Waft of tar

Pommern anchored in Mariehamn

On our last day in Mariehamn we visited the famous four-masted barque Pommern (built in 1903), which belonged to Ålander Gustaf 'Gusta' Erikson in its hay day when it used to carry grain from Spencer Gulf area in Australia to harbours in Uk & Ireland until the WWII. Pommern's strategic measurements are a bit different to Linden's... Made of steel her length is 95m, width 13m & draught 7.5m. The windjammers were able to attain great speeds; most four-masted barques were able to cruise at 15kn on plausible winds, some logged 18kn regularly - and Herzogin Cecilie is known to have logged 21kn. This was excellent on long voyages against steamers doing barely 8kn. Pommern now sits still in the harbour. Her sails are not hoisted anymore, she is only towed to the boat yard for regular maintenance works once a year or so - but she is truly a windjammer from the era long gone (can't wait to see the Tall Ship Race that comes to Turku this year...).

The Mariehamn Sea Museum has a fantastic exhibition on the last grain race around the treacherous waters of Cape Horn in 1949. This was a race against the clock between Pommern & Pamir on Pommern's favour. The exhibition in the museum and on board Pommern prompted me to buy a book titled 'The Duchess'.

'The Duchess' tells a story of Pommern's sister ship Herzogin Cecilie (ship named after a German duchess; book written by the skipper's wife Pamela Eriksson 1958), who was wrecked off the coast of Devon in the summer of 1936. Parts of the ship are now exhibited in the museum for visitors to admire, but the true marvel of Herzogin Cecilie is well captured on the pages of The Duchess - with the occasional peculiar waft of tar when turning the pages (no kidding!).

Interesting link for 'a survivor's story' to be read with regards to the last voyage of Herzogin Cecilie.