From the shipyard to the water: The new one rolls out of the hall of the BVT shipyard
It was necessary to wait for a suitable water level. Not because of the draft, which is not exactly small at 4.20 meters, but the Weser is sufficiently deep here. The problem: The quay on which the special transporter with 136 tires with the big green is parked needs the counterpressure of the flood so that it does not slide off.
Almost swimming: the last few meters before the first ditch
So the transport started early in the morning. The "Alex II" had to be carried over a few hundred meters to the water from the huge hall on the site of the former Vulkan shipyard in Bremen-Vegesack. When it arrives at the quay, the barque is shackled to the crane ship "Palau" with its two 450-tonne cranes. Incidentally, a shackle weighs 340 kilograms, as much as a keel-migratory bird. Four of them hold the ship by the crane.
He lifts it into its element: at 2:59 pm, the 15 million euro successor to the 100-year-old first "Alex" swims. With her green sails she became famous for advertising photos for a north German brewery.
Retires: the old "Alex"
The purpose of the German Sail Training Foundation (DSST), which owns the barque, is to introduce young people in particular to life on board a tall ship. More information at: www.gruene-segel.de.