Lightship-Meeting 2008
in Hamburg

2008 marked the anniversary of the end of manned lightships in Germany for the 20th time and every one of the German Museum Lightships has a small or not so small anniversary to celebrate. So why not celebrate together in a huge get-together? For this reason a very special meeting took place, which was a first in maritime circles:

The Meeting of the German Museum Lightships
FEHMARNBELT, ELBE 1 and ELBE 3
from 19th to 22nd June 2008
at the Überseebrücke in Hamburg.

To say it right away: The meeting was unique - all ships were well prepared. They were eye candy, moored at the Ueberseebruecke and they looked well looked after and "loved". I shall never forget what one visitor said: "When I am that age, I would be pleased to still look this good."

For the German magazine SchiffsModell I wrote the following article about the meeting, which was published in edition 10/2008. Unfortunately it is in German language only. If you want to see the magazine in the original, you can order it at www.neckar-verlag.de.

Click on the pictures to enlarge:

 


But we took many more photographs. Because we accompanied the lightship with the longest journey to the meeting and back - the lightship FEHMARNBELT from Luebeck. With a car the journey from Luebeck to Hamburg takes an hour - on the water the ship took three one day stages in each direction, plus three days in moored in Hamburg meant FEHMARNBELT was away from home for nine days.

From a total of 3,500 pictures the following picture story emerged:


Tuesday June 17th, 2008

The adventure begins
Distance covered: Luebeck-Kiel = 92 nm


Luebeck 7 AM - just a quick look at the clock ...
... the engine is already running ...
... cast off ...
... an elegant turn in the harbour basin ...


... a quick farewell greeting ...
... and off towards the sun along the River Trave.
The lantern can be seen from afar ...
... there is my photographic subject ...
... and already gone past me.
With a pot of coffee ...
... in Travemuende ...
... off into the mirror like Baltic Sea.
The next ...
... 13 hours ...
... were available ...
... for intensive work ...


... by the crew.
The result is impressive, isn't it?
What's been spotted here?
This bridge is a sure sign that Fehmarn is in sight!


Seafaring folk like to navigate by lighthouses, so here is Staberhuk ...
... round Fehmarn and later get Westermakelsdorf in front of the lens.
Then it is "grub's up" ...
... and then a short "body and eye care session".
These two have the front seats ...
... Kiel lighthouse against the light on starboard ...
... and as impressive to port the DEUTSCHLAND now without pilot ...
... which attracts see (sea) faring folk.
A short time later ...


.. well visible the Laboe Monument with U-Boat ...
... and of course there is a lighthouse near by ...
... Friedrichsort ahead ...
... past ...
... lines ready ...
... the mooring at the Thiessenkai firmly in view...
... at 10 PM ends the first stage in Kiel at the foot of the Holtenau lighthouse.

 

Wednesday June 18th, 2008

Through the Kiel Canal
Covered distance: Kiel-Brunsbuettel = 53 nm
Off through the Kiel Canal today ...
... starting at Kiel-Holtenau...
... in the old lock basin.
Short trip up ...
... on with photograph weather...
... very soon ...
... out of the lock.
Paparazzi hovering on the Holtenau High Bridge ...
... for a rare photograph ...
... from 42 m height ...
... and on ...
... in the direction of the Levensauer High Bridge.
The volunteer crew is meanwhile doing the paperwork ...
... and from the galley the smells are inviting ...
... until Rendsburg comes into sight.
Today is Fehmarnbelts 100th birthday ...
... and at the ships greeting place she is ...
... suitably honoured ...
... and with a greeting ...
... she is off.
The lighthip repeatedly attracts ...
... attention ...
... and fans lurk all along the shore.
At Gruenental already ...
... 2/3 of the way is done.
At bridges and near ferry crossings ...
... good chances are on offer ...
... for photo shoots ...
... with the crew.
On arrival at Brunsbuettel the crew ...
... needs to find power ....
... and the second day's destination is reached!

 

Thursday June 19th, 2008

Entry parade
Covered distance: Brunsbuettel-Hamburg = 42 nm

Entry parade of the light ships taking part:
- FEHMARNBELT, Luebeck
- ELBE 1, Cuxhaven
- ELBE 3, Hamburg

The parade was lead by the fire brigade boat OBERBAURAT SCHMIDT
of the Hamburg Fire Brigade, which sprayed fountains.

Next morning the radio amateur comes aboard ...
.. then it is "store gangway" ...
... "bye bye Brunsbüttel"...
... and off...
...through the lock.
While FEHMARNBELT is still in the lock ...
... ELBE 1 is already passing the canal.
After the lock ...

... there is an oportunity to record two "favourite subjects" on a picture ...
... and off to the River Elbe...
...course to ...
...the flag is already showing it: Hamburg.


ELBE 1 ahead...
... offers the Paparazzi...
... despite the now rough weather ...
... still nice views.
Now ELBE 3 joins the convoy ...
... which allows the first photograph with all 3 lightships.
From some perspective ...
... it looks as if lightships can put out fires after all ;-)
From my hotel room, this is how the convoy looks:
First the Fire Brigade Boat with the great fountains ...
... then ELBE 1...
... then FEHMARNBELT...
... an then ELBE 3...
... together they approach the mooring at the landing stages.
Many thanks to the Hamburg Fire Brigade for the fantastic greeting.
Now the tying up starts ...
... first ELBE 1 with ...
... a little shove from "Hans"...
... and soon she is tied up.
Meantime the work in the harbour is going on ...
... and some spectators ...
... and some professionals ...
... watch as one after the other FEHMARNBELT...
... and ELBE 3...
... tied up at the...
... Ueberseebruecken.
The crew is pleased because day 3 is over...
- or at least that's what we thought ...

... sadly ELBE3 was unlucky during the mooring manoeuvres. It seems a protruding chain link on a pole under water on the star board side caused a leak. This flooded the port and starboard crew quarters to a depth of approx. 1.5 meters and all the equipment was destroyed. As luck would have it, the leak could be closed temporarily during the same night and ELBE3 could stay at the Ueberseebruecke for the whole lightship meeting.

Since then the ship has been in the ship yard and the leak has been repaired.
If you want to support ELBE 3 with a donation to help with the considerable repair costs,
please use one of the following bank connections:

Dresdner Bank, account number: 42 95158, sort code: 200 800 00
Postbank, account number: 331819 204, sort code: 200 100 20

Luck despite bad luck - ELBE 3 could stay despite the damage ...
... during the night the leak ...
... could temporarily be fixed from the outside.


Friday June 20th, 2008 to
Sunday June 22nd, 2008


- Open Ship:

Ship tours incl. the ship's engine rooms with free entry

*************

- Various exhibitions on the ships:

- Exhibition 80 years buoy yard Wedel
with cooperation of Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Hamburg

- Exhibiiton about Model Ship Building

- Exhibition of Sea Marks on historic post cards,
stamps, first day covers, board stamps

***************

- Delicious food and drink:

Of course the inner well being was also catered for
with food and drink for reasonable prices.

************

- Amateur Radio live:

Unique in Radio Amateur history was, that all three lightships had radio amateurs on board, who simultaneously operated their stations from the harbour in Hamburg. Active for the first time was ELBE 3 (FED-079) operated by Volker (DL1WH) with the call sign DFØDA/p. On board of FEHMARNBELT (FED-141) war Peter (DL2RPS) could be heard with the call sign DLØFFF. Also "on air" was Uwe on ELBE 1 with the call sign DLØCUX Radio operations covered Germany, Europe and the whole world and was done by voice and key i.e. morse telegraphy and so drew attention to the lightship meeting.

DL1WH and DL2RPS on deck and...
...in FEHMARNBELT´s
radio shack
Peter on air on board of FEHMARNBELT...
... and Volker on ELBE 3.


And this is the "object of desire"
- Volker's QSL-Card for the activation of ELBE 3

 

**************

- Special Post Office of the German Post Office (Deutschen Post)
with a special cancellation to commemorate the meeting

***************

And this is what the special cancellation looks like!

The gentlemen from the post office were well busy, because many people used the special post office ...
...to post jealousy cards with the special cancellation ...
... and when philately is the subject, our friends Stan and Margret, the Lighthouse-Duo, are not far away.

***************

For there days...
...moored at the Ueberseebruecke ...
...the three red lightships...
...attracted the attention of the visitors....
...ELBE 1...
...FEHMARNBELT...
...ELBE 3...
...and here all three together.
LV 13, today a restaurant, was the fourth lightship in this group.
There was lots going on at the Ueberseebruecke:
NDR reporting live...
...a shanty choir provided musical entertainment...
... heart and soul were kept together with "Eintopf" (green pea soup)...
...or freshly fried Hering.
There was lots of expert talk ...
... or just enjoyment.
Even heavy rain showers were not detrimental to the enjoyment ...
... because now you could visit below deck ...
... an exhibition of historical post cards ...
... and ship's modells.
ELBE 1 as a model ...
...also the lightship FEHMARNBELT...
... a bottle ship of the English Lightship LV 13...
... and a replica of the FEHMARNBELT-beacon.
Under expert supervision...
...you could visit the machine room ...
... develop friendships ...
... and experience live amateur radio.
Leuchtfeuer Magazine had a stand ...
... a light ship owner from the Netherlands came too ...
... and experts from teh Optic Museum in Rathenow also visted.
After the work was done it became relaxing on board ...
... meeting for chat ...
... or reading the paper and doing the cross words ...
... looking forward ...
... to a freshly pored beer.
Late Sunday the ...
... farewell began ...
... ELBE 3 had to leave and sailed ...
... into a beautiful sunset.


Monday June 23rd, 2008

The ships put to sea
Covered distance: Hamburg - Brunsbuettel

Next morning it was ...
... let go for and aft...
... retrieve gangway...
... and good bye!
Sailing past ....
... der ELBE 1...
... off towards the home port ...
... cheers Hamburg!
Shortly after...
... the last ship ...
... ELBE 1 leaves.
Greeting ELBE 3...
... and with a last look back ...
... out onto the ...
... rather stormy River Elbe.
At the Wittenbergen lighthouse I saw the two ships ...
.... once more together glide past me.
At the Shipp's Greeting Place in Wedel... .
... they separate ...
... once more ELBE 1 comes real close ...
... and then sails towards Cuxhaven.
Just before Brunsbüttel FEHMARNBELT takes the pilot on board...
... the weather is not really nice today...
... but light ships are used to rotten weather.
ELBE 1 passes the Mole 1 lighthouse in Brunsbuettel ...
... shortly after ...
... FEHMARNBELT turns into the canal entrance ...
... and vanishes ...
... straight ...
... into the lock.
When the lock gates open again ...
... the sun is shining ...
...and the lighthip ...
.... first ties up at the bunker station.
Here the tanks are ...
... slowly filled ...
... under the watchful eyes of the crew...
... the fuel pump stops at 1,100.32 l .
We spent the night next to a Mega-Yacht...
... in Brunsbuettel.


Tuesday June 24th, 2008

Kiel-Canal-Romance
Covered distance: Brunsbuettel-Kiel
Tuesday dawns ...
... with promising weather...
... and with preparing the passage through the canal ...
... the pilot comes aboard...
... and a mobile transponder...
... must be installed as high as possible ...
... for which ...
... this place is the most suitable.
"Did you catch something for lunch?"
"Yep, a couple of eels ;-)"
"See you later along the canal"...
... - and off they went.
There they are again ...
... - and what a sight!
Through the idyllic landscape ...
...to the Gruenentaler Hochbruecke - and I stood on the top ...
... and saw this ...
... sigh - gone again.
Along the canal are any amount of ...
... photogenic encounters with other ships.
In Schuelp the pilot changes ...
... and the lightship ...
... had to wait before the Rendsburger Hochbruecke ...
... to let the British Fleet Amphibious Flagship ...
... HMS Bukwark pass.
Passing the Ships Greeting point...
... we leave the High Bridge behind us.
While some are discussing things ...
... others enjoy ...
.. dipping flags to foreign Marine Units.
Around 7 PM ...
... FEHMARNBELT passes the Levensauer Hochbruecke...
... and the Holtenauer Lock comes into view.
This time we pass through the new lock. And what do the two ladies see there?
A family of swans is going down too.
After the lock the lighship tied up ...
... under the Holtenauer Lighthouse.
Now the relaxing part of the day begins ...
... posing for pictures ...
... evaluating of the photographs ...
... international chat ...
... and a last look from teh bridge.
After a special address of the Chairman ...
... we got ...
... fresh from the barrel...
... a mooring beer ...
... in aimiable ...
... company.

 

Wednesday June 25th, 2008

Round Fehmarn home
Covered distance: Kiel-Luebeck
The last part of the journey ...
... began in beautiful morning sunshine ...
... in the Kiel Fjord.
With "mill pond sea"...
... everyone was doing his chores.
The galley staff ...
... conjured a delicious meal ...
... from the left overs.
Afterwards time for a little more ...
...leisure ...
... until Travemuende is sighted ahead.
Red ship with blue background is a nice subject ...
... - even better with the pier light Travemuende.
Friendly greetings ...
... from the crew ...
... to us ...
... already the twilight starts ...
... when FEHMARNBELT...
.... after 9 days arrives back at her mooring in Luebeck ...
... where she is longingly expected already!

 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH
to everyone for all the engagement and the hard work.
Your efforts were well worth it!

For me personally the meeting was very enjoyable, I had lots of fun, great conversations, have met nice people and think that with this meeting this special kind of ship has attracted special attention.

With this meeting I learned that all volunteers around the light ships, in the background as well as on board, did sterling work to get this meeting off the ground. We "normalos" don't think about what happens when you arrive in port and there is no fresh water or power to be had. Or what kind of pressure the machinists are under, when the water pump of the main engine fails during a trip. Or what kind of hard work it is to fry 200 herings and cook untold bowls of soup. Not to mention the permits which had to be procured in advance.

 

A SPECIAL THANK YOU
for this wonderful journey goes to the Crew of FEHMARNBELT
- you are a proper DREAM-TEAM.

 

 

Attention Collectors!

For the meeting of the German Lightships in June in Hamburg a collectors card was issued with the board stamps of the five German Lightships.
Some of these cards are still available and can be obtained via the Lightship Pages. Order by E-Mail.

Edition: limited
Format: DIN A4
Material: Card

Available for 2.50 Euro
plus Postage and Packing

The money received will be classed as a donation
to the Verein "Feuerschiff für Luebeck e.V."


 


Here a short overview of the ships who celebrate:
(for more information just click on the photograph)

AUSSENEIDER
aka FEHMARNBELT

 

The lightship “Ausseneider” from Luebeck celebrates its 100th birthday in 2008. Built as a 2-masted vessel it is the last Baltic lightship and unmistakable because of its four legged light mast. 1984 the lightship became a film star, becoming the back drop for the film “The lightship" with Klaus Maria Brandauer and Robert Duval. And it may well be the only light vessel with a Ships Post Office. During the winter months the ship is open to the public at its mooring in Luebeck during “Backen und Banken” In the summer months the ship travels to various events along the German coast lines.

 

BUERGERMEISTER O´SWALD II
aka ELBE 1

 

The Cuxhaven lightship "Buergermeister O´Swald II" with a length of 49 meters is the world’s largest lightship. It started service in 1948 and was withdrawn in 1988 and so celebrates two anniversaries in 2008 – the 60th birthday and the 20th anniversary of retirement. It also holds a sad record: During the 40 years in service the lightship was rammed over 50 times by other ships. In the summer months the ship acts as ambassador of the City of Cuxhaven and takes regular trips for guests, who can watch the volunteer crew at work.

 

 

WESER I
aka ELBE 3

 The Hamburg Lightship “Weser” which is moored in the Museum Harbour Oevelgoenne, is 120 years old this year and is therefore the oldest seaworthy lightship in the world. The light circle on the main mast is remarkable, with its three cardanic lights. The lightship is for hire from April to September for trips on the Elbe and for celebrations.