Rickmer Rickmers

The tall ship Rickmer Rickmers was built as a full-rigged ship in Bremerhaven in 1896 and put into service. The ship was 97 metres long and the total area of all the sails was 3,500 m². The ship was named after the ship owner’s grandson.

The first voyage of the Rickmer Rickmers went from Bremerhaven to Hong Kong and the ship returned loaded with rice and bamboo. Eleven long, eventful voyages followed. Once, in 1903, the ship got caught in a typhoon and lost one of its masts. However, it was able to make for the harbour of Cape Town and was saved. In order to make better progress, it was fitted with different sails and re-rigged as a barque. It returned to Bremerhaven in December 1904, two months later than planned.

In 1912 the Rickmer Rickmers was sold to a Hamburg shipping company and sailed to Chile under the new name of “Max”. During a stopover in the Azores in 1916 the ship was confiscated and placed at the disposal of the English under the name of “Flores” in order to transport war material. After the war the ship remained in English ownership, but was no longer used as a freight tall ship. Later the Portuguese Navy used it as a school ship under the name of “Sagres”.

Finally the ship took part in a regatta in 1958. After that it was laid up in the shipyard of the Portuguese Navy until 1983, when it was returned to Hamburg. For four years it was renovated, mainly by volunteers. Since the autumn of 1987 the Rickmer Rickmers can be visited in the Port of Hamburg as a museum ship.