Voyages1

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Sea Voyages
1975 - 1986
African Apprenticeship Years

In the first ten years, there were 15 voyages on 12 different ships.
Nine of the voyages took me to ports in 17 Africa and the Mediterranean countries.
In addition, I got to see a good part of western and northern Europe and a little piece of the Caribbean.
Sorry, I haven't gotten around scanning all my 2,000 pictures yet. So, for now, I have borrowed a
number of virtual post cards from the internet, but many of them look just like the ones I took.

Voyage 1
&
Voyage 2

M/V Saßnitz
&
S/V W. Pieck

January 1975 &
May 1975

The First two voyages in early 1975 were just training voyages in the Baltic Sea; the first one on a chartered Ferry and the second one on East Germany's only Tall Sailing Ship.

M/V Sassnitz

Brigantine Wilhelm Pieck

Saßnitz
East Germany

Greifswald
East Germany

Rostock
East Germany

Voyage 3

M/V J.G. Fichte

Sep 1975 - Jan 1976

M/V J.G. Fichte

This was the first real voyage: the first foreign country, the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and the first Christmas away from home. The ship was a former French troop transporter, now converted into a training ship. The first port was Gävle in Sweden. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean we stopped in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tampico, Mexico, before moving on to Cuba. In Cuba, we visited Santiago de Cuba, Havana and Casilda, which is the harbor of Cuba's oldest town, Trinidad. On our voyage home, we stopped in Kingston, Jamaica for an hour to bunker fuel.

Rostock
East Germany

Gävle
Sweden

Port of Spain
Trinidad & Tobago

Tampico
Mexico

Santiago de Cuba
Cuba

Havana
Cuba

Casilda
Cuba

Kingston
Jamaica

XXXXXXXXXXVoyage 4

XXXXXXXXXX XXXM/V Zwickau

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAugust 1976

The last voyage as an apprentice: On an old bulk carrier from Rostock to one of the northernmost ports in Europe - Luleå in the Swedish parts of Lapland. Since it was summer, it was a great time to experience the midnight sun! From there, we went with a cargo of iron ore to Gdańsk in Poland. In September, the apprentices had to return to school and so we took the train back home.

M/V Zwickau

Rostock
East Germany

Luleå
Sweden

Midnight Sun
Lapland

Gdańsk
Poland

XXXXXXXXVoyage 5

XXXXXXXXXXXXM/T Zeitz

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXSeptember 1977

The first voyage as an able bodied seaman and my first flight too, since the ship was waiting in the Canary Islands. The exchange crew took a train to Prague in the Czech Republic and then we flew via Zurich and Madrid to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. For me, the voyage was soon cut short due to an accident in Las Palmas. So, when the ship stopped in Bilbao in Spain's autonomous Basque region, I didn't go ashore but spent the time in a hospital in Santurce. I then stayed on board until we reached Skærbæk in Denmark, where I took a train back home. This was before the age of the giant bridges, thus the train ride across half of Denmark included two ferry-rides.

M/T Zeitz

Prague
Czech Republic

Airport Zurich
Switzerland

Airport Madrid
Spain

Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Canary Islands

Las Palmas
Canary Islands

Hospital in Santurce
Viscaya

Skærbæk
Denmark

Ferry across Storebælt
Denmark

Ferry to Warnemünde
East Germany

XXXXXXXXXXVoyage 6

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXM/T Leuna I

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNov 1977 - Jun 1978

My second voyage on an oil tanker. This one was supposed to be short trip, just calling a number of ports in Baltic Sea and North Sea. In November, we sailed from Rostock to Klaipeda in the Lithuanian Soviet Republic, back to Wismar, then to Porvoo in Finland and to Copenhagen and Århus in Denmark. Then, in December we left the Baltic Sea via Kiel Canal and spent Christmas in the Wallisian capital Cardiff. New Year's eve we celebrated in Rotterdam, two voyages from Rotterdam to Canvey Island near London and back followed. In February, we bunkered fuel in Vlissingen in Holland and then got orders to move to Africa.

After short stops in Las Palmas and Dakar, we arrived in Okrika, a small refinery port in the delta of River Niger in Nigeria. Seven times we sailed back and forth between Okrika and the Nigerian capital Lagos before an exchange crew arrived via airplane. In June, we flew back home via Algiers. The voyage, that was supposed to be not longer than a month turned out to be 221 days long. For the next 15 years, this would remain my longest voyage.

M/T Leuna I

Rostock
East Germany

Klaipeda
Lithuania

Wismar
East Germany

Porvoo
Finland

Copenhagen
Denmark

Århus
Denmark

Kiel Canal
West Germany

Cardiff
Wales

Rotterdam
Netherlands

Canvey Island
England

Vlissingen
Netherlands

Las Palmas
Canary Islands

Dakar
Senegal

Okrika
Nigeria

Lagos
Nigeria

Sahara Desert
Seen from the airplane

Algiers Airport
Algeria

Berlin Schönefeld Airport
East Germany

XXXXXXXXVoyage 7

XXXXXXXXXXXXM/V Riesa

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAug-Sep 1978

The first voyage beyond the Arctic Circle - to Murmansk in Russia (which was then the Soviet Union). On two voyages, we shipped a bulk load of phosphate from the largest arctic city around the North Cape to Rostock.
Between the two voyages, we also spent a week in a shipyard in Sweden.
This was also the first time in 2 1/2 years, that I actually returned home on a ship and din't had to take a train or an airplane. I just made it home in time for annual draft and spent the next 18 month in the East German army.

M/V Riesa

Rostock
East Germany

North Cape

Murmansk
Russia

Gothenborg
Sweden

Voyage 8

M/T Leuna I

Jun 1980 - Jan 1981

M/T Leuna I

After 541 days of military service, I flew to Algiers and went back on my favorite ship. I left the "Leuna I" in June 1978 in Nigeria. The ship's crew had been exchanged several times, but the ship hadn't made it home yet, since we left our East German home port in December of 1977. It was now in charter in the Mediterranean Sea, but that charter was about to end.

We did two voyages from Melilli in Sicily to Arzew and Algiers in Algeria and back, followed by a trip to Lisbon in Portugal and two trips between a small Portuguese port - Sines - and two even smaller French ports - Sète and Port-La-Nouvelle. At the voyage from Algiers to Portugal, I crossed the Strait of Gibraltar for the first time.

After the second voyage to France, the ship was called home, where we arrived in October 1980. We then spent three months in Rostock Harbor for repair works and In January 1981, my favorite ship was sold to a Greek company.

Algiers
Algeria

Melilli
Italy

Arzew
Algeria

Strait of Gibraltar

Lisbon
Portugal

Sines
Portugal

Port-La-Nouvelle
France

Sète
France

Kiel Canal
West Germany

Rostock
East Germany

XXXXXXXXVoyage 9

XXXXXXXXXM/V Eisenhüttenstadt

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXFeb-Aug 1981

After we sold the "Leuna," it was back to the Arctic route for a voyage to Mo-i-Rana in the heart of Norway's Ranfjord, followed by five voyages to Murmansk. It was not my first time in Arctic waters, but it was my first time there in winter - and we are talking -20F. On the upside - winter is the time of the Aurora Borealis, the most beautiful display nature has to offer.

The ship, an old bulk carrier called "Eisenhüttenstadt" was 722 feet long - the longest ship I ever served at.

This was my last voyage as an able bodied seaman. After I left the "Eisenhüttenstadt," I went to Marine Academy for three years to became an officer.

M/V Eisenhüttenstadt

Ranfjord

Mo i Rana
Norway

Aurora Borealis over
Murmansk, Russia

Voyage 10
&
Voyage 11

M/V Luckenwalde

Feb - Jul 1984

M/V Luckenwalde

After graduating from Marine Academy, I had to finish two voyages as assistance officer before getting my officer's license. I did both voyages on M/V Luckenwalde, a general cargo ship sailing the Mediterranean Sea. The first voyage took us to Århus in Denmark and to Alexandria in Egypt. The second voyage brought the first of many visits to Larnaca in Cyprus. We also stopped in civil-war ridden Beirut and in Durrës, an Albanian port in the Adriatic Sea. Back then, Communist Albania was almost completely isolated from the rest of the world. The only sailors allowed ashore were North Koreans and East Germans. We took advantage of that opportunity and visited the capital Tirana and the Citadel of national hero Skanderbeg in the Albanian Alps. On the voyage home I had my final test before becoming a Nautical Officer: navigating through the narrow Strait of Messina.

Wismar
East Germany

Århus
Denmark

Alexandria
Egypt

Beirut
Lebanon

Larnaca
Cyprus

Durrës
Albania

Tirana
Albania

Skanderbeg's Citadel
Albania

Strait of Messina
Italy

Kiel Canal
West Germany

XXX XXVoyages 12 & 13

XXXXXX XXXM/V Schwielowsee

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXSep 1984 - Mar 1985

The first two voyages as Third Officer on general cargo ship "Schwielowsee" brought a lot of new impressions. First, there was my first passage of the Suez Canal into the Red Sea to Aqaba in Jordan and to Aden in Yemen (back then still South Yemen). In Aqaba, we had a chance to take a day off and visit the legendary ruins of Petra in the middle of the Jordan desert. On our way back home we stopped in Rotterdam and Rostock, and then it was off to my first voyage to the Indian Ocean and to East Africa.

After passing the Equator, the first port was Mombasa in Kenya, followed by Tanga in Tanzania and three ports in Mozambique. In the first one, Nacala, we had a chance to go diving at a coral reef. We spent Christmas and New Year in Maputo, then went to Beira to load cotton and to Dar Es Salaam and Tanga in Tanzania to load copper. The voyage home took us to Ceuta in Spanish-North Africa and then to Liverpool, where we discharged the copper and spent two days checking out everything related to the Beatles. We also visited Chester, a town like right out of a Harry Potter movie and then went home via Kiel Canal.

M/V Schwielowsee

Suez Canal
Egypt

Aqaba
Jordan

Petra
Jordan

Aden
South Yemen

Rotterdam
Netherlands

Crossing-the-Line
Ceremony

Equator

Mombasa
Kenya

Tanga
Tanzania

Nacala
Mozambique

Diving at a coral reef
Indian Ocean

Maputo
Mozambique

Beira
Mozambique

Dar Es Salaam
Tanzania

Ceuta
Spanish North Africa

Liverpool
United Kingdom

Chester
United Kingdom

Kiel Canal
West Germany

XXXVoyage 14

XXXXM/V Fleesensee

XXXXXXXJun-Aug 1985

The next voyage started with a short trip from Rostock to Sarpsborg in Norway's Oslo-Fjord and back to Wismar.

That trip was followed by my first visit to Antwerp in Belgium and a short stop in Ceuta. Then it was familiar territory - Suez Canal and the two most popular ports in the Red Sea, Aqaba and Aden; followed by a visit in Assab, the main port of Eritrea, which back then was occupied by Ethiopia.

From there, it was back to Rostock.

M/V Fleesensee

Wismar
East Germany

Sarpsborg
Norway

Antwerp
Belgium

Ceuta
Spanish North Africa

Suez Canal
Egypt

Aden
South Yemen

Assab
Eritrea

Aqaba
Jordan

Rostock
East Germany

XXXXXXXXXVoyage 15

XXXXXXXXXXXXM/V Blankensee

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAug - Sep 1986

In August 1985, I took a year off for personal reasons, but in August 1986, I was back to the Mediterranean Sea. The voyage on M/V Blankensee was the only "been there - done that" voyage I ever had - the only voyage in 20 years, that did not include at least one new port.
It started with my second visit to Antwerp, followed by my fifth visit to Algiers and my fourth visit to Århus. However, one thing was unique - it was the longest period of fog I had ever encountered. For a week - all the way from Gibraltar to the North Sea, we sailed constantly through all kind of fog, mist, haze and water vapor one can imagine.

M/V Blankensee

Antwerp
Belgium

Algiers
Algeria

Århus
Denmark

Sailing trough fog