Susanna (ship)
The Susanna was a German full ship , i. H. a sailing ship with three rigged masts. She became famous as the ship that needed by far the longest time (99 days) to circumnavigate Cape Horn (see also Kaphoornier ).
Ship history
The Susanna ran in 1892 at the shipyard Blohm + Voss from the stack . After the Thekla (until 1899), the ship was the second ship of the Hamburg shipping company G. JH Siemers & Co, founded in 1811, and was used for the nitrate trade between Europe and Chile (so-called saltpeter trips ).
In the southern winter of 1905, the Susanna sailed from Europe to the saltpetre port of Iquique (northern Chile) under Captain Christian Jürgens . However, the winter was characterized by unusually bad weather even for the notorious region around Cape Horn: 30 ships gave up the circumnavigation and instead called at the Falkland Islands , Montevideo ( Uruguay ) or Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); more than five sank, another five were abandoned by their crews or stranded; several captains broke off the circumnavigation of Cape Horn and instead sailed the much longer route around Africa and Australia. The number of successful circumnavigations of Cape Horn in the winter of 1905 is uncertain and is estimated at around 130 to 400. The Susanna was one of the successful ships . On August 19, 1905, she sailed over the 50th parallel, which is commonly regarded as the beginning of the circumnavigation of Cape Horn. Due to unfavorable winds, however, the ship needed a full 99 days for the circumnavigation, of which 80 days were storm (10 and more Beaufort ). When approaching Iquique, it was found that the length of the voyage was also due to an incorrect setting of the ship's chronometer : Due to the bad weather, it was not possible on board the Susanna by observing the moon and fixed stars ( astronavigation ) during the To calculate the ship's position and check the chronometer so that the Susanna had sailed considerably too far to the west - allegedly about 500 nautical miles (926 km). - The lengthy circumnavigation of Cape Horn meant that the Susanna also holds the record for the longest voyage from Europe to northern Chile with a journey time of 189 days.
In 1908 the Susanna collided with the Swedish steamship Anni while she was being towed to the Elbe on a trip to South America . When the steamship sank, six crew members of the Anni were killed.
During another circumnavigation of Cape Horn, the Susanna was loaded with coal from England for Iquique in 1911. In the Cape Horn region, the coal cargo was found to be in danger of catching fire. For this purpose, nitrogen carried along was pumped onto the coal through pipes. At the port of destination, the coal was also doused with fresh water. When the cargo holds were finally opened to unload the Susanna, there was a thick layer of coke in place of the coal and several meters of tar deposits on the floor. For the recipient of the cargo, the coal conversion should not have been a bad deal.
The Susanna ran aground on August 14, 1913 while returning from a long voyage on Zantman's Rock near the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall, England. The wreck was never recovered.
Ship data
| length | 80.77 m |
| width | 12.80 m |
| Draft | 6.20 m |
| tonnage | 1,975 gross register tonnes (GRT) (according to other information 1,973 or 1,989 GRT) |
| Load capacity | 3080 loading tonnes ( tdw ) |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Summary ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. by Walter A. Kozian 1997, printed on the website of the Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum (English, as of March 11, 2007)
- ↑ Michael Badham: Sailors' Secrets - Advice from the Masters . McGraw-Hill Professional, New York 1999, p. 206. ISBN 0-07-039088-6 (English, March 12, 2007)
- ^ For the receptor of the load it was said that it was not a bad business. - also according to Hans Peter Jürgens (July 2001): Frigate Susanna. ( Memento of November 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (after multiple translations: English, as of March 9, 2007)
- ↑ Anke: 99 Days Round Cape Horn ( Memento of the original from June 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed March 11, 2007)
- ^ Bjoern Moritz: Sea motifs: Cape Horn. (accessed March 11, 2007)
literature
- Walter A. Kozian: Disaster winter off Cape Horn in 1905. in: Deutsches Schiffahrtsarchiv (DSA). Hamburg 20.1997, pp. 129-168. ISSN 0343-3668