“Pommern” in the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties
By Marek Grzybowski
The four-masted Pommern, the only windjammer in the Baltic Sea, is moored near the ferry terminal in Mariehamn, the capital of Åland. The ship is an important part of the Åland Maritime Museum. In these difficult times for tourism, it is worth visiting this place. You will certainly not encounter crowds here, and Mariehamn is a charming city worth visiting.
Today, the use of propulsion as a supporting drive on ships is increasingly being discussed, and even more technologically advanced solutions are being introduced. Rotors and rigid sails are becoming common. Norsepower Rotor Sails promotes the use of wind propulsion technology, which is to ensure reduced fuel consumption during travel. With good winds, you can even count on a reduction of CO₂ emissions by up to 30%.
Sailing ships were used to transport cargo across oceans. Until the mid-20th century, four-masted ships sped between ports at quite good speeds. Windjammer was a typical merchant ship, mainly designed to transport bulk goods on ocean routes. Such units had steel hulls and were designed to transport various cargoes. Their deadweight exceeded the deadweight of clippers many times (about 1,000 tons).
Windjammers reached speeds of 16 knots at a time when the first steamboats carried goods and people at 9 knots. These ships were equipped with steam and electric winches and other devices that made it easier to operate the sails and sail in difficult conditions. Thanks to the power steering, sailing ships were operated by crews of a dozen or so people, and the largest did not have more than about 25 people. They mainly reached ports where coal and water were hard to come by.
In order to achieve high speeds, sailing ships covered routes through the “Roaring Forties”, i.e. ocean routes in the southern hemisphere of the globe, which ran approximately between 40° and 50° south latitude. Braver captains chose the “Furious Fifties”. There is a body of water stretching between 50° and 60° south latitude. Some of the strongest winds blow here due to the lack of lands to inhibit the air currents. Strong winds are also caused by the temperature difference caused by a cold ocean current – the Westerly Current.
From Glasgow to the oceans
The sailing ship was built in 1903 in Glasgow by shipyard workers J. Reid & Co Shipyard. The ordering party was the German shipowner F. Laeisz. This family company has been operating from 1824 to the present day. It currently operates on the shipping market as F. Laeisz Shipping Group and manages a fleet of 30 ships (approximately 1 million DWT). F. Laeisz was one of the shipowners who, together with other companies from Hamburg, established the well-known operator HAPAG (Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt Aktiengesellschaft) in 1847.
Pommern was awarded to Greece as part of the war reparations in 1921. In 1923, the ship was bought by Captain Gustaf Erikson (1872–1947), who ran a shipping company in Mariehamn. Erikson started working at sea at the age of 9. He commanded merchant sailing ships at the age of 19. At that time, he sailed with goods and passengers between the ports of the North Sea.
He commanded mainly 3- and 4-masted sailing ships. As a shipowner, he specialized in operating windjammers. These were units that entered the market in the steam age. They were larger than tea clippers, which at that time began to leave the market. Erikson used his sailing experience and competed in the maritime transport market by operating windjammers. During his activity as a shipowner from 1913 to 1947, he was the owner or co-owner of about 90 units of this type. He often bought retired vessels at scrap prices and put them on the market. He mainly carried bulk cargo on ocean routes. He specialized in grain from South Australia.
His ships participated in the informal races known as the Great Grain Race. These were annual races that started from the grain ports of southern Australia located on Spencer Gulf. The time was measured at Lizard Point in Cornwall, on the southwestern coast of Great Britain. Ships from Australia to England passed Cape Horn and reached their destination often in less than 100 days.
Grain Races
– Of the 13 ships that took part in the 1939 Grain Race, 10 belonged to Erikson,” recalled race participant Eric Newby in his book “The Last Grain Race”. Pommern took first place in the Grain Race twice. The first time was on the Wallaroo-Falmouth route in 1930, reaching the measurement point after a 105-day journey, and in 1930 she sailed with the Passat, also owned by Erikson, covering the Victoria-Falmouth route in 94 days. Erikson’s ships took first place in the Grain Race a dozen or so times.
Pommern is the only four-masted merchant sailing ship preserved in its original condition, claims the Åland Maritime Museum. Pommern transported timber from Scandinavia and brought Chilean saltpeter and grain from South Australia to Europe. She made her last commercial voyage with grain in 1939. She has been a museum ship since 1952. She is owned by Mariehamn, but the ship is cared for by the Åland Maritime Museum Trust.
Visitors can join the crew on a 100-day voyage from Australia to Europe as part of the exhibition “Pommern – 100 days under sail”. The attraction is the authentic accounts of the crew. Visitors to the ship feel as if the crew were around them. The ship’s captain’s lounge, crew cabins, hold and deck equipment have been carefully preserved.
Pommern, basic data:
Name: Mneme (1903-08), Pommern (since 1908)
Owners: F Laeisz, G. Erikson, Municipality of Mariehamn
Builder: J Reid & Co
Launched: 1903
General characteristics: Iron-hulled sailing ship, 2,376 GRT (2,114 NRT) Length, Beam, Draft: 95 m, 13 m, 7.5 m
Propulsion: Sails, 3,420 m2 (36,800 sq ft)
Compliment: 26
Photos: Marek Grzybowski
