After two Atlantic Crossings and a half-year of teaching on the lake is returned to a group of students on a tall ship to Germany. The three-master “Pelican of London” made on Easter Sunday in Cuxhaven. Under strict disease protection measures of the 27 young people saw their parents again, with many tears of joy flowed. The police had only two cars from the parents at the feeder ancestors. The invited their children with their Luggage and started the ride home in the Federal States of Hamburg and Bavaria.
The Corona pandemic have already determined the last weeks of the trip, said Johan Kegler, CEO of the company Ocean College, the German press Agency. But the mood aboard was good. On the floating classroom, they were protected from infections. The ship was on the return trip to the Azores just a short supplies on Board. Because the ports are closed in France, had to be moved to the end point of the journey from Bordeaux to Cuxhaven. The trip lasted a couple of days longer.
It was caught “on the lake and yet free as to the country,” wrote a student in the Blog of Ocean College. “Since the Azores has changed everything,” noted one girl. You have to imagine the return of so good, now everything was uncertain. But she added: “As always, our arrival will look, we will enjoy.”
The students had controlled the Bark “Pelican of London” by themselves through the busy English channel between France and Britain, said Kegler. The Crew of captain Chris Blake, had supervised the ride only.
In the “school sailing” connecting professional education with practice, said the bowlers to the pedagogical concept. So going to tuck taught in mathematics nautical science: “a compass, a GPS, and then to the stars control.”. The language of the crew was English, in Central America there is a Spanish course. The participants were mostly in the tenth grade.
With 25 000 Euro for half a year, the Website of Ocean College, this replacement school, however, is not cheap. In Germany, there are also other opportunities for young people, sailing on a traditional tall ship to learn. Among other things, cruises are offered on the “Alexander von Humboldt II” (home port of Bremerhaven), the “Fritjof Nansen” (Hamburg) or the “Roald Amundsen” (Eckernförde).
dpa