- Hanse Sail in sight - "Gorch Fock" to visit
The countdown for the 33rd Hanse Sail in Rostock and Warnemünde is running. The traditional maritime festival will be opened next Thursday and over 130 traditional and museum ships are expected along the quays. "Skippers and crews feel at home in Rostock," said the head of the Hanse Sail office, Bettina Fust. This is thanks in no small part to the over 100 volunteer ship caretakers who support the crews with advice and action during the Sail.
For the third consecutive time, the German Navy's Gorch Fock sailing school ship is participating, prominently moored at berth one of Warnemünde's Mittelmole. After the Brazilian "Cisne Branco" had to cancel due to technical defects, the "Pascual Flores" from Spain has the title of the ship with the longest journey, having traveled nearly 2,500 nautical miles (4,500 kilometers) from its home port. More than 12,000 sailing opportunities are offered in the booking center of the Hanse Sail office.
20 stages and two fireworks displays
The sailing opportunities for the 15th Haikutterregatta, which starts in Danish Nysted on Wednesday, 7 August, and is expected in Rostock in the afternoon, are already fully booked. Not only on the water, but also on land, there is a lot to offer: From the city harbor via the New Market to the Warnemünde beach, over 200 artists will perform on 20 stages from 8 to 11 August.
There are two fireworks displays on the program, one of which will be fired from a ponton on the Warnemünde beach on Thursday at 22:30. The second pyrotechnic spectacle can be seen in the city harbor on Saturday at 22:30.
The oldest ship this year is the high seas cutter "Landrath Küster", which was launched in Hamburg in 1889. It sailed the North Sea for many years for fishing, between 1939 and 1945 it searched for mines in the Baltic Sea and later on the French Channel coast. This year's partner country is Finland.
Sail date set in stone
The largest traditional ship is the "Gorch Fock" with around 90 meters, and the smallest with just under ten meters is the "Seabreeze". The sailing ship was built in 1937 as a tender boat for the "Wilhelm Gustloff". The "Seabreeze" is, according to Hanse Sail, the only one of three supply ships that is still in operation today and is maintained by a support association.
Although the 32nd edition has not even begun, the organizers are already looking ahead to Sail 2025. Preparations have been running all year, said Fust. Every year, the team thinks about what they can do new for the Sail. Only the date - the second weekend in August - remains the same, emphasized the Sail office chief with a smile: "The date is set in stone, after all."
Visitors can explore a wide variety of other art performances beyond the sailing events, with over 200 artists set to perform on 20 different stages from August 8th to 11th. The oldest ship this year, the "Landrath Küster", was launched in 1889 and has an intriguing history, having served as a fishing vessel, mine hunter, and later in the French Channel coast.
