Schreiber-Bogen, 616, Gorch Fock, Skala 1:200

The famous training sailing ship, which is still being used, has a long history. It has a forerunner, which was built in the years 1932-1933. The ship got its name from the pseudonym of the northern German regional writer Johann Kinau. During the Second World War the Gorch Fock 1 was scuttled by officers so that it couldn’t be seized by the Russian Army. In 1947 the ship was raised from the seabed, restored in Rostock and taken to the Soviet Union, where it came into use under the name Tovarišc.

When the Federal Navy decided in the 50s to use a sailing ship again for training, one asked why, in a time of motor ships, a sailing ship should be used for training. The supporters argued that this form of naval training offered a better possibility of developing a more secure feeling for the situation at sea.

With a length of 89.32 m, the second Gorch Fock is larger than its predecessor and has a draught of 5.33 m. The total of 23 sails have a total area of 2037sq.m. As the main emphasis on this ship is the sailing training, there are no weapons on board. The Gorch Fock has made well over 100 voyages and up to now covered over 500,000 sea miles. Its only big circumnavigation of the world took place in 1987. Nowadays the ship is mainly in Germany in its home port in Kiel and can be seen on sailing regattas.