"Cast off and in!" The mint green "Germania VI" pushes out of the dreamy Neustadt harbour to the sonorous hum of its 160 hp Mercedes-Benz diesel engine. There's not much going on yet, and only the morning sun seems to be watching what's going on. Shortly afterwards, the entrance is astern and the sails are up.
Peace returns, your gaze wanders across the deck and your thoughts wander. Some yachts have an inherent magic. "Germania VI" is one such yacht. Just looking at her, the peculiar light green shimmering hull, the contrasts of varnished mahogany, gleaming white superstructure and sparkling chrome on deck are unique. And the ship also stands out in many other ways.
The classic has a special aura
There is the extraordinary story of the creation of the last yacht owned by the industrial magnate Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, there is a guest list that reads like a who's who of business and politics. And there are the up to 15,000 nautical miles sailed every summer, which serve to train the next generation of sailors. Reason enough to take a closer look at their nature during a day on board.
Other interesting classics and training yachts:
"Hooool tight!" Skipper Dr Michael Schädlich, known on board only as "Mike", shouts his commands above deck at a carefully measured volume. He stands wedged between the gleaming white mizzen mast and the chrome-plated steering column, one hand in his pocket, one on the varnished rudder wheel, and gazes intently at the main mast. Four men fall into the rigging there, a fifth hauls the slack through the winch and covers the halyard.
Then Schädlich drops off, the main feels the slight pressure of the rising breeze from the south-west and the crew sets about tightening the genoa. There is room for four men amidships on deck at the grinder. As they get to work, the tinny, echoing creaking of the coffee grinders fills the entire ship.
It quickly becomes clear: despite its prominence, "Germania VI" is primarily designed for sailing. She is elegant but understated. And perhaps that is her greatest speciality. Because superlatives characterise the life of the Krupp yacht even before it begins.
The "Germania VI" enters the water 60 years ago
The fact that the sixth yacht of her name was launched in 1963 is linked to a family tradition. When Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach married into the Essen steel empire before the First World War, the ambitious lawyer wanted to raise his profile and not just be perceived as the husband of a Krupp daughter. He does this by challenging the Kaiser. On his favourite playground, the sea. The new Krupp was the first to put his trust in local designer Max Oertz and named his yacht "Germania", which was built at his own shipyard in Kiel's Imperial War Harbour and was therefore German from the keel sole to the flag button. Majesty is regularly sailed on it.
Son Alfried inherits his father's passion. He has an eighth built for his participation in the 1936 Olympic sailing competition. He wins a bronze medal with "Germania III" under skipper Hans Howaldt. In 1951, Krupp commissions a cruising yacht. The steel Rasmussen construction "Germania V", measured at 13 KR, is completed in 1955. Krupp sails the Yawl on extensive trips to Sweden, but also in regattas - North Sea Week, Kiel Week and finally races across the Atlantic.
Krupp enjoys ocean sailing so much that he wants a new yacht that is lighter and optimised for transatlantic regattas. He wants to incorporate his accumulated experience and wishes.
From classic dream to reality
Krupp commissions the successful American firm Sparkman and Stephens with the design. As an engineer by training, he was closely involved in the creation of his dream from the very first second. He had every detail explained to him at the design stage. The entrepreneur is keen to experiment and can indulge his enthusiasm for all things technical. So he agreed when S&S suggested building with aluminium instead of Krupp steel. Uncharted territory. Although the 17-metre ocean-going yacht "Kormoran" had already been planked with this light metal at Böhling in 1955, "Germania VI" was completely welded from aluminium, making it the first ocean-going yacht in the world.
It is remarkable that Krupp radically subordinates his new yacht to its purpose. What is being created will not be an object of representation for his company, a luxurious vessel for holidays or a male status symbol. The ruler of a corporate empire feels really at home on board as part of his amateur crew. The result is a modern crew yacht for sailing on the high seas. American competitors would later call this beauty, painted in Ducolux light green 88-8, "the German power station".
In addition to the peculiar colour scheme, the red griffin, the heraldic animal of the von Bohlen und Halbach family, still bears witness to this past. "Cave Grypem", "Beware of the griffin", is written as a warning under the red mythical creature, which can be found on the racing stand, on the blue crew jumpers or on the harness.
The classic is made fit again and again
The classic has also retained its character. Today it shows its best side in 24 knots of wind. The huge 22-metre yacht is running full and full towards the sun with the quiet bleating of the kicker at ten knots and foam in front of its nose. The crew is in high spirits, it's the first trip of the season and, as every spring, a lot of things are new. This winter, the shaft brake was removed and a rotary blade propeller was fitted for the first time, which, after a few teething problems, is now showing what it can do, especially under sail. "That's sure to bring a knot," says Schädlich, who still remembers the rubber of the old shaft brake smoking at such speeds and the background noise of a rotating wave.
The skipper looks into the 30 metre high rig. It is already the third. But the dimensions are original. Enormous. The shrouds alone could serve as a spinnaker pole on a 30-foot yacht. The sail wardrobe is also gigantic. The mainsail alone measures 120 square metres, the genoa 160 and the spinnaker as much as 300. "The sheets can take four tonnes of pull," says Schädlich and explains that one of the first lessons on board is to learn how to furl a sheet accident-free. Even today, the sails on the classic "Germania VI" are of course not operated hydraulically or electrically.
The classic is also in almost its original condition in other respects - a minor miracle. In August 1989, a hurricane devastated the ship in its home harbour of Kiel-Düsternbrook, causing it to be a total economic loss. The stern of the "Germania VI" smashed into the concrete edging of the waterfront promenade for hours, and the neighbouring berths pressing on her side did the rest.
In 1989, the "Germania VI" had to be completely renovated
After a total refurbishment by the Böbs shipyard in Travemünde, which was the equivalent of a new build, the yacht looks as it did when it was launched. The walk below deck is like travelling back in time. In addition to the contemporary instruments, the chart house still contains the low-current technology of the sixties. A wooden laminated grab handle from the Essen tramway bears witness to the first owner's love of detail and origins. Under the floorboards, there is a diesel engine, generator, heating and lots of technology.
Hanging in the passageway to the salon are almost uncountable plaques from high-class regatta events in which today's classic "Germania VI" and her predecessor competed. From Krupp's lifetime alone, they bear witness to three Bermuda races, two races from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro and two transatlantic regattas in 1960 and 1966.
The radio cabin is located on the starboard side. With shortwave and border wave, DSC-capable VHF radio, satellite telephone and Inmarsat fax machine, the connection to the outside world can be established at any time.
In the saloon, there is a slight deviation from the original state: the bulkheads are no longer painted ivory-coloured, but clad with light-coloured veneers, behind which an alcove-like berth is concealed on the starboard side. Pictures are reminiscent of Krupp and the first "Germania". In front of the saloon are two compartments, the galley and the boatswain's quarters.
The "Germania VI" is still used as a training yacht today
It is now eleven o'clock. The clock strikes three double glasses, luring the initiated crew members into the cockpit. There is a "medical measure". Today it consists of a dry sparkling wine with a splash of Aperol. A popular ritual with a high recognition value. We get chatting. A lot of "Do you remember" goes round and reveals that team spirit is at home here. That's what unites the sailors. One guest asks how they got together in the first place. "We manage ourselves," says Schädlich, explaining the crew concept of the training yacht. There is no club to join and no annual membership fees to pay. In principle, anyone is allowed to sail.
The background to this is the purpose of the "Germania VI". Its owner, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, is using the ship for training purposes in accordance with the founder's wishes. The next generation of sailors are to learn ocean sailing as a team sport in the spirit of best seamanship, as was the case in the days of the first owner.
Chairman of the board of trustees Berthold Beitz, who was Krupp's chief representative, personally oversees the fulfilment of this purpose to this day. Beitz, who is celebrating his 100th birthday this year, still discusses every year's plans with chief skipper Schädlich, keeps in touch with the boatswain and goes on board during Kiel Week to see for himself that the "Germania VI" is in good condition.
The classic is managed independently
This is also how Smut Jörn Kirchhübel got his job. The 48-year-old natural scientist from northern Germany has been with the company for ten years. "The crew usually grows by word of mouth," says Kirchhübel. "Someone knows someone, who knows someone else, and that's how it was for me too." The card index lists fellow sailors from all over Germany, with a wide variety of professions represented. None of them have anything to do with today's Thyssen-Krupp Group. A committee takes care of the next generation. The 26-year-old Johannes Stüber is a member. "There are six of us and we make sure that young people grow into the crew," he says. There are sponsorships and crew meetings, and if trips are not fully booked, they sometimes phone behind.
Interested parties apply with a sailing CV and are then invited. Once accepted into the crew, everyone must adhere to the same formalities. A flat rate is paid per day, which includes everything up to and including catering. In January, the sailing schedule is published on an internal website and the sailors can make a binding registration. However, once they have accepted, they should not cancel too often; anyone who is not reliable will not be taken on board again.
The "Germania VI" is recognised everywhere
"The 'Germania VI' is a well-known and easily recognisable classic," says Schädlich. "Wherever we turn up, people usually recognise us." Anyone who is part of the crew on the Krupp yacht must therefore behave well above all. This basic requirement is probably also one of the recipes for success, says Schädlich. He has been on board since 1971 and has never experienced a real argument in all his years on "Germania VI".
The crew usually consists of 13 people. During the 110 or so days of operation per year, around 150 sailors come on board in this way - 1800 in total. Women are still not part of the crew. Instead, in addition to the skipper, there are usually two watch commanders, a foreship director, a navigator, a radio operator, a spit who keeps an eye on the internal management, a smut, usually a ship's doctor and, of course, boatswain Günter Bunke. The 72-year-old also has an anniversary to celebrate this summer: he has been on board for 30 years. Full-time. In summer and winter.
Because when the "Germania VI" is moved from Kiel to Travemünde in the autumn, where it goes into winter storage at the Böbs shipyard, Bunke moves into a small room on the premises and goes onto his ship early in the morning before the workers. And when the boatbuilders head home, he is usually still busy for a while.
A lonely time? "No," says Bunke, more like a kind of switch-off after the many crew members come and go in the summer. It's his family, says Bunke. It's easy to believe him. The bearded man goes on to say that he has been on board for every nautical mile sailed since his first day at work, apart from a brief absence due to illness. And he talks about the many journeys he has made in this way, along the West African coast or to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. "A dream job," he says. When asked what, in retrospect, is the best thing about it, Bunke doesn't have to think long: "We always came home safe and sound."
Technical data "Germania VI":
- Designer: Sparkman & Stephens
- Shipyard: Abeking & Rasmussen
- Owner: Krupp Foundation
- Total length/WL: 22.24/16.00 m
- Width: 4.74 m
- Draught: 3.20 m
- Displacement: 43.3 tonnes
- Ballast/proportion: 18 t/42 %
- Mainsail/sailsail: 120/24.0 m²
- Genoa: 160 m²
- Spinnaker: 302 m²
- Hull speed: 9.72 kn
Note: This article appeared in YACHT in 2013. All date references such as age refer to the year 2013.
