Entrance Nieuwe Waterweg, Netherlands 31 March 2026
Finland-flagged, homeport Braendoe, IMO 9183788, MMSI 230925000 and call sign OJIX. Owner Trailer Link AB, manager Godby Shipping AB, both Mariehamn, Aland Islands, Finland. Built by JJ Sietas Schiffswerft, Hamburg, Germany in 1999.
An item reported that the Finnish naval forces seemed to gather at the south west of the Aaland Islands to control the mined entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia. The entrance to the eastward of the Aaland Archipelago was full of skerries making it impossible to navigate excluded the local coastal vessels. Russian minelayers seemed to lay mines in the waters west of the Aaland Islands and four Russian submarines were sighted north of the Islands past the recently laid mines.(1)
Note
1. Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union between 30 November 1939-13 March 1940.
Source
The National Archives, Kew Gardens, England CAB-66-4-13 Weekly Résumé (No. 15) of the naval, military and air situation from 0700 7 December to 0700 14 December 1939.
An item reported the considerable work done in the Finnish harbours east of the Aland Islands in the Gulf of Bothnia.
Source
The National Archives, Kew Gardens, England CAB-129-1-20. Weekly Résumé (No. 311) of the naval, military and air situation from 0700 9th August to 0700 16th August 1945.
The intention behind creation of this book was to present the reader with a broad outline of the history and development of working sail in Northern and North-western Europe. The vessels depicted represent hundreds of years of evolution in merchant and fishing ship design and construction. Although many tend to believe that the "age of sail" is long gone and destined never to return, it has in fact never faded completely away, merely decreased in presence and, remarkably enough, some of the technologies and inventions of the past are now revealing their potential to become more important in the future.
Throughout human history, ship propulsion has become more and more advanced. In the earliest days it was provided mostly by paddles/oars, followed by sails. Only after the Industrial Revolution did things start to change more and ship propulsion became increasingly diverse over the years that followed, first with the introduction of steam engines, followed by steam turbines, gasoline and diesel engines, electrical motors, nuclear power and even hydrogen-fueled systems, but the development of wind-based methods never stopped. Sailing merchant ships are making a quite unexpected comeback, and their numbers are increasing. These days the family of commercially active sailing ships is becoming more diverse once again, as the vessels carrying 'classic' canvas sails are being joined by ones carrying the so-called mechanical sails, such as rotor sails, dyna sails, wing sails, wind turbines and various other wind powered mechanisms.
The 1973 oil crisis gave birth to many initiatives towards sailing cargo ship revival, but few of them actually came to fruition. Some examples from this "forgotten decade" of ship design are included here, to an extent permitted by the size constraints of this publication and an unfortunate limitation stemming from a limited source base for these often extremely imaginative projects. Yet, many engineers dared to take the challenge of pushing the bounds of sail technology to wholly new levels and they will all be honoured in this publication as a result
The focus is on ships built (or intended to be built) in countries located in Northern & North-western Europe, as well as those vessels built elsewhere but for clients from the aforementioned areas. As mentioned, obvious practical considerations allowed us to present only a limited selection from an immense multitude of ships that potentially could be included, and some tough choices had to be made in order to find a proper balance between the various categories of vessels while keeping this publishing project manageable. The categories of all kinds of sailing merchant and fishing ships were eligible to be included in this book, on the condition that they were originally built for these purposes, even if not necessarily "sailing" ships from the start, merely converted from motor vessels at some point in their service lives:
Countries that will be represented: Åland, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, France , Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia/Soviet Union, Sweden, United Kingdom.
An item referred to the Finnish press reporting that the Finnish minesweeping operations in the Baltic starting in May 1921 were stopped for the time being. Waters in the Aland Islands area were still to be swept what was later in 1921 to be executed.
Source
The National Archives CAB-24-127-7. No.31. Weekly appreciation of matters of naval interest for the week ended 6 August 1921
The intention behind creation of this book was to present the reader with a broad outline of the history and development of working sail in Northern and North-western Europe. The vessels depicted represent hundreds of years of evolution in merchant and fishing ship design and construction. Although many tend to believe that the "age of sail" is long gone and destined never to return, it has in fact never faded completely away, merely decreased in presence and, remarkably enough, some of the technologies and inventions of the past are now revealing their potential to become more important in the future.
Throughout human history, ship propulsion has become more and more advanced. In the earliest days it was provided mostly by paddles/oars, followed by sails. Only after the Industrial Revolution did things start to change more and ship propulsion became increasingly diverse over the years that followed, first with the introduction of steam engines, followed by steam turbines, gasoline and diesel engines, electrical motors, nuclear power and even hydrogen-fueled systems, but the development of wind-based methods never stopped. Sailing merchant ships are making a quite unexpected comeback, and their numbers are increasing. These days the family of commercially active sailing ships is becoming more diverse once again, as the vessels carrying 'classic' canvas sails are being joined by ones carrying the so-called mechanical sails, such as rotor sails, dyna sails, wing sails, wind turbines and various other wind powered mechanisms.
The 1973 oil crisis gave birth to many initiatives towards sailing cargo ship revival, but few of them actually came to fruition. Some examples from this "forgotten decade" of ship design are included here, to an extent permitted by the size constraints of this publication and an unfortunate limitation stemming from a limited source base for these often extremely imaginative projects. Yet, many engineers dared to take the challenge of pushing the bounds of sail technology to wholly new levels and they will all be honoured in this publication as a result
The focus is on ships built (or intended to be built) in countries located in Northern & North-western Europe, as well as those vessels built elsewhere but for clients from the aforementioned areas. As mentioned, obvious practical considerations allowed us to present only a limited selection from an immense multitude of ships that potentially could be included, and some tough choices had to be made in order to find a proper balance between the various categories of vessels while keeping this publishing project manageable. The categories of all kinds of sailing merchant and fishing ships were eligible to be included in this book, on the condition that they were originally built for these purposes, even if not necessarily "sailing" ships from the start, merely converted from motor vessels at some point in their service lives:
Each ship has been presented in a number of detailed technical drawings depicting them during key moments of their history, and supported by detailed write-ups of the ship's service record, technical specifications and sail plans. Starting with their original appearance, followed by the modifications made, changes of ownership, changes in purpose and in some cases their change back to a nearly original state.
Countries that will be represented: Åland, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, France , Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia/Soviet Union, Sweden, United Kingdom.
An item reported the arrival at Zaandam, Netherlands on 10 August of the steamship Charterhague from Borga [Porvoo, Finland?] with a cargo of sawn wood.(1)
Note
1. Call sign OHDI.. Ex-Silverway and WarFig. Gross tonnage 2.522 ton, under deck 2.248 ton, net tonnage 1.348 ton, dimensions 312.9 x 43.0 x 20.7 feet, buil in November 1920 by Monmouth Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Chepstow, England, in 1939 owned by Angfartyg Akitebolaget “Alfa”, manager A. Karlsson, homeport Mariehamn, Åland (Islands), Finland-flagged.
An item reported the expected arrival at Zaandam, Netherlands next Wednesday of the Finnish steam timber carrier Ferrum loaded with about 1.100 standaards sawn timber. She was the second timber carrier that season. The edition dated 14 May reported her arrival on the 12th and that she came from Koivista.(1)
Note
1. Ex-Stadt Zaltbommel renamed 1936, call sign OHYO, gross tonnage 2.089 ton, net tonnage 1.174 ton, dimensions 293.7 x 41.3 x 19.1 feet, built by J. Meyer’s Scheepsbouwmaatschappij, Zaltbommel, Netherlands in 1939 owned by Lemlands Rederi A/B, manager Anders Öström, homeport Mariehamn, Åland (Islands), Finland-flagged.
