Die Pamir

Ship: Johann Smidt
Date: 17.03.2026
Position: Nordatlantik
Nautische Position: 37°01,5 N 041°50,2W
Etmal: 90 sm
Bisher zurückgelegt: 1320 sm

Ever heard of the sail training ship the „Pamir“? …. no? Neither did I until a week ago. Probably better that way because to be honest I don’t know if I would have applied for this trip if I knew the story then. In the last week, on request of our captain Jörn, we dealt with the history of the Pamir and learned a lot about it. So… what was the Pamir and why is her story so important?

The history of the Pamir

We are traveling back in time to 1957:

The sailing training ship Pamir leaves Hamburg and embarks on a journey across the Atlantic to Buenos Aires. Pamir, a so-called four-masted bark, is a large sailing ship that sails under the German flag and was built in 1905.

On board 86 people, including many young cadets between the ages of 16 and 18. All of them want to learn sailing, experience something out of the ordinary and maybe join the Navy later.

At that time, on-board life was not easy on such large sailing ships and so the young men had to work in vertiginous hights of 40 to 50 m even during storms. For comparison: Our Rah is about 17 m high and even then I get a bit dizzy.
The Pamir is also a very beautiful, imposing ship with its proud 114m length.

Thanks to its many huge square sails and a sail area of 3,000 m, it can also achieve enormous speeds and was therefore used as a transport ship in the time before the First World War.

Arriving in Buenos Aires, a workers‘ strike on land delays the return to Germany. Large amounts of barley are loaded into the cargo space before the Pamir makes her way back to Hamburg.

In the North Atlantic in September 1957, the Pamir falls into the Hurricane Carrie. The sea is raging and the storm creates extreme wind forces. In the cargo area, the barley is not sufficiently secured and begins to move back and forth in the swaying ship. The focus of the Pamir is shifting. First a little, then even more.

The huge ship leans more and more to the side. A few moments later Water enters the ship. All cadets rush on deck. There, the sails and the rig can no longer be properly operated due to the inclined position. The situation continues to get worse.

Finally, the Pamir capsizes on September 21st and sank about 600 nautical miles southwest of the Azores.
The accident shook Germany a lot and the time of the large sailing training ships came to an end because they were considered too dangerous.

The Pamir is now symbolic of the end of an epoch of seafaring – the time of the great sailing ships that sailed the oceans for decades.

Souvenirs with a wreath and a shanty

To rememberince of the 80 people who have lost their lives on the Pamir not far from our current position, we let a homemade wreath down in the water. The ceremony was accompanied by a poem presented by Anne and a song that we all sang together.

It shurely was an emotional moment and reminded us of how dangerous seafaring can be even for us and how important security is.

PS: To all the worried parents: Our officer also had to calm one or the other here and assure us that the Jonnhy is a safe ship.

Big film recommendation: „Der Untergang der Pamir“ (in two parts) – ZDF

Grüße:

Leopold: Hallo Mama und Papa, ich hab‘ irgendwie grad daran gedacht, dass wir irgendwo im Keller einen Schokobrunnen haben und wollte fragen, ob wir den nicht aufbauen wollen, wenn ich wieder da bin, hab‘ hier echt Schokoladenentzug 🙏🙏 hab‘ euch alle lieb!

Tom: Hi, ich hoffe, es geht euch allen gut, mir geht’s wieder besser und ich habe voll viel zu tun, zudem bin ich jetzt Bootsmann bei der Übernahme, ich freue mich schon so darauf und das Bord Buch ist viel Arbeit! Nochmal, falls ihr den Gruß nicht empfangen habt, könntet ihr mir bitte zwei Hoodis bestellen?

Munguru: Hallo Aminata, hallo Lotte, ich habe letztens einen sehr guten Podcast darüber gehört, ob Deutschland in die Bundeswehr investieren sollte von Simplicissimus. Hört mal rein 😘👴🏽

Tilly: Hellö, ich dachte, ich melde mich auch mal wieder, mir geht’s richtig gut und ich bin bei der Schiffsübernahme Koch Koordination geworden (war auch mein 1. Wunsch). Ich hoffe, euch geht’s auch allen gut und bis bald❤️❤️

Margot: coucou 😘 Who would have thought..
que je devienne PL ( projekt leader ) pour le take over ?? Moi pas toujours pour être honnête. ( Mon premier choix) Mai Je suis hyper contente et j’ai hâte de vous parler sur les azores. Je suis dans ma Watch de 8-12 et il fait tres froid . Mais on vient de voir plein de dauphins 🐬