Traditional sailing with Hoppet


Abhi, Jens and Me were walking along the piers of Rostock during Hanse Sail. The day before we had arrived in darkness and were now stoked by the amont of ships present. Along with all the other crews and the whole pier looking like a market place it was like being sent back a hundred  years in time. This event is Rostock´s largest every year drawing 180 ships and 1,5 million visitors. They all arrive to do one thing. To experience sailing with a real ship. The type of ship that when you lay your eyes or set your foot on her you know that she is almost a living thing. In the same way you know an oak is a living thing, a ship built in oak manifests the spirit of both the tree and the men who has built and sailed her over time. If you can hear her breathing when she is laying still you can hear her sing when she moves with the wind.

The ship Hoppet was built in, and by, the village of Brantevik in Skåne between -97 and -00. The village Brantevik once had the largest fleet of sailing ships registered in Sweden so of course they should have at least one today. This was though not the main purpose of building her, but it was to pass the skills and knowledge reqired for maintaining and sailing a ship like this on to coming generations. I could imagine nothing more honarable than getting this knowledge passed on to me by those wonderful people who are committed to this organisation. So here we are. I was given the chance to both be the captain of this ship, and to bring two friends who would help out during Hanse Sail. While getting a great adventure, it all went along with the purpose of the ship. We learned so much!

There is though a lot more to learn and this year it will be even more extreme. I know there are those of you out there who are really interested in learning how to sail a ship like this. If you are interested in joining this year´s sailing to Stralsund and / or Rostock, send me a message. The dates are roughly: Stralsund 1-7 / 8, Rostock 9 – 16/8

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