Yesterday afternoon, Darlene, my wife, and I had the pleasure to attend the opening ceremony of the Pepsi Tall Ships Chicago on beautiful Navy Pier, downtown Chicago. The weather could not have been better. Sunny, warm and a nice breeze to fill the sails. The ships will be in Chicago through Sunday, August 29. More information can be obtained by visiting http://www.navypier.com/tallshipschicago/
Pride of Baltimore II offers Cannon Salute
Over 20 Tall Ship sailing vessels opened up the event with a ceremonious sail by the east end of Navy Pier, many with firing gun salutes. At 5 PM the event was officially opened by a ceremony that was MC’d by Mark Suppelsa of WGN Chicago. This year’s event was definitely an international event that included vessels from Canada, the Netherlands, Poland and Germany. German Consul General Onno Hückmann was the official representative of Germany at the event.
Opening Ceremony with Consul General Hückmann seated in back on left
Of course of special interest to us was the arrival of the “Roald Amundsen” the German Brig that calls Eckernförde, on Baltic near Kiel, her home port. She is a converted Tall Ship that actually started out as a deep sea fishing vessel serving the East German Army as a logger in 1952. She was converted to a Sail Training vessel in 1992 by the German non profit organization, “LebenLernen auf Segelschiffen” also know as LLaS eV.
Roald Amundsen in Full Sail
Darlene and I were fortunate to be able to tour the ship once it docked and talk to several of the German volunteer sailors. What a feeling, that could only be topped by actually going to sea in the ship.
Captain Bill at the helm of the Roald Amundsen
Navigation Room of the Roald Amundsen
Darlene Fuchs with Student Sailor below deck of the Roald Amundsen
I was curious about such a Nordic name that the vessel carries and asked Claudia Bankert, one of the International Ships Liaisons accompanying the ship. As she explained that is a German custom to name these sailing vessels after sea explorers. The Roald Amundsen is named after the Norwegian Polar Explorer by the same name. There were three ships re-fitted in the Fritjof-Nansen-Wharf at Wolgast, in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region of Germany, and all three are named after explorers of the Polar Regions who roamed the seas in the early 1900’s: Fridjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile.
Claudia Bankert of the American Sail Training Association , International Ships Liaison for the Roald Amundsen
Ms. Bankert also pointed out that one can actually join the crew and sail on the Roald Amundsen on select voyages. Voyages from 5 days and longer are still available at discounted prices from August to September as the ship begins its journey back to Europe via the Azores. More information on voyages can be had at: http://www.sailtraining.de/fileadmin/files/toernplan-vUS.pdf
Complete information on this magnificent vessel can also be obtained on the website: http://www.sailtraining.de/homepage.html?&L=1
Pirate Ship "Bounty"
If you are anywhere near Chicago, you have to see these great ships this weekend. By the way, also attending this great flotilla was the Bounty, the real ship used in the filming of the original movie and subsequently in Pirates of the Caribbean and many other films.
Best Wishes,
Captain Bill
Find more like this: Captain Bill's Travels
Wow….I wish I could have been with you both to see these wonderful ships! I was on the original BOUNTY ship down in Florida many many years ago and enjoyed it very much. It was strange to see Captain Bill behind a steering wheel of a ship rather than being in a cock-pit. I bet the “open air” on the ship is a little more refreshing than the air in a plane. Loved the photos Bill! Enjoy your summer!
yep, you gotta love Chicago. Things like the Tall Ships, the Air & Water Show etc make Chicago one of the greatest places to live. How did it feel to “steer” a ship rather than an Airbus. A lot less controls, I bet.
Margita