Dar Młodzieży

 

Dar Młodzieży

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

This beautiful three-masted sail training ship is
currently approaching Cowes, following her return from her appearance in the Parade of Sail commemorating the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. She is owned by the Gydinia Maritime University and has trained Polish merchant navy officers for more than 44 years.

She didn't come in under full sail.

Climbing the rigging. Safety harnesses and a good head for heights are required.

She began her maiden voyage, in July 1982, and following several days of training she competed in the regatta from Falmouth to Lisbon. Early one morning the crew saw red distress rockets and found the German yacht ‘Peter von Danzig’ in the Atlantic with an injured sailor onboard. He was transferred to Dar Młodzieży, treated by the ship’s doctor initially and then flown to hospital by air ambulance.

Dar Młodzieży had lost more than four hours in the race to Lisbon but rejoined and crossed the line first. Her captain, Tadeusz Olechnowicz and his crew were presented with the Fair Play Award of the 1982 Polish Olympic Committee.

Crew working hard to haul in the sails.

Climbing higher . . .

. . . and higher. She flies the Union Flag as a courtesy flag because she's in British waters. The red and white Polish ensign flies at the stern.

                                Approaching her mooring buoy.

                                        Crew on the bowsprit . . .

                                        . . . hauling in the jibs and staysails

She has trained over 12,000 students from maritime universities and schools and has taken part in the Tall Ships’ Races many times. In addition, she has provided cruises for journalists, musicians, and cardiologists, and circumnavigated the world via the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn. She received the Boston Teapot Trophy in 1988 for the greatest distance under sail in 124 hours. It was during that voyage that she passed under the Sydney Bridge in full sail.

I was disappointed that she was not greeted by a flotilla of little boats as she hauled sail and approached her mooring buoy. We have noticed that there seem to be fewer sailing craft on the Solent this year, Cowes Week being a notable exception!

She has now moored!

Cowes

 

Cowes

I saw the hygienist on Wednesday afternoon, prior to a dental check. She was mightily confused when I told her I’d been watching Cowes and was clearly wondering why I would be watching bovines. Eventually she understood when I explained that I was talking about a sailing regatta.

Some of the names on the Cowes Week race results boards show the usual slew of birds - Gosling, Nightjar, Goosander, Waxwing, Osprey – and simple names, like Josh, Salt, Snap, Ice, and Jade. Then there are the boats that indicate where they’re from or where they’re usually moored – Dodger of Gosport, Io of Dartmouth, and Emily of Cowes, for example. Some have names of girls, like Thora, Joy, Gladys, Margot, and Maisy.

Choosing a name for a boat is almost as difficult as deciding on a baby’s name. It must withstand calls to the Coastguard for routine calls like radio checks, so a name that seemed amusing when first dreamt up may seem less so when contacting official bodies.

Bottoms Up, Hare Brain, Repeat Offender, Men Behaving Badly, and Hair of the Dog are fun, and probably indicate something about the owner’s attitude to life. The names that particularly caught my attention this year were Yes!, Dads n Lads, and Does Your Mother Sail?

I was wondering what it would be like when calling the Coastguard for a broadcast check. Would the owner feel a little sheepish?  

‘Solent Coastguard, Solent Coastguard, this is Does Your Mother Sail? Radio check. Over.’

In other sea regions, the Coastguard has a different call name. For example, for Liverpool Waters call Holyhead Coastguard, Kent is Dover Coastguard, Scilly Isles is Falmouth Coastguard.