Crew changeover

Newsletter 18: Today saw the changeover of VÆDDEREN’s crew. The crew which had manned Galathea 3 and sailed her safely from port to port was relieved by new forces.

Dato 12.12.2006

An official parade on the quay in Sydney marked the occasion.  Minister of Defence Søren Gade and the Chief of the Admiral Danish Fleet, Rear Admiral Nils Wang, thanked the departing crew for their work and wished them a safe return home. The event is reported and picture series can be seen at Jyllands-Posten’s web pages (in danish) – click here.

Foto: Anne Sofie Berendt
Minister for Defence Søren Gade addresses the two crews.

For Captain Carsten Schmidt, this must have been a particularly moving day. The lowering of his command flag and hoisting of that of Captain Lars Hansen was the culmination of his 45 years of maritime service, 38 of which were in the navy. Captain Schmidt’s wife, Ragnhild accompanied her husband on the last leg of the journey from Hobart to Sydney. The Danish newspaper, Politiken features an interview with the departing ship’ s captain - follow this link.

The relieving Captain Lars Hansen has been closely involved in the expedition and its preparation over several months. The 47 year old captain came on board in Hobart, Tasmania and thus accompanied the ship for a couple of days during Carsten Sch midt’s command, before taking over.

Foto: Anne Sofie Berendt
Captain Carsten Schmidt (far right) takes leave of Vædderen and is relieved by Captain Lars Hansen (next to him)

The new crew have ahead of them roughly 4½ months at sea before VÆDDEREN docks at Langelinje quay in Copenhagen at the end of April 2007.  This will include a 4 week tour of Antarctica, which according to Lars Hansen may well prove challenging in terms of weather.

The old crew return home - seasoned from their experiences. Several were interviewed by Politiken and gave their feedback on the best - and more difficult aspects of their journey. Link to interviews (in Danish).