In 1998 Capt Jan Rautawaara had the opportunity to Captain the old schooner Anny von Hamburg for a summer and from the experience he wrote an article in the "Ocean Adventures - Tall ships international" magazine as per below. Also included some marketing brochures for brokers and travel agents alike (click pictures to enlarge).
Brochure
Brochure
Brochure with technical data
Article transcribed from Ocean Adventures magazine for easier reading:
Right: Ringö outside Helsinki 1972
Below: The ship as she was in November 1930
Anny von HamburgBy Jan G Rautawaara of Turku, Finland
A tall ship doesn't have to be square rigged in order to be good looking. The German Luhring-built Anny von Hamburg is a good example of a lovely three-masted gaff schooner. In her original unchanged appearance and without hesitation, one of the most beautiful small tall ships in existence.
The Conrad Lühring Shipyard, well known for its coasters and tankers, also built many sailing ships during the 19th and 20th century. Some of them still sail today as charter sailing vessels such as the Dutch Minerva (1935) and Mary-Eliezer (1904), the Caribbean-based Sir Francis Drake (1917), the British Eye of the Wind (1911) and the Anny von Hamburg.
Like the history of all old ships, the story of this ship is very colorful. The newbuilding No 135 was launched on July 1914 into the Weser river in the town of Hammelwarden-Brake. She was a real sailing vessel, built without any engine. Her perpendicular length was 28m, breadth 6.95m and freeboard 2.95m. She could carry a cargo of 200tons and measured 151grt. She was rigged as a three-masted gaff schooner with one flying square sail on her foremast, four headsails, three gaff topsails and one flying staysail between the foremast and mainmast, called "flieger" in German. Her total sail area was 520 square meters. The accommodation was very small and certainly not very comfortable. On the deck there were two hatches - one on the cargo hold and a small one to the deckhouse for the galley and the freshwater tank. The messroom was located on the poopdeck where the master and the mate had their cabins. The aft deckhouse behind the wheel served as a toilet and locker, a feature common in vessels of that time. The entrance to the crew quarters was on the fo'c'sle in the forward part of the ship, where four men had their bunks.
Delivered as "Anny" for Bernhard Hasseldreck, ship-management by D. Oltmann Co, she made her first and only voyage for her new owners to St Petersburg. By the time she arrived in Russia the First World War had broken out. "Anny" was seized and converted to a house-boat for the Tsar's marines. Stationed on Lake Ladoga she suffered major damage form an artillery attack, lost all her rigging and was abandoned.
The years passed and the revolution took Russia over. In 1924, as an act of friendship towards Germany, the new government decided to hand "Anny" back to her homeland, where she was towed in a more or less wrecked state. She was bought by another Hamburg-based sailing shipowner, J.H. Jensen, who took her to a shipyard and refurbished her. The most important addition was a 2-cylinder engine of 95hp. As the use of sails became less important, only the lower masts were raised. The Mizzen mast was made of steel instead of wood and served as a funnel for the engine. The bowsprit was shortened to carry two headsails and her sail area was decreased to 180 sq.metres. In addition, a proper wheelhouse was fitted aft, to keep the navigators warm and dry.
In 1925 renamed as "Hanna" she entered the cross-trade service in the Baltic and North Sea. Most of the time the engine was used to support the sails - but for brief moments she proved to be a good sailer. In 1927, "Hanna" suffered the misfortune of an engine breakdown while underway from Vyborg to Stade. Fully laden with timber and with her rig reduced, the voyage became a struggle of epic proportions. Apart from her maiden voyage this was the only time she completed a whole trip under sail alone.
In 1929 a part-owner of the vessel, Captain Walter Richert, bought all her shares and became the sole owner of "Hanna" until 1936. Then, in search of a bigger vessel, he sold her to Captain Max Both of Glückstadt. Renamed Kurt Both after her new Owner's son, she remained on the Hamburg registry. With the Nazi swastika flying high from her gaff Kurt Both carried cement and building materials from Bremerhaven to the island of Helgoland for four years, for construction of U-boat bunkers. Following the outbreak of the Second World War she was kept occupied in the trade between Scandinavia and Germany, In 1940 her wooden masts were finally removed - only the Mizzen mast used as a funnel was left - and one steel mast with a cargo derrick was raised. She was now rigged as a 'galleass'. Her engine was changed, for the third time, to a 150hp diesel, while her hull was lengthened to achieve a bigger cargo capacity.
Another major conversion took place in 1950, at H Peters yard at Wevelsfleth, where Kurt Both was lengthened once more. A new wheelhouse was built on top of the poop deckhouse and the bow was rebuilt to a more modern coaster-like appearance. The hatches were enlarged to allow easier access to the cargo hold. Her new length was 38.86m and measuring 211grt, she could carry a cargo of 300 tons. By this time she had lost all her former beauty, giving little clues of her sailing past.
In 1957 she was bought to Sweden by O B Abrahamsson of Edelhultshall and renamed Ringö. Under the Swedish flag she continued in the coastal trade until June 1961, when she was bought to Finland by Erik, Paul and Johan Grönqvist of Borgå. Keeping her name they employed her (continued below)
Main photo: Sailing on the river Elbe
Inset: At Glückstadt in 1997
(from above) in the sand trade between Borgå and Helsinki - a trade still serviced by some lovely old coasters. Eventhough Ringö changed owner the following year, to Herbert and Bore Grönqvist, she carried sand for the 18 years of their ownership. I n August 1979 the brothers Stark bought her back to Sweden and renamed her Ringö av Karlshamn in 1980. Their plans for the old veteran were enthusiastic. Under the Liberian flag, the brothers wanted to trade her on the African and Caribbean coasts - a dream that never came true.
Later that year she had a fire onboard which destroyed her interior completely, leaving only the engine room intact. The brothers had already lost their interest in her and had negotiated with the breakers when a well known ship enthusiast, Joachim Kaiser, managed to find a buyer. The Germania Schiffahrts GmbH, owned by Jörn Deistler, bought her and the following year she sailed under own power to Glückstadt - a long time home port from her past. Renamed "Anny" and registered to Hamburg, a complete restoration took place. The hull was shortened to the old length, all decks were removed and the b ow carefully rebuilt to original shape. Without thinking of the costs, work began to convert the rusty hull into a charter vessel with high standards but keeping her appearance and rig according to her original builder's plans.
In the summer of 1982 the work was completed - it had cost DM 3.000.000. Now with a new engine and re-rigged with new sails and a gleaming white painted hull, she was ready to enter the charter business. The deckhouses and decks were covered in 5cm (continued on next page)
Above: Main lounge in old cargo hold
Right: A happy crew
(continued from above) thick teak, the interior superbly done out with 5 double berth cabins - each with its own bathroom; there was a big lounge area and a messroom and galley - all located in the old cargo holds and traditionally finished in rich mahogany and brass, making her a unique ship in her own class.
"Anny" spent most of her time on charter in the Caribbean, New York and in the Mediterranean, before returning to Europe in 1986. For tax reasons she was renamed Anny von Hamburg and registered in London! Laid up during winters and doing North Sea charters in summer, she set off for the Caribbean and New York again in 1988. The following year she was re-registered in the Antigua, but by then she was beset with financial difficulties - even though she had only one full-time crew member employed on-board, the remainder of the crew being mainly unpaid volunteers. In 1992 she returned to Europe and for two years sailed on charters to the Balearic Isles, owned by the Classic Schooner Club. After undertaking occasional charters from Mallorca, she sailed back to Germany again in 1996, in a rather run-down condition. She was then re-flagged on the Antigua registry and laid up in Glückstadt.
I had the opportunity to be her Master during the 1997 summer season. When I signed on in Glückstadt there were no sails onboard; the rigging was rotten; gaff booms were on the deck; there was no windlass; the anchors were lying on the quayside; there was no heating, no working heads or warm water. With the first charter less than two weeks away, the whole running rigging had to be changed and the sails bent on. She was ready just in time and after a necessary engine check and overhaul, the Germanischer Lloyd made his annual inspection. Luckily I had one deckhand to help me - even though he had never been on a tall ship before! After completing day-charters and private weekend trips on the North Sea coast, we had a chance to properly refit the ship during a break in the charter programme. The crew by now consisted of myself, two deckhands and a cook (no engineer and no mate). Sailing short-handed is obviously hard work for all. Handling the three big gaff sails usually required assistance from the passenger who were only too happy to help us. Even then, tacking on the busy River Elbe in a stiff breeze needs good teamwork - but after some training everybody knew what to do.
We appeared at Kiel Week and the Rostock Sail festival during the summer but since the autumn of 1997 Anny von Hamburg has been laid up in Glückstadt again. At the time of writing, only some painting has been carried out on-board. For the past nine years she has been for sale and three prospective buyers are interested in her. However, it remains to be seen what her future will be.
Volker Gries 2002
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