Since 2000 the Kiel Youth Sailing Club the 30 metre Marstal schooner "Zuversicht". The purpose of the organisation is to teach the nautical craft and environmental awareness on educational cruises with school classes and youth groups. The traditional sailing ship was built as a cargo ship in Nyborg, Denmark, in 1905. The maintenance of the ship is carried out by the members of the association themselves. Two years ago, they realised that the ship needed extensive renovation. The ship was taken to a shipyard and will probably never leave it afloat again. Due to a lack of funds, the "Zuversicht" will have to be scrapped. Board member Martin Seelow told YACHT why the rescue attempt had to fail.
YACHT: The "Zuversicht" is practically a floating museum and is much loved by its members, so the decision to scrap her must have been very difficult. How did it still come about?
Martin Seelow: Okay, I have to go back quite a long way and start in 2020. At that time, more leaks were detected and there was also engine damage. This led to the ship being inspected. And it quickly became clear that it needed a comprehensive refurbishment. The scope of this became ever greater, with the final estimated investment requirement being somewhere in the region of two million euros, and the work would have taken several years.
They went to great lengths to raise funds for the project ...
... yes, and our fundraising group made representations to foundations and state authorities and also approached individual politicians to raise donations and funding, but the time for this was extremely bad. The coronavirus crisis began at the same time as our project and dragged on. Then we had the attack on Ukraine. And now we have austerity budgets that don't give us much room either. At some point, we had to put a stop to the project.
The more effort that goes into such a project, the more difficult it becomes to say goodbye to it. Was there a straw that broke the camel's back?
Over the course of last year, the renovation project was still fuelled by the hope of receiving federal funding. However, this prospect was dashed at the turn of the year.
Why?
One of the reasons for this is that the ship was not built in Germany.
Have you also asked for support in Denmark?
Yes, of course, we made enquiries in Nyborg, where the ship was built. We also approached a Danish shipping company. They also wanted to help us with advice and support, but not with money, because the ship is no longer flying the Danish flag.
What were the biggest problem areas identified by the experts?
The hull. Planks and frames would have had to be replaced on a large scale, the complete keelson, a lot of money would have had to be paid for good wood and a lot of money for many hours of labour by qualified personnel ...
And it wasn't enough for that.
The money was definitely not enough. We had set ourselves a minimum limit of what we needed to have available to get started. And we didn't reach that. So there was a big concern that the money that had been raised up to that point could be spent on a refurbishment that would fail and would therefore be lost.
Where was your limit?
We wanted to have at least two thirds of the foreseeable costs in the account. If the ship had then been visibly renovated, it would have been easier for us to obtain funding for the final completion. But there simply wasn't enough money. Our fundraising group did a great job, achieved a lot and raised several hundred thousand euros, but it wasn't enough.
What happens now?
We have already looked around for other boats and viewed several. Most recently, we even test sailed one and are currently in concrete negotiations about buying it. We plan to sail again next summer.
Has your club weathered this crisis well?
It now has to be kept together. We haven't had an operational boat for about three years and you can see how younger people in particular are looking for a different direction. However, the purpose of our organisation is youth work. We are recognised as a non-profit organisation for this purpose. We are not an association for the renovation of old ships, as dear as the "Zuversicht" is to us.
This might also interest you:
- "Belle Amie": Traditional sailing boat for everyone
- Norske Jagt "North":152-year-old traditional ship to be scrapped
- "Fyn Rundt" - powerful images of the Danish museum fleet
