Søren Larsen © James D Parbery 2020-2021 This Edition 22 March 2021
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TIMELINE Søren Larsen © James D Parbery 2020-2021 this edition 22 March 2021 The Danes have been building wooden ships since long before the Viking Era (c.790-1100 AD) and passing on skills from father to son while refining the method and ship design through the centuries. The principal building material, oak, was seriously depleted in most European countries by the late 19th century except in Denmark where oak forests were well managed at the initiative of King Frederich VI 1768 – 1839. Consequently wooden ship building in Denmark continued well into the 20th century. Søren Larsen, launched in 1948, was one of the last of these ships built in the 20th century for commercial cargo - a Baltic trader or sejlede paket (sailing packet) as the Danes called it. The builders, Søren Larsen og Sønners, named the ship after themselves as she was exceptionally well built and the last of a kind - a ship they could name with pride. Søren Larsen now has a rich history spanning almost seventy-five years and has sailed every ocean. She is in excellent condition, still sailing, currently based in Sydney, Australia. If readers have more information, articles, photographs etc to offer please contact James Parbery; [email protected] . 1 of 23 TIMELINE Søren Larsen © James D Parbery 2020-2021 this edition 22 March 2021 THE DANISH YEARS - CARGO SHIP 1948 - 1976 1945 May 5 End of Second World War; Denmark is liberated from German occupation. Mines had been laid throughout the Danish sea lanes during the war and these remain a hazard to shipping, with a significant loss of life until at least 1950 when all mines were finally cleared. Søren Larsen under construction at Nykøbing Mors c.1947 1946/47 Construction commences at the Søren Larsen og Sonners Skibsvaerft (Søren Larsen & Sons Shipyard) in Nykøbing, on the island of Mors, Denmark. The hundred foot long motor/sail trading ship is carvel built with 6 x 18 inch oak frames lined with three inch thick oak outer planking and two inch oak inner planking; a very strong construction, designed to withstand icy conditions and soft groundings. The deck and wheelhouse are made of beech. She has a strongly forward stem with slight spoon and a distinctive round cruiser stern. The ship would be driven by a 149 or 240 horse power* Burmeister & Wain Alpha (B&W Alpha) engine and be rigged as a galeas ketch. The building cost was just under DKK 500,000 (Danish Krone) which is equivalent to the modern spending power of US$830,000 in consumer goods (in 2015). In 1949 DKK 500,000 was equivalent to 3,180 ounces of gold; a 2020 value of US$5.7 million, which is more realistic as a modern comparison for building a new ship. Ref: https://www.historicalstatistics.org/Currencyconverter.html NOTES: * The B&W Alpha engine was specified at 149, 200 and 240 HP in 1949 by three separate accounts which makes us wonder if a smaller engine was later replaced with a larger one. We are currently researching that possibility. The engine, which we had always believed to be the original, is currently assessed at 192 HP. 2 of 23 TIMELINE Søren Larsen © James D Parbery 2020-2021 this edition 22 March 2021 Specifications Original 1948 Current Specifications Danish imperial British imperial French Metric Registered length 96,9 feet * 104 feet 31.7 metres Beam 25,2 * 25’ 6” 7.8 metres Draught fwd ____ 9’ 4” 2.8 metres Draught aft 10,0 * 11’ 4” 3.4 metres Tons DW loading 200/225 DW ____ ____ Registered tons gross 168 BRT 125.9 tuns 356 cubic metres Registered tons net 117 NRT 86.3 tuns 244 cubic metres Auxiliary Engine 149/240 HP** 192 HP ? 143 kW Speed under power 7.6 knots Rigging 2 masted galease*** now 2 masted brigantine Hull shape ‘Jagtbygget’ with slight spoon, strongly forward stem and distinctive cruiser stern Material Hull; Danish oak. Deck and wheel house; beech * See conversion tables for Danish/British/metric in appendix ** We do not know why there are three different accounts of engine HP (horse power). Investigations are under way with B&W Alpha engineers in Denmark. *** Vinden de vor states that Søren Larsen had a notably high mizzen mast. Søren Larsen in Svendborg 1950 by O.Kure. Collection: Museet for Søfarts, Denmark 3 of 23 TIMELINE Søren Larsen © James D Parbery 2020-2021 this edition 22 March 2021 Motorgaleasen Søren Larsen af Nykøbing Mors © O. Gottliebsen c. 1950 1948 Nov 27 Søren Larsen launched into the Limfjorden at Nykøbing Mors. She would be one of the last of the larger wooden sail cargo ships built in Denmark. The vessel was named after her builder. 1949 April 09 Søren Larsen’s rig and fit-out is complete; ship is delivered to the Nykøbing Mors Shipping Company who would own her for the next sixteen years. The galeas ketch is engaged in ‘packet sailing’ (i.e. regular routes within the islands of Denmark) and she also makes longer voyages to Sweden, Norway, Britain and Iceland. Ref: http://www.jmarcussen.dk/maritim/skibsliste/side.php?id=9629 , Helsingør Søfartsmuseum records, and Vinden er Vor 5 by Kaj Lund 1982, page 152. Signal letter OUKI Classification Co _____________ Owner Søren Larsen og Sonners Home Port Nykøbing Mors 1949 Sep 29 Søren Larsen is grounded in Limfjorden en route from Kolberg to Nykøbing Mors with a cargo of coal. The Maritime Enquiry, 1st October 1949 in Nykøbing Mors reads; ‘0715 hrs; when Søren Larsen, with pilot aboard, was west of Aalborg, it became foggy. Anchors were made ready and the ship proceeded slowly. 0730 hrs; the ship grounded between Norden (the north) and the first red [port lateral mark?]. 1200 Søren Larsen came free by help of a tug, seemingly without damage. The ministry must assume that the grounding was caused by [poor visibility]. 4 of 23 TIMELINE Søren Larsen © James D Parbery 2020-2021 this edition 22 March 2021 1950 Trucks, trains and large, m o d e r n s h i p s w e r e increasingly taking the business away from the smaller, traditional vessels such as Søren Larsen. It is likely that Søren Larsen took part in the protest movement in which one hundred and fifty sailing ships from across Denmark berthed at the Langelinje n e a r t h e p a l a c e i n Copenhagen. The ships were led by the flag ship, motor-schooner Svanen, s o l i c i t i n g t h e D a n i s h government to intervene. According to records the Minister of Trade listened a t t e n t i v e l y t o t h e complaints but the Minister of Traffic was ‘resentful’ of the protestors. Protest ships at the Langelinje, Copenhagen 1950 The Minister of Traffic was also Minister of the Danish State Railway (DSB) so the ship owners were already at odds with him. The movement to save the small ships ultimately failed, so Søren Larsen’s days as a sail cargo vessel were numbered only a year or so after she was launched. 1958 Søren Larsen runs aground near Dalarö, on the east coast of Sweden during a passage between Sundsvall, Sweden, and Copenhagen (København), Denmark. Ref: Olaf Kures, Vinden er Vor 5 by Kaj Lund, 1982, p152 1959 March 8th Søren Larsen suffers a fire in the engine room while near Kattegat. The ship is en route from Skive to Herøya in ballast. The marine report reads; “At approximately 14:00, when SØREN LARSEN, under a light to moderate breeze was approximately 12 miles NNE from Hals Barre lighthouse, fire odor was smelt in the wheelhouse. An investigation showed that it was burning powerfully in the engine room. Because it was not possible to go down there the only available [extinguishing agents?] were emptied into the engine room, then all openings to the room were closed. At approximately 14:35 Læsø Rende Lighthouse ship was reached, where from more firefighting help was received [by their crew]. At approximately 17:00 SØREN LARSEN received more assistance from a summoned marine ship. At approximately 20:00 the fire was under control and SØREN LARSEN was towed to Frederikshavn where the ship arrived on 9th March at 00:30. In the fire the bulkheads and the deck over the engine room were strongly charred and STB ships side was burned through. There is no enlightened reason to the fire.” Ref: Danish Maritime Incident Register It is noted in the book Vinden er Vor 5 (p152) that Søren Larsen seemed particularly receptive to fire damage. Similar incidents are described in the Danish Sea Disaster Statistics in 1971 and 1972. Ref: Vinden er Vor 5 by Kaj Lund, 1982, p 152. 1965 Feb 19 Søren Larsen sold to ship’s master Erik Kragh Thomsen of Frederikshavn. 5 of 23 TIMELINE Søren Larsen © James D Parbery 2020-2021 this edition 22 March 2021 ⎈ FILM WORK & SAIL TRAINING in BRITAIN 1976 - 1986 1976 Nov 12 Søren Larsen sold out of trade to Mr. Julian Fitter of Oxford, UK on behalf of Schoonermen of Faversham Ltd, Faversham, UK (near the mouth of the River Thames). For DKK 250,000. Søren Larsen was named Charles Darwin with plans to take passengers on Pacific Island cruises, based in the Galapagos Islands. A company had been formed, [based in Ecuador?] named Veleros de Galápagos, Cia Ltda. However these plans were abandoned after an arsonist set fire to the ship where she lay in Faversham, causing significant damage to the afterguard and wheelhouse.