Immaculate white hull. Mercilessly glossy varnish. Deck made from Oregon Pine. Sitka Spruce spars. Cream-coloured Dacron, neatly rigged. All an orgy for the senses. There she was, the jubilarian "Heti", under an azure blue sky, at the very back of Hamburg's Sandtor harbour. As if turning 100 was the most natural thing in the world.
Germany's oldest 12 metre racing yacht and currently the only gaff-rigged twelve-man in the Baltic Sea has long since established itself as a symbol of the classic yacht renaissance, but also as an example of Hanseatic boatbuilding expertise. She owes yesterday's celebration to many and many things, but perhaps most of all to the art of survival, which is characteristic of good boats looking for good owners. In addition to numerous regatta victories, two world wars, depressions, collisions and more than one downed mast lie in her wake
The ship is named after Hedwig (Heti), the daughter of the first owner, Hermann Eschenburg. She was designed and built according to the so-called First Rule of the metre class by the ingenious Hamburg designer Max Oertz, who also designed gigantic racing yachts such as Krupp's "Germania" or the Kaiser's two famous "Meteore". Genetically, the boat was therefore doomed to win right from the start. She did this often enough, but it did not prevent her from being tossed about by the storms of the time. To the Wannsee in Berlin. To the Baltic Sea. To Italy and back to Hamburg. She also did a stint at the Hanseatic Yacht School in Glücksburg
Over the years, she has had to endure a mizzen or a high rig. A polyester "shroud" was also fitted to the outside of the mahogany planks. She was even used as a houseboat. Heti" stoically endured the blows of fate under various names such as "Traum", "Romeo" or "Seeschwalbe" until she finally had Hamburg water under her keel again in 1999, as a mastless but floatable wreck waiting for its general refurbishment in the inland harbour. But before this could happen, a true miracle had to occur. Work of this magnitude requires a lot of money on the one hand and people who are prepared to sacrifice a lot of time on the other.
The ailing ship was taken over by the Hamburg Maritime Foundation (SMH), which, together with the Freude der Segelyacht Heti association, provided the necessary material and financial resources (at least 600,000 euros) with which this twelve-oared vessel could be restored professionally and true to the original as a training programme for the Jugend in Arbeit Hamburg association.
But a ship needs a purpose. "She's a therapy boat," explains Sven Klingenberg, one of her volunteer skippers, who is in charge of the preparations for the celebrations, "intended for people who want to take a break or reorient themselves." "Heti's" owner is SHM, but she is sailed by her 15 owners, who have come together in the Friends of Heti association and finance the operation. There are still places available in the community, says Klingenberg. Membership is a "no-brainer", "because the annual fee costs just as much as a day charter".
Of course, the boat was in the spotlight during the celebrations, but those who have kept her alive over the last century were not forgotten. Because only in this way could the saying that good ships find good owners actually come true. And it seems that "Heti" could do with more of them, so that classic yacht enthusiasts can continue to enjoy the opulence of this exquisite yacht.
Length: 23.00 m
Hull: 18.60 m
LWL: 13.24 m
Width: 3.50 m
Draught: 2.80 m
Displacement: 27 tonnes
Max. Sail area: 357 square metres
Shipyard: Oertz shipyard Hamburg
Year built: 1912
Construction material: Mahogany planks on wooden and steel frames
Designer: Max Oertz
http://www.heti-12mr.de
