Refitting Anny von Hamburg

Anny von Hamburg postcard (1980's)

In 2023 my friends and colleagues, Captains Jan Rautawaara & Juha Pokka managed to procure another old lady as a project for the future. It was s/y "Anny von Hamburg", a 29m historic three-masted schooner built in Germany. 

Initially named "Anny" she has been used both as a cargo ship and passenger ship under several name changes over the years. After several transformations, she has been lengthened and shortened, and also  with multiple owners, she was restored in 1980 to her original 1914 build design and was then used for leisure sailing with updated navigational equipment.

AvH in Finkenwerder

Credit: J Rautawaara

AvH in Finkenwerder

Credit: J Rautawaara

AvH in Finkenwerder

Credit: J Rautawaara

AvH in Finkenwerder

Credit: J Rautawaara

However, the activity decreased and finally in Finkenwerder she was mothballed, rigging, sails and masts taken off and put into storage. The hull lay vacant for years until Jan got involved. 

Long story short, he bought the vessel, gave some first aid to her main engine with the expertise of the engine whisperer Juha Pokka extraordinaire. She was moved by her own power to Wischhafen and there proceed to load the old sails and rotten rigging on deck. 

Enroute to Finland

Once completed Jan & Co motored her to Finland via Kiel canal in spring of 2023 with a handful of crew. In Viapori yard, at Suomenlinna island off Helsinki, Anny was put up at the yard service jetty and the restoration work begun. The old rigging was offloaded and the metal fittings taken off, they were chipped clean and restored to former glory or rebuilt by skilled blacksmiths. Work was also being undertaken by several sailing enthusiasts from abroad, some of them with history from Anny. Wooden parts got sanded down, repaired, and a new coating of varnish was applied throughout.

Meanwhile, shipwright Juha Pokka traveled to Miehikkälä in eastern Finland in search of new masts in the forest. The pictures tell the tale how trees were chosen, felled and transported back to Helsinki, then floated in the sea to the shipyard to be worked upon. The incident was so rare that an article was published about it in the forestry owners trade magazine (translation below).

Debarked, cut and shaped by expert shipwrights in lead with Juha Pokka. Then finally in to be fitted onboard Anny at the right angle and after that the most important work of putting back the rigging started. 

Still standing (courtesy J. Pokka)

Not as large as Canadian spruce (courtesy J. Pokka)

Arrival to Halkolaituri (courtesy J. Pokka)

Future masts getting towed to the Viapori yard (courtesy J. Pokka)

Anny and masts (courtesy J. Pokka)

Yard field (courtesy J. Pokka)

Yard field (courtesy J. Pokka)

Mast being shaped (courtesy J. Pokka)

Shaping masts take a lot of space (courtesy J. Pokka)

Finally masts are fitted on Anny (courtesy J. Pokka)

The rigging was started after fitting the masts, metal fittings that had been restored by blacksmiths had to be adjusted and installed in the correct position, there was no accurate drawings left of her rigging so everything had to be pieced together by expertise, old photographs and the old rigging that had been brought with from Germany. Then winter came and snow so "Anny" was moored alongside Halkolaituri and restoration of her interior continued. I visited her in December just before the ice came and she was quite warm and cozy inside.

On the move (courtesy J Pokka)

Anny at Halkolaituri in Dec

Anny at Halkolaituri in Dec

Come spring and works continued on her exterior, long hours were made on her rigging making her ready for the summer. Stays, blocks and tackle had to be fitted. Another milestone came in May when she was drydocked and the bottom with underwater items was surveyed and new antifouling was painted and new zinc anodes fitted.

Anny on the hard (courtesy J Pokka)

Anny on the dry (courtesy J Pokka)

Anny refloated in May (courtesy J Pokka)

Anny alongside in Viapori yard (courtesy J Pokka)

Then on 5th June her inaugural cruise from Helsinki to Ekenäs, her hometown, was announced. The departure went well with a good team onboard and when all preparations had been expertly done and it went off without a hitch. 

Inaugural sail Helsinki - Ekenäs

In Ekenäs (Tammisaari) she managed to lift quite a few eyebrows and finally national main stream media caught on to her with a couple of articles. They are translated down below.

Anny enroute to Ekenäs

To find out more about Anny and her shenanigans and perhaps to participate yourself on a cruise, she can be found in Facebook and her website.