Friday 19 October 2012

Havet and Halmø - Two vintage sailing ships in Copenhagen

The topsail Ketch Havet at Larsens Plads in Copenhagen

The Larsens Plads (Larsen's Place), in the immediate vicinity of the Amalienborg Palace area, is the prestige waterfront in Copenhagen. No wonder then that only some of Denmark's finest vintage sailing ships are allowed to berth there more permanently. 

In the middle of October, when I visited Copenhagen, the gaffrigged topsail ketch Havet and the schooner Halmø were berthed at Larsens Plads. 

The Havet is owned and operated by Alice and Henning Breindahl  Sørensen, who also live aboard the ship

"The topsail ketch Havet was the last wooden cargo ship built in Denmark.
She was built in Holbaek, Denmark in 1953-54 for servicing the trade route to Greenland but never got there. Instead, the ship worked as a coaster in Scandinavia and the Baltic.
In 1977 she was fitted with the current rig and re-registered for passenger service."

Read more here

Below deck Havet has 6 double cabins with private shower and toilet and a saloon with seating for 46 people.

The 37,5 m ship, with a sail area of 600 m2 is presently used for different types of charter trips and company  events. There is room for 46 guests on daytrips and 12 overnight guests. 
The ropes are in perfect order

The schooner Halmø and the ketch Havet at Larsens Plads

The other classic sailing ship berthed at Larsen's Plads was the two-masted schooner Halmø (32m), one of Denmark's best-preserved vintage ships. Halmø, which was launched already in the year 1900, sailed for decades as a freighter and domestic packet boat.


During WW II Halmø carried many jews to safety in Sweden

"In 1974, the schooner’s life took a new turn when boat builder, Freddy Jørgensen fell in love with her in Sæby Harbour. He and his son devoted more than 12,000 work hours restoring her into a classic yacht. New masts of seasoned larch wood were built and Halmø was later treated to a new rudder, steel keel and oak planks. The original hold was carefully converted into a beautiful saloon, one four-person cabin, three double cabins, a bathroom and two toilets."
Read more here
Additional pictures of the extremely well maintained schooner Halmø:



PS
Here is a nice photo - shot by a friend of mine - of the Halmø sailing in the vicinity of Copenhagen in September:



2 comments:

  1. How to contact owners Of Havet
    Tom OBrien email tomkappy@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really like your writing style, great information, thankyou for posting. Vintage Oaks

    ReplyDelete