Elbe1 or A wonderful day and a great piece of History

This is an article about our trip on a fantastic ship. Margret wrote it shortly after the trip, but waited to see if it was to be published anywhere else, before putting it here!

If they are not marked as © and belonging to someone else, the pictures are ours!
A wonderful day and a great piece of History
On the 23rd of July 2003 we were part of a wonderful adventure while on holiday in Germany. We sailed from the little harbour town of Glückstadt on the River Elbe to Cuxhaven.
You might ask: What was so special about that? People sail from one port to another every day!
Well the answer is: We sailed on the world’s largest light vessel.

Pictures © Iris Klempau

ELBE 1 or "Bürgermeister O'Swald (II)" is a beautiful piece of maritime history lovingly restored and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers.

She belongs to town of Cuxhaven and is given to “Feuerschiff-Verein ELBE 1 von 2001 e.v. Cuxhaven” (group of volunteers) for restoration, maintenance and to show her. She is a working museum ship, has her seaworthiness certificates and spends some of her time taking visitors on trips.

You can explore the ship with the help of a booklet-guide and at the end of your tour, if you are lucky (and we were) you get tested on what you learnt. If you answer enough of the questions correctly, you get a certificate with the ship’s board stamp.

At the time we ‘met’ the old lady, the ship had been part of the Glückstadt Matjeswoche Festival and was now being taken back to her homeport of Cuxhaven. We, together with our friends Iris and Dirk, had been lucky enough to be invited on board for this trip.

What a chance! A trip on a light vessel!

Elbe 1 was tied up right next to the Glückstadt North Mole Lighthouse (B1476) when we joined her. We were to sail past the lighthouse into the river and then towards the North Sea and Cuxhaven. 

     Pictures © Iris Klempau

Before the ship sailed, we got a wonderful personal tour round this historic monument. Herr Otto Prieß had been the ship’s carpenter for a large part of his working life and there is not much he does not know about the ship.

We spent a wonderful hour listening to his information and anecdotes and learnt a great deal about the ship and her crew.

Knowledge and enthusiasm in the engine room (above) and on the bridge (right)

He took us to cabins, galley, crew and wardrooms as well as the engine room and of course the bridge as well as the old carpenter’s workshop and the winches for the chains. It was absolutely fascinating!

It is amazing what this ship has survived. She is the most rammed light vessel in the world and survived 50 collisions. The worst of which in 1970 when the Argentinean freighter "Rio Carcarano" rammed the light vessel – or to quote the old ship’s carpenter „parked her over 8000 tons right here in the engine room“.

The ship stayed afloat with the help of others and seven months later after a repairs costing 1.6 million Deutschmark she was back on station.

We were shown the innovative anchor chain system, which allows the chain to be severed very easily and quickly, should the need arise. It is impressive that a ship of this size can be held in place by a 3t mushroom anchor and 245 meters of chain.

We were shown the way the ship’s vents can be made water tight. When Her Prieß asked if we knew that ship could be a submarine, we thought he was joking. But he showed us how the vents etc. could all be closed off using electric motors, so the ship could sink, but still not get totally flooded. That must have been a huge comfort to her crew.

We saw the powerful engine (650 hp), which provide enough power to give the ship a speed of 10 knots. Which is a very respectable speed!

Our guide explained that the main fuel tank was in the double floor – in the same space as the sea water trim and ballast tanks. The low storage of the liquids adds to the stability of the ship. We learnt that the ship was capable of cleaning all waste water and soil water, so the waste pumped to sea is 90% clean.

The radio room was next and then the officer’s mess. Today the ship is used for weddings and the official ceremony takes place in this mess. The crew’s quarters looked really small. And then we came to the old carpenter’s workroom until 1953, when the carpenter’s job was axed. This had been Otto Prieß’s domain and he told us how the ships crew used to meet there in their spare time to make all manner of small things.

You can still see the outer skin of the ship. Very clearly you can see the rivets. The room is below the water line and we started to imagine how very cold it must have been in the winter.

And finally we were welcomed on the bridge. It is amazing how the bridge is equipped with all the modern technology required to obtain the seaworthiness certificates. But it still feels traditional and historic.

What a wonderful tour of a great old ship.

Herr Prieß was full of knowledge about the ship and you could tell how he loves the old girl! 

We were very grateful for the privilege of this very special tour!

After this wonderful tour round the ship, we were invited to have lunch in the crew’s canteen. Herman Lohse, who is the current chairman of the group of volunteers looking after the ship, is the ships cook and produced a wonderful lunch for us.

Pictures © Iris Klempau

Herman Lohse (above) 

Stan, Margret and Dirk enjoying lunch (Left) 

Very soon we heard the engines start and the crew was getting the ship ready to get under way. The sound of the engines drove us on deck.

We spent a wonderful afternoon watching the lighthouses along the River Elbe drift by. The vantage point from just above the bridge was gre

at. And all too soon we reached Cuxhaven.

Captain Henry Marschlewski took the ship through the lock into the harbour and all that was left to do was to say a huge THANK YOU to him and his crew for an unforgettable afternoon! 

A trip to Schleimünde Lighthouse - or a birthday present from a wonderful friend!

A trip to Schleimünde Lighthouse -

or a birthday present from a wonderful friend!

This year (2006) we spent my birthday in Kiel with our very good friends Iris and Dirk.

On the morning of "the big day" we got up to find this lovely birthday table ....

... and this brilliant gift voucher  inside one of the presents. 

 The voucher is for a round trip from the little port of  Kappeln to the lighthouse Schleimünde and back.

  

Thank you Iris ! Great idea! What a beautiful present for my 50th birthday. 

So a couple of days later, we drove north from Kiel, to Kappeln. We found our boat and took seats at a little table on the sun deck.

The weather didn't look too promising, but we were determined to enjoy the trip.

The little harbour in Kappeln was beginning to fill up with all manner of little boats. And on the harbour side a whole lot of attractions were assembling.

Like this lovely old car - a 1914 Ford Model T

We were on our way ...

  

... and soon go tour first glance of Schleimünde and the lighthouse.

Scleimünde Mole C1186

Lat./Long:	54° 40' 19,6"N; 10° 02' 14,9"E
Character:	Fl (3) W 20s
Height of tower:	14.3 m
Elevation:	14.8 m
Visible:	W 14 M, R 11 M
First lit:	1872
Fog signal	Morse "SN"

Danish authorities built moles to stabilize the entrance to the Schlei estuary in 1842. The little lighthouse was built by German authorities when  Schleswig-Holstein reverted to German control.

The lighthouse holds a peculiar record: No other lighthouse in Germany  has changed it's livery as many times as this one. It started out yellow, then in 1890 it was dark grey. Than yellow again and from 1920 red and white chequered.  Later the chequer pattern was black and white.

Today the lighthouse in covered in vinyl tiles - white with a black band. The lantern is painted black.

Our ship tied up at the mole and we were allowed ashore.

All too soon it was time to leave again.

  

And on the way back, the wedding party, which had joined the boat in Kappeln, began to celebrate in earnest.

We had a lovely day and were really glad to have seen this lovely little lighthouse "up close and personal"

Celebrating the 200^th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar 

or a light ship's longest journey

One very stormy wet morning in October 2005 - on the 21^st to be exact - I got up too early and drove to Penzance in Cornwall. "Why" you ask? Well the 21^st of October 2005 was the 200^th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson. So there were celebrations going on all over England. And Penzance had a very special attraction:

 The German Lightship Bürgermeister O'swald or Elbe 1

On Sunday the 16th of October 2005 the Red Lady left her berth in the Fischereihafen in Cuxhaven and began the long trip across the English channel to Penzance. They made a stop on the Island of Helgoland to take advantage of the cheaper fuel there (Helgoland is a Duty Free Zone). Then they were off on the trip of a lifetime.

The lightship had never been this far from home. But she stood up to the long trip and arrived off Penzance in the evening on the 20^th of October. The sea had been choppy and the "Lightship of Storms" had ample opportunity to live up to her pet-name.

Three Captains, Klaus Gerber, Charly Behrensen and Dieter Weber, took it in turns to take charge of the ship as she made her way towards Cornwall. They had their work cut out and progress initially was slow. At one time Klaus Gerber told his wife "we are only making two miles over ground".

The 27 strong crew and the guests on board had to learn to live with choppy conditions.

"Towards the end we made fantastic progress" explains Dieter Allers, a film maker from Cuxhaven, who - together with his friend and colleague - is on board to make a film about this historic journey. They slept well, even when the waves topped 4 metres. Only in the mornings acrobatic capabilities where required for the "dance in the shower".

The amateur radio equipment on board was well in use too. Uwe Wensauer (DK1KQ) - radio amateur and member of the crew - had installed his equipment in the radio shack and together with Eddie - who had paid for the trip to be able to use the radio - they had many contacts with fellow amateurs.

Some of the local amateurs from Penzance even visited the ship to meet the intrepid sailors.

 

Elbe 1 arrived off the coast of Cornwall late on Thursday afternoon after 5 days of sailing. She had to wait for two hours, while the harbour in Penzance was cleared. At about seven o'clock Elbe 1 was finally allowed to enter the harbour through the gates. A place was cleared for her right on the quay.

 

The harbour was busy and bound to get busier on Friday and Saturday - two more traditional ship were expected. The British schooner "Earl of Pembroke" and the Cornish three masted bark "Recouvrance" will also be moored inside the harbour walls. 

 The lightship was soon surrounded by all the busy activities of a harbour getting ready to celebrate.

  

And of course the crew expected some celebrations on board too. They were well prepared for all their own needs and those of their guests.

This is of course only part of what was on offer when the high society was about to visit the ship.

The top deck of the ship is all ready for the celebrations. The beer is cold, the crisps are waiting, the cake just needs uncovering ...

So now the ship was ready for:

Sadly I had to leave before the reception (wasn't invited anyway ;) ). But I am sure it was a great success.

Happy 115^th Birthday Point Loma Lighthouse

We hope it will not be your last!!!

23^rd March 2006 was a special day for us, because we got to visit the Point Loma lighthouse  "up close and personal"

The story started a little while before our journey to San Diego,CA. We found out that the lighthouse has it's 115^th birthday on a day that is special to us too, because the 23^rd March is our wedding anniversary. So we thought we would issue  this cover.

We took the picture on the cover in 2003, when we visited before. Our friend Kim Fahlen allowed us to use one of her pictures for the stamp. Kim then kindly got in touch with the US Coast Guard to see if BMC John Bowen, who was the Officer in Charge, responsible for the US Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team San Diego, would be prepared to sign the cover for us.

Well.... not only was he happy to do this, but he asked if we would like to come and visit the light. What a question!

OF COURSE we wanted to see the lighthouse. This light station is not open to the public and so we jumped at the chance!

The weather could not have been more perfect, when we arrived. Beautiful sunshine and not too much wind.

Executive Petty Officer BM2  J. Parra (on the right in the picture below) and also Lighthouse Technician EM3 Francisco Lopez (on the left)  met us at the lighthouse. And a more enthusiastic pair of people you could not have wished for.

 

This is the only surviving tower of its type on the Pacific Coast. In 2001, the Coast Guard commissioned an engineering firm to study the condition and future of the lighthouse. The results of this study are very worrying. 

In 2002 the lens was removed from the tower. It had become too dangerous to keep the heavy lens in the lantern room, as the lighthouse suffers from corrosion. So now the lens is displayed up at the Old Point Loma lighthouse, but more of that in a different report.

The corrosion is also the reason that NOBODY - not even the Coast Guard Lighthouse Technician who should maintain the light - is allowed to climb the tower. So, what happens when the light has a problem ??

We had to restrict our visit to ground level. The place looks great. And at first glance you would not believe how bad the situation is. The grounds are beautifully maintained, the old keepers houses are now homes for high ranking Coast Guard Officers and they look great. What a place to live!

Then we walked round the bottom of the tower and realised the situation. As you can see on the following pictures, there is corrosion every where.

 

  

 

 

The sign on the centre column of the stairs inside is out of date. Not even the ANT San Diego personnel are allowed up the tower any longer!

 

 Even the Fog Horn is showing signs of corrosion, both at the seaward side and at the back where the "workings" are .

Click the black picture on the right, if you want to hear the fog horn. Be warned ... it takes ages to download the sound file

This is the sound we recorded, while they were testing the fog horns. Hopefully we did not disturb anyone with this noise.

The lighthouse is in REAL danger ... It takes money to make the required repairs and improvements. And money for this kind of job is in very short supply.

 We sincerely hope a way can be found to preserve and repair this historic light tower.

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On a lighter note.....

 

Since it was the lighthouse's birthday, our friend Kim had organised a birthday cake!

What a good idea! Thanks Kim!

So after all the photographs and all the exchange of information, we got to the celebration part:

 

 Here to celebrate were - from the left Stan's daughter Susan, her partner John, Kim Fahlen, Stan, Lighthouse Technician Lopez and Margret - Executive Petty Officer Parra took the picture.

 

After all this excitement  we were asked to be the first to sign the new guest book.

First  Sue and Margret ....

 

.... then Stan

What a wonderful day! 

Thank you to Executive Petty Officer Parra and Lighthouse Technician Lopez, who impressed us with their enthusiasm for this wonderful lighthouse, for their hospitality and patience and for their love of the lighthouse!

A few days later we met the two lighthouse enthusiasts again, when we visited the Coast Guard to finally  meet BMC John Bowen, Officer in Charge ANT (pictured left), for him to sign the covers.

Thank you to BMC John Bowen too, for signing the covers and for the care given to the lighthouse!

We hope that the love for the lighthouse and the will to do all he can to save it, will bear fruit !

 

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While we were visiting the Coast Guard, we found out about a very funny and flattering event.

The story starts back at the lighthouse, where we saw a Black Throated Magpie Jay.  The picture shows her on the roof of one of the keeper's cottages.

These birds are native to Central and South America. But this one had escaped from captivity and made it's home around the lighthouse.

After we left, Executive Petty Officer Parra  and Lighthouse Technician Lopez decided that, since the Osprey who also is seen near the lighthouse, was called Oscar, the Magpie Jay should not be nameless. So they named it Marg, after Margret.

They thought, because Margret had a bad sun burn and so was rather "colourful" that day, it would be fitting to name a colourful bird after her.

Needless to say, Margret++ is THRILLED to have the bird named after her. Thanks Guys!

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Would you believe it?

Lighthouse Technician F. "Javi" Lopez enjoys telling stories about this lighthouse and his service there. He kindly gave me permission to use one of the stories he told us.  It is written in the log book the USCG uses to track work and incidents connected to the lighthouse.

The story too place on the 25th of December, when all family men want to be opening Christmas presents with their kids. Just like the lighthouse technician. But he called the watch-stander to make sure "his" lighthouse is OK and functioning as it should be. He asked for the surveillance camera, which is mounted on top of Point Loma,  to be trained on the lighthouse.

This was done. Shock, Horror... the report was that there was no visible rotation i.e. no light was seen.

So two lighthouse technicians made their way to Point Loma in a hurry only to find out that everything was working fine!

When they investigated, they found out that the watch-stander had looked at the "OLD" Point Loma Lighthouse, which - as we all know - has not been active since 1891

 

We thought, the log book should be published. How about it guys? Wouldn't that be a great fund raiser?