Sail Training Ships

[Brian James]

STS Sedov pictured in 1961.
Formerly SMS Magdalene Vinnen II (1921–1936) and Kommodore Johnsen (–1948), is a four-masted steel barque that for almost 80 years was the largest traditional sailing ship in operation. Originally built as a German cargo ship, Sedov is today a sail training vessel, training cadets from the universities of Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg and Astrakhan. She participates regularly in the big maritime international events as a privileged host and has also been a regular participant in The Tall Ships' Races. Sedov, originally named Magdalene Vinnen II, was launched at Kiel, Germany in 1921 by the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft for the shipping company F. A. Vinnen & Co. of Bremen, one of the largest German shipping companies at the beginning of the 20th century. The shipping company initially objected to have an engine installed in the ship, but the ship yard (with backing from a Government committee) successfully argued for an engine, making the ship the first sailing ship with auxiliary engine designed to modern principles.
Magdalene Vinnen II was at the time the world’s largest auxiliary barque and exclusively used as a cargo ship with a crew that was partially made up of cadets. She sailed on her maiden voyage on September 1st 1921. Her voyage took her from Bremen via Cardiff, where she took on coal, to Buenos Aires. Despite bad weather, the journey from England to Argentina with holds full of coal took just 30 days. Magdalene Vinnen II carried all sorts of cargo: apart from coal, she took timber from Finland, wheat from Australia, pyrite from Italy and unit load from Belgium. The four-masted barque made two voyages around Cape Horn to Chile. Until her last voyage as Magdalene Vinnen II in 1936, the ship sailed to Argentina, South Africa, Australia, Reunion and the Seychelles.