Tenerife has been visited by an iconic sailing boat in the last 24 hours, the 'Danmark' training ship which has docked in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The 'Danmark', which belongs to the Danish Maritime Authority, was built in 1932, is 77 metres long by 10 metres wide and has 26 sails, succeeded ‘København’ which was lost mysteriously at sea at the end of 1928, as Denmark's principal training ship.
She was launched in 1932 to train officers of the Danish merchant navy, and in 1939 she visited the United States to participate in the World’s Fair in New York, but at the outbreak of World War II, she was ordered to remain in US waters to avoid capture by the Germans.
After the attack on Pearl Harbour the captain, Knud L. Hansen, offered the ship to the U.S. government as a training vessel. This offer was accepted, and Danmark moved to New London, Connecticut, to train cadets at the United States Coast Guard Academy.
Approximately five thousand cadets were trained before the ship was returned to Denmark in 1945, where she resumed her training duties the following year.
In recognition of her wartime service, a bronze plaque was placed on the mainmast, and Danmark was given the honour of leading the parade of ships at the World’s Fair in 1964.
The Danmark was also one of seven ships that were used for filming the BBC TV series ‘The Onedin Line’ from 1971-1980.
Training voyages continue to be offered today, not only to Danes but also to those of any nation interested in learning the basics of seamanship on a large sailing vessel.
In this photograph from Puertos de Tenerife, you can see it docked last night in Santa Cruz, where it looks spectacular.
