Schooner-Captain-Borchardt

Captain Borchardt under sail in Pomeranian Bay.

The three-masted schooner Kapitan Borchardt is the oldest of the large yachts (sailboats) flying the Polish flag, although at the same time her history under the white and red is only a few - albeit lengthy - moments in a century of history. vessel.

The fact that, after many upheavals, he found his home port in Szczecin is also a confirmation of the gradual enrichment (or, if you prefer, the progressive stratification) of society, for without him a merchant sailing ship could not exist. This is also a manifestation of the normalization of windage. A relatively large ship survives on well-defined activities carried out on board, without recourse to the legends of the past, often smacking of the commercialization of tradition, as well as assertive activity, characterized by the appearance of various noble initiatives in the public pocket. As for the ship itself, it led an extremely busy life, which in some way illustrates the changes taking place in the "small shipping" in the North Sea.

Regular sailing cabotage

Today's Kapitan Borchardt was built at the JJ Pattje und Zoon shipyard in the Dutch town of Waterhuizen, located on the Winshoterdeep canal. The laying of the keel took place on July 13, 1917, the unit was handed over to the recipient on April 12 of the following year. The steel schooner, built at number 113 of the shipyard, intended for cabotage and trade with British ports, was named "Nora". The shipyard itself, now known as Pattje Waterhuizen BV, is located on a canal island. Today, Waterhuizen, although administratively different, is actually a suburb of Groningen. It is worth noting that the mentioned city is located about 40 km from the artificial lake Lauversmeer (at the time of the creation of the Burrow, it was the Wadden Sea, from which it was cut off by a dam equipped with a culvert system in 1969).

So it is not a big exaggeration to say that Borchardt was founded in inland waters, although in the Netherlands this has a slightly different meaning. Since the Great War was still going on when the ship was handed over to the owner (Gustav Adolph van Veen of Scheveningen), there were white signs of neutrality on its sides, consisting of a proper name and a statement of belonging to a non-belligerent country (Holland). Initially, Van Veen registered the schooner in Scheveningen (a coastal town adjoining The Hague to the north). The documents show that it was the only ship owned by this person, so it cannot be ruled out that the purchase of the schooner was an investment and the owner was counting on a quick profit after the end of the war. This is evidenced by the fact that already in November 1918, the company NV Zeevaart-Maatschappij Albatros from Rotterdam became the operator of the vessel. However, this episode did not last long, since in July 1919 the ship was owned by R. Kramer and J. H. Cruise.

from Groningen, and NV Zeevaart Maatschappij Groningen takes over the operation. He was the manager of eight of his own small boats (both sailing and motorized) and ten handed over. It is interesting that in the last group, in addition to the Harlingen schooner of interest to us (the so-called Nora), which was jointly owned by two individuals, there were three more ships owned by R. Kramer. The ship's harbor was Delfzijl, above the mouth of the Ems.

However, the series of changes in owners and shipowners did not end there. In May 1923, the ship, after the bankruptcy of the owner, was bought by Yurien Swirs, which was associated with a change in the port of registry to Groningen. However, the operation of the vessel did not live up to the buyer's expectations, as in September it was taken over by Hanseatische Schleppschiffahrt Gustav Dettweiler.

from Bremen. It was then renamed Möwe. Despite the big name, the buyer turned out to be just an intermediary who, after 4 days, sold the ship to Knopf & Lehmann from Lübeck. A few months later, the ship went to Dr. Petrus Wischer of Westrhauderfen (on the Ems River). Then it was called Vadder Gerit. The new owner seriously approached the operation of the vessel, repaired and modernized it. In addition to inspecting the hull, a Hanseatische Bergedorf two-stroke two-cylinder medium-pressure engine was installed on the ship (operated in 1916-1966). In the available materials, you can find information that its power was 100 hp.