German flag are investigated by the Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation. The aim of these investigations is not to clarify the fault of the accident or questions of liability, but to prevent future marine accidents. The 38-page investigation report is available online.
The investigation report states that
- that the ship formations, the ship planking, the frames and the sails were undersized for the sea area,
- that this resulted in a lack of longitudinal and torsional rigidity ,
- that the caulking was not carried out properly,
- that the vibration and thrust by the machinery and the propeller had been insufficient. It should be noted in particular that the brigantine was originally equipped with a 20 hp engine by the Greek shipyard, but was recently equipped with a 147 hp engine without adequate reinforcements.
- All of this, together with the extreme loads on the rig and the hull that occurred that day, led to water ingress, presumably in all areas of the hull.
- Inadequate cleaning of the bilge may also have played a role, as at least one pump failed due to dirt particles in the suction strainer.
It is stated that the Falado of Rhodes was "in a non-seaworthy condition and at the end of its useful life". The last trip was "... despite many warning voices from experts and knowledgeable members from the owners' association". The sinking of the ship was said to have only "ended without loss of life" thanks to the quick help; far from the coast a comparable accident would have ended much more tragically.
The report also criticizes the fact that such ships are defined as “club boats ” and thus as pleasure craft and are not subject to any official supervision. The qualification of the skipper at the time of the accident (he had a sport coastal vessel license ) is also regarded as inadequate, even if it was not the cause of the marine accident.
In a reply, the operating association points out that, in its opinion, the boat has been professionally maintained. His association members would also include shipbuilding engineers and boat builders, but the most important inspections and maintenance work were also carried out by a competent shipyard. The association also points out that for him safety was of great relevance then as now and that today's successor ship should be regularly inspected by a neutral expert.
Literature and further information
- Otmar Schäuffelen: The last great sailing ships. 10th edition. Delius Klasing publishing house, Bielefeld 2002, ISBN 3-7688-0483-6 .
- Hans-Jürgen Willeke: Falado o Falado. The early history of a Bundisch sailing ship. Puls 26 Documentation of the youth movement. Publishing house of the youth movement, Berlin 2009, ISSN 0342-3328 .
- Atlantic crew 1995: Falado von Rhodos North Atlantic crossing May / June / July 1995. Ring of young Bünde Mitteilungen 94, Heidelberg September 1996.
- Brigantine Falado of Rhodes acc. e. V .: Our ship 1st edition. Spurbuchverlag, Baunach 2015, ISBN 978-3-88778-437-9 .
Web links
- Sponsoring association and current news on falado.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Hans Leip: Falado . In: The port organ . Langewiesche-Brandt, 1977, p. 32 .
- ↑ a b c d e Investigation report 265/13 Very serious marine casualty: sinking of the Falado of Rhodes on August 9, 2013 off Iceland. (PDF) Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation , December 15, 2014, accessed on December 17, 2014 .
- ^ Herbert Hörhager: To the fleet operations at Cape Artemision . In: Chiron . No. 3 , 1973, p. 43-59 .
- ^ Klaus Peter Möller: Obituary Fred Kottek . In: Köpfchen - Bulletin of the Working Group Burg Waldeck eV No. 4 , 2004, p. 2 ff . ( burg-waldeck.de ).
- ^ Herbert Hörhager: Another ship . In: Yacht . No. 12 , 1970, pp. 86 ff .
- ↑ Hartmut Hansen: Your dream sank in Öresund. The tragic sinking of the youth ship ›Falado von Rhodes‹. In: Yacht . No. 6 , 1978, p. 9 .
- ↑ Last Minute Rescue of Germans from Yacht off Iceland. Iceland Review Online August 9, 2013, archived from the original on July 1, 2018 ; accessed on August 9, 2013 .
- ↑ Open letter from Brigantine Falado von Rhodos e. V. ... of April 7, 2016