Sailboat “Beijing” leaves SH for Hamburg | NDR.de – news

From: 09/07/2020 20:26 – Schleswig-Holstein Magazin

It was launched in Hamburg in 1911, then sailed 34 times around Cape Horn and was a museum ship in New York for more than 40 years: the historic four-masted boat “Peking” is Monday He returned to his homeland. She was previously at the Peters shipyard in Wewelsfleth (Steinburg district) It has been extensively restored over three years for 38 million euros. In Hamburg, the sailboat will be the flagship of the planned to be the German Harbor Museum in Kleiner Grasbrook.

Greetings for the Stör bombing

The first challenge ends Monday morning. As “Peking” slowly passed the bottleneck of the Stör bombardment, cheers and applause erupted. Because here it applies: nature rules. The 115-meter-long “Beijing” only passes through the small barrage that connects the Stör with the Elbe during floods. At 22 meters, it is only seven meters wider than “Peking”. That is why the last sailing trip started very early in the morning. Furthermore, the transverse masts, that is, the shipyards of the sailboat, had to be flown, that is, folded. Otherwise, the “Beijing” would not have come through the door.

Like many other people, Mathias Kahl was drawn to the levee. He is a board member of the Beijing Friends Association and has been waiting for this moment for a long time. His father took the Peking to the sea. “Even when I was little, my father would tell me, ‘Man, it would be nice if we got Beijing back in Hamburg.’ And now the time has come, “says Kahl, visibly excited.

With two tugboats to Hamburg

After passing the barrage of locks, the next maneuver arrives: the shipyards are blown up again, that is, they are placed across the ship again. With the help of brass winches, the mast cross bars are positioned at a 90 degree angle to the ship. “Here it stands out in all its size and beauty,” says Wewelsflether shipyard project manager Niklas Pfaff.

We continue up the Elbe accompanied by the two tugs “Wulf 3” and “Wulf 5”. The powerful tugs are necessary to be able to maneuver the “Beijing” correctly. For a long archer, tight turns are not easy to master.

When the “Beijing” passes through Stadersand, Joachim Kaiser of the Maritime Foundation, who took over the ship in 2016, is thrilled: “These buildings were already there when the ‘Beijing’ left the Elbe.” That was almost 90 years ago. A lot has changed since then.

Break up before Twielenfleth

The two tugs then carry the “Peking” a bit up the Elbe to Twielenfleth in the Stade district. There, the ship awaits the tide, and with it the forward journey. Although the boat only has a draft of four meters, according to Captain Ben Lodemann, the tide is still necessary to bring the boat safely to Hamburg. In the early afternoon the time has come. The journey continues. The ship crosses the Hamburg border.

Typhon concert in the harbor

Thousands follow the causeway along the Elbe. The “Beijing” is accompanied by a fleet of historic ships and yachts. Water fountains and a typhoon concert welcome the boat in the port of Hamburg. After a total of 88 years, the comeback is complete around 7 p.m.

More details on the second part of the “Beijing” transfer can be found here.

Hamburg’s State Minister for Culture, Monika Grütters (CDU), declared on Monday night: “We are proud as a nation to have such a ship.” The return of “Beijing” is financed 100 percent by the federal government – with 38.5 million euros.