CARTOTI A.A,L, ÍUSTLAAII 264t3 8380 ZEEERUGGE The Loss iii of the "Pamir" l I In September, 1957, the I I. Gerrnan Íout -rnasted ,.b,**e"" barque "Pamir" was lost in an Atlantic huticane. i,J..j P, D. Grant recounts the ,( ship's uaried, career and the eaents uhich led uP to her tragic loss-a loss which brought commercial deeP-water sai.l to an untimely end ga **t (2 "Pàmir: All hope sone. 5roÍa ba|rr<J bodr' emr.r ..- rdlen b\ anoLher .d.Inr..nrp mcn, (dp.drn Drebirs'h. 6l .rdeb losr- So reao rhe headlne. oÍ )ome oi rlr qo ld', led. olà lt *à' rhe ÍI lime Capt3.n Dreorlsch had $il€d in newspapers on Monday,2lrd Seprember, 1957. 'r The tour-ma'red b a-e Pantt, one oÍ ,he tt dteJt Shatr€red by the n€ps, CapÉin Es8€ís sat in his Hamburg windiammels *hich had delied fo! solons rhe íorms ofCape home ií disbeliel. His belovedPaut -heknew€verynailon Hor; was iídeèd àr the boftom ol the ocean. Smashed and board, every plank, she was fte ship in which he had f€ll Inockeo o\.r bJ d hu ,i.ane. .he J'cnpc"re- .orehr(,( ,d e.r, rndrighrl) so. qen' of near rhe A1oÍe' and rrrl ner J) -cu "rd 52 ."de ' Panl. was a line stately four-masted balque 3,020 ton§, some ofwhom were on their tÍsl sea voy, age. built by Blohm and voss ol HamburS in I905 ior the lamous How could this hapDen 10 such a well iound §hip? onc man l-.. de./'n' I ii( àlonr " th'-.h.'»a, Ppu'-en Pota\i. asking this question qas Pann\ regular caprain, Herman P,.."', Pektas aro Pd .at. HeÍ ormennon) weÍe 316 fl x 46 ft Essers, 45 years old, an experienced square{isser man *ho \ 2ö 2 r. Poop decl lo lL and roc\'. 16 lr lonS- PanD wa! a had made many votases under sailin allconditions. Sullerinc good, s(ong ship with a sound sled hLrll and wdl riSsed up from a bour oi rheJma .. qh.ch nad Io .eo n.n rogi!eup aloft She was lir íor whal she was built fol, he gruelling his command for rhis parriculaÍ !oyase, Esser§' place was 30 SHIPS MONÍI]LY ,t ."*"-"*Ï tffia, Parair's maís and yardarms She was sqLrare' ln 1954 r\e qflt Cermàn were ot í€el. r"."r"^"r,, - "n r'irrqr?rt Íigged on foÍe, main and mizzen masts, lore and aft on her Ii m: rron DM ro r\e I ande\bari SchleswiS_Hol're}nIwt' cn. jigger which cadied lhree spars spankcr sail boom, e;ab-(o rhcm to linan(€ ,he rJrnins oÍ borh §hips and so spank.r boom and upperspankergafi.- This enablcd her ro 5et hoth Ponn Ànít Passa! bnt ro sea aaàin as caÍgo cartvine sail by ,'^,n,' , .h'n. FvÈn qiÀ \uch a l.rie .oÍplemenr cdrÍ ed Ihlee sails on this mast instead ol rhe usual two catried 'he otheÍ non-German sailing ships. She was a powerlul ship, ,'a.-"frr" .onnare and. lor tne ne\r lnr(e yed,s, Poa' capable ol carrying 45,000 squarc {.et oi canvas. ".onr"r ',r.ce. lul rra.rin-e prosramme(; untrl lhar latelul dav Pr-irwas no record breakeÍ, but she did make a few sí,a!t pa§sages sailing beiween HambuÍg and Chile and save good \!,lr d cd-so or oar.ey. nJt ld o i (he A/o-e\. Pou r/ sas regular service to her ovners. hor -cwaÍd b;.,nd ltom Ihe Ri\.Í Plare ro Hamourg *hen However, this pcriod oi h to bc shoÍtiivcd, storm warnirss, wi0r rhe diiedion and §pecd ol a hurican€ for, in 1914, when shc was homeward bound, Parrtr vas reoorr.o. Paryrr pres'ed on, Capta,n Drebirsch pÍobablv informed rhar wa! had be€n declared, so §he made foÍ lhe d"ere o n, ihoq ml-ch .oicern as rhev seemed to be well cle3Í of Canary Islands, the caprain and crew expecting ro bc thcrc loÍ rhs huricanc'§ Darh. Pdmi. vas buill to survive sroÍms, §he but a \hort',me. Hos {, onts rhey qere: .he sJ. 'o iLmain in naa oeen rnro:gn rougn:ea( man) Iine:: belure and .he had lhe Canaries tor tive long years. when hosrilities wcre ar an end Pamir vas laken ovcr by the ltaliuís in l9l9 lo trade in Tl-e qcrrn(, DJ'r(, r ror rhe Ce'man \quarer,ts8er was now fie Mediierranean. This was no sea lor a Cape Horn{ and, beein,,i,,( ro ral( .hdDc . c.ouJy \\], senrle dnd modeÍaLc iound tor hcr; in . , ,ry cnd los I as Iuck would have it, no cargo coLrld be so, noirn"e i o ,e... o..., or"l no\eÍ.. sood i..oi 1925, F. Laeisz, heí old owners, were siven rhe opportunity to nonr*e,r ,\el. bLr hu ricane 15.8N 54 8 w i,\ mov:ng buy her back, which rhey gladlydid. rowcrJ, lne ea. c, \peed. A. lhe powerÍLl wrndjammeÍ A German ship once again, the P/nf w€nt back into lLr bo".eJ alons. rne huricdne. code nam€d CaUie', $a. being nirare trade which she knew so well. The proud ship save D,orred b\ rhe sea'hermen qho reoorred a'ery hicn norrh€rly good regulaÍ seÍ!ice as she did before the qar. She remained ise.. tnd very rouen.oniu\ed.ea. The,qel, \ere\eryhig'r. in this capacily until 1932, when lhe was sold ro the weu' .tceD ano breal'ne hea\.1\. huri.dne Íor.e w'nd\ wer€ knoyn Finnish sailirg ship ownÍ, Captain CuÍai Erikson ol €xtendrne ouNvards 50 miles Irom lhecenlre. the Aland hlands lor rhe sum ol 14.000. It was at thk timc, I hc nish or l9rl \errembcr,Ihe(ea'hertore(àsl8a\eout when moí ol rhe world's rcmainins deep water saiiing ships sarnrne. ot ,,'o'm ror.i t I to .I i\p(cred in .uurnern rec'ion, were beins sold oti, that CaptaiÍ Erikson wa! busy bLrilding in advance oi lilrricane'Caric'which was eíimaied al up his fleet plying between Àuíralia and ELrrope with gÍaini posirion 34 N 44 W, moving e3st-norlh-eaí aI l0 to l5 knol§ he made them pay, roo. His shiprnasters and mares weÍe and expecled to move iíto the weÍsoutheÍn seclion. hard€ned and seasoned men many oi whom h.l been under AI t2l0 hou6 on rhe louowins day the sky wa§ dark and sailsince they were boys. olercrst, \!irh a lÍesh to slrons norlhweÍ breeze Captain Diebiisch aM his ollicers exoected 10 be weU clear of th€ huricane's path bul, by 2130 hours rhat ni8hl, it was clear tnle.ritiotrd Crels tha! rhis vas nor to 6e, Huricane 'Cade' was no* repoÍed Erikson's crews lere made up oi international yourh to be moving eastwards al 15 mph. Pc ir now lound heBelf Finnish, German, British and Ausrralian youns men from- in a íresh southerly gale, which Nas increasing. By lhe moln. all fie *orld in iac1. Some even paid him- íor the plivilege ol i18 or 21 . Scpremoer. rne barq-e $d' ir \ery rou8n .eas dnd sailing on one ot his ships as applenrices. Erikson had a+eye hed\r rdrn, cnd.o oelan sha *a'ro beher lÀsr barrle stLh foragood sound ship a.d he knew he had onewirh thePa,?i. He r€sarded her as oneolhis best. The heavy seas, with the roar ol rhe sloÍÍn *a§ now upon So ii was thal Parrl/joined this iamous lleer roserher with Pa-,r, sseeping her decks and lreaking ur lileboats as il such vell-known vessek as Passal, Pama, viking, fletzogin wenl. with a shifting cargo rhe barquc b€san lo lisr. HeÍ Cecilie, Lavhill, Gruce Hartrat and many orheB. Herc she ollicers and cre* w€re now lishrins for their very exislercc, remained. lor a lew years anyway bul, in l94l, the lortunes of otlen up to rheir necks in wateÍ trying roconlroltheiÍ ship. *ar caughl up heÍ again. year had houÍ,. toreroPmaí wilh In ihat Pa,1ir sailed Ar "ppro!matelJ ll00 'he Pontli for the Seych€lle Islands when Finland, which had been .r"y.drl ano:irní j.b reÍe c.rned away and the cÍeq Íoushl ga.lanrly ro ropsarl. h,rrtican€ neutal, had enlered the war. Once again the Por.rl. found tles up d 'À .rh Ihe screanlng hersell a war prize and was taken over by New Zealand.It was try'ns o rear rhem ro pie.e", ir sas Io be a hopeless Lask. under the New Zealand llag rhat she visired rhis coun!Íy in a,nr"rf Trrehr,.h.rdered \ail. to be cur down $her. 1948 wirh a carso of srain. Her Majeíy the Queen, then Princess Elizaberh, and the Duke oí Edinburgh, vÈrred her Durins rhis dme Pa-ir was sending oul calh on heÍ radio whileshevas beíhed in London's docks. IoÍ d ,.t"ne. ale',ins \hipprns Io het plishr. l_out-masLed This voyage, ufltorlunarely, was not very successlul brrque Paa.. o|lline in hea!y :ras wirl'our ,ails in posilroí financially and, on her return to New Zealand, ir was an- 35.57N-40.20W. Ships in vicinity please sive posilion." She nounced ftar the PrmrT wa§ to be sold. The nexl we h€ar of had bcsun to tisr more heavily now.