A Word from the Captain by Captain 0 . P. Nielsen
T
he rhree-mas red sreel ship Danmark was builr ar Nakskov Shipyard in D enmark in 1933 as a rraining ship fo r caders for rhe merchanr marin e. Wirh rhe exceprion of service in Am erica in W orld W ar II, chis has been rhe purpose of rhe ship for 66 yea rs. A ro ral of 97 people are on board rhe Danmark fo r every cruise-8 0 caders, rhe caprain, and a crew of 16. As a sa il ing ship, rhe Danmark is expecred ro sail powered by the wind , bur rhe ship also has a sched ul e ro keep. If rhe wind is erraric, we rel uctantly start the main engine, wirh 357 kw outpur. As our caders soon learn, the D anmark can be rigged wirh 15 square sails and ren sraysails. Finally, rhe mizzen masc is rigged wirh a spanker. T he sails are maneuvered by 236 ropes, rhe names and use of which rhe yo ung crew must learn by heart, quickly! The 80 caders, currently 16 girls and 64 boys berween rhe ages of 17 and 2 1, are di vided inro rwo warches, srarboard and porr. On ce rhe Danmark is ar sea, borh watches have 2x6 hours of watch/school in a 24-hour period. For the five months on board , a cadet's priva re life is limited ro a ham mock, a small chest and an equally small locker for personal belongings. A grear number of pracrical and rheoreti cal maririme subjecrs are raughr on board and the basic course is ro unded off by a rwoweek wo rkshop course, after which rhe caders may cominue their rrai ning by signing on either as ordinary seamen on a mercham sh ip or as officer caders wirh a shipping company and lacer studies ar a namical school or school of marine engineering. Bur !er us turn ro the pas r fo r a whil e. T he second world wa r was a proud period in rhe hi sro ry of rhe Danmark. Mosr of rhe boys on board the ship when she srayed in the Am erican porr o f Jacksonville, Florida, went inro Allied serv ice. Seven of rhem cap rained rheir own ships before rh ey we re 2 1. Fourreen fell in wa r service ar sea. Afrer Pearl H arbor, rhe Danmark was made available ro the American governmenr by the Danish Ambassador ro rhe U nired States for use as a rraining ship for rhe US Coas r Guard ar New London, Co nnecricur. All ro ld , 5, 000 American caders we re trained on rhe ship under Caprain Kn ud H ansen and his offi cers during W orld W ar II. On board, th is period is co mmemorared by a bronze place bearing rhe rexr: Presented to D anish training ship D anmark in app reciation of Service rendered in training officer candidates for the United States Coast Guard Academy January 1942 to September 1945
SEA HISTORY 90, AUTUMN 1999
The handsome D anmark steps out smartly in the Atlantic winds shes sailed for 66 years. (Photo: Thad Koza) T his period is also rhe reason fo r rhe "special ries'' which srill exisr berween rh e Danmark and rhe U nired Scares, and especially berween the Danmark and the US Coast G uard, and which have been fairhfully culrivated by Caprain W ilh elm Hansen, Commanding officer 1964- 1986, now living in reriremenr. In 1999, the Danmark will again cross the Atlantic fo r Operarion Sail 2000 on America's Easr Coas r. Whar a rrear fo r J:. the youn g caders! Capt. Nielsen is Commanding Officer, 1987-90, 1994-Present, and wrote this p iece aboard the D anmark this summer. DANMARK INFORMATION
THAD KOZA
O wner: T he Danish MaritimeAuthori ty Port of Registry: Copenhagen Type: 3- mas ted, full rigger C all Sign: O XDK Gross/Nee T onnage: 737/22 1 rons Sparred Lengrh: 77 meters Breadth : 10 merers Draft : 5.2 meters H eight of mainmas r over wa rer: 39.6 mere rs Lengrh of mainya rd: 20. l merers Total sail area: 26 sails of 1,636 square mere rs M ax. speed under sail : 12 kn ors
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