With its striking green sails and green hull, the "Alexander von Humboldt" was the star on the seven seas and in the TV commercials of a Bremen beer producer for years.
But the ship did not always cross the seas as a windjammer. It wasn't originally green either, but fiery red. Because the three-masted barque used to be a lightship. In 1906 the ship called "Reserve Sonderburg" was launched in Bremerhaven, named after the home port at the time. As usual on lightships, the steel hull is painted red, complemented by large white characters. As a kind of mobile lighthouse, the "Sonderburg" anchored at various positions on the North Sea and Baltic Sea in the years that followed, making it easier for captains to find their way around. On January 4, 1957, things didn't go so well:a Finnish motor ship rammed the lightship, which was now equipped with a diesel engine. It needs to be repaired and modernized before it can return to its position two years later.
Floating signpost until 1986
Owner and name changed several times in the history of the ship. It served as a floating signpost until 1986. On September 17, 1986 - the lightship is now stationed in the Weser estuary - another collision occurs, this time with a Liberian motor vessel. After 80 years, the lightship will be decommissioned.
From lightship to windjammer
At the suggestion of two captains - Manfred Hövener, then a professor at the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, and Hans Freiherr von Stackelberg, former commander of the "Gorch Fock" - the "Deutsche Stiftung Sail Training" (DSST) bought the lightship to convert it into a three-masted barque. It is particularly suitable for this because of its hull construction:It has the classic S-frame construction of a slim sailing ship. This type of construction was chosen for the lightship because it had to withstand heavy storms lying at anchor at its respective position.
The green hull - a homage to the Rickmers shipping company
After the conversion to a windjammer, the ship serves as a youth and training ship. It is painted green as a reference to the famous sailing ships of the Rickmers shipping company. On May 20, 1988, the three-masted barque was given its new name:"Alexander von Humboldt", after the German naturalist and humanist.
Until 2011, the "Alexander von Humboldt" - affectionately called "Alex" by her friends - sails the seven seas as a sail training ship and "windjammer for young people". She covers more than 360,000 nautical miles, takes part in numerous regattas and circumnavigates Cape Horn twice. In October 2011, the veteran of the world's oceans will be decommissioned - the maintenance of the old ship had become more expensive for the owner than having a new ship built. The successor "Alexander von Humboldt II" is similar in size and also a three-masted barque. It is the first new building of a sailing ship since the "Gorch Fock" was launched in 1958. Although the sails are no longer green, the green hull is reminiscent of its predecessor.
"Alex" in action as a hotel and restaurant
The "Alexander von Humboldt" did not end up in the scrap press, but cast off again in January 2012 for the Caribbean. There she sailed tourists on sailing trips through the waters around the Bahamas. But the short cruises didn't pay off for the new owner, so he sold the ship to a businessman from Goslar. He had the Alex converted into a hotel and restaurant ship. It has been at the Schlachte in Bremen since autumn 2016.