Christening of new Haspa Hamburg - Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt

Press release issued on behalf of the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt e. V. (HVS)
28 April 2010
Christening of new Haspa Hamburg
52.3 feet one-off construction by judel/vrolijk and Hakes Marine
HAMBURG, GERMANY. Dressed overall, the
new flagship of the Hamburgischer Verein
Seefahrt e. V. (HVS) was shining in her fiery
new coat of “Haspa red”, when Dr Kristina
Vogelsang lifted the champagne for the
traditional christening. The godmother then
named the 53.2 feet (15.95-metre) long
offshore yacht Haspa Hamburg, wished for
her to bring fair winds and good fortune to
all who sail on her. Wednesday (28 April) saw a new page being turned to a modern
chapter in the 107-year old history of the HVS, a yachting club dedicated to the personality
shaping of young sailors at sea, which has remained a current topic till these days.
“We are thankful to the many supporters of the HVS, first and foremost the Hamburger
Sparkasse, without which we would not have this most beautiful new boat now,” were the
words of the chairman of the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt, Dr Detlef Thomsen, which he
addressed to the more than 300 guests who had come to Hamburg’s Sandtorhafen on this
midweek morning enjoying brilliant and warm sunshine. “It goes very well with our
commitment to society in this Hanse city to send young people sailing on the high seas to
strengthen and build their personalities regardless of their financial situation,” explained Dr
Harald Vogelsang, CEO of the Hamburger Sparkasse, who had only last year prolonged its
partnership with the HVS until 2015. He considered both his company and the club to be
“friends and two true Hamburg species”.
Marked with sail number GER 6300, the brand logo of the Hamburger Sparkasse will soon be
flying across the oceans of the world. It was first presented at the other end of the world: in
the New Zealand capital city Wellington. There, the boat had been built by Hakes Marine
based on the design of the renowned construction office judel/vrolijk from Bremerhaven,
Germany. For boatyard director Paul Hakes, and Mike Castania from the USA, who had been
acting as a consultant and project manager, it was a question of honour to attend the boat’s
christening in Germany, as the special one-off construction had become a matter of the
heart to them, too, in the course of the previous months. Before Henning Rocholl handed

over Haspa Hamburg to the club’s sailing group “Störtebeker”, the HVS Vice President and
leader of the building committee praised the “outstanding cooperation, which now is
reflected in this very unique piece of work”.
After the festive ceremony, they all were
accompanied by the HVS team around boat
inspector Johan Wilckens and the leader of the
sailing group, Caroline Hagenberg to answer
the many questions of the interested and
curious guests, who were eager to see the
inside of the boat. They liked the sportive
interior without any hints of luxury. The 14th
Hamburg in the glorious history was not built
for comfortable cruising, but as a youth training yacht. Designed for a normal crew size
between ten and twelve, the boat can also delivered by a shorter number of hands. She will
also be racing in various regattas each year.
The test crew already got a taste of the yacht’s enormous potential on delivering her from
New Zealand’s capital Wellington at the southern tip of the country’s North Island to
Auckland, the so-called City of Sails, further up north. From here, the yacht travelled to her
new home on a container freighter run by shipping company “Hamburg Sued”. “Top speeds
of more than 20 knots and Etmals exceeding 200 nautical miles were no problem,” reported
Johan Wilckens. With a beam of 4.80 metres and a draft of 3.50 metres, Haspa has a
displacement of about twelve tons. A 97-square metre mainsail and 70 square metres of jib
(100 %) are her upwind sail area. Hoisting the 250-square metre gennaker will guarantee
fine surfing down the waves in strong winds.
Apart from her excellent sailing qualities, the yacht was designed according to the highest
possible safety standards, to keep man and material safe even in the fiercest conditions and
the remotest areas. “Judicious and careful seamanship is one of the most important virtues
we teach and train,” said Detlef Thomsen, “we have taken over this practice from the
founders of the club, and are intent on keeping it up now and in the future.”
Red Haspa Hamburg takes over from her blue predecessor, a used X-482, which had been
getting on in years a bit, and was sold with an extra couple of ten thousand nautical miles
under her belt. Another club yacht for youth training is Norddeutsche Vermoegen Hamburg.
The basic name Hamburg goes back to a schooner which successfully sailed a trans-Atlantic
regatta from New York to Hamburg under the HVS flag in 1905, and finished second to the
New York Yacht Club’s Atlantic. The 100th anniversary of the HVS had seen a new edition of

this regatta in 2003 as DaimlerChrysler North
Atlantic Challenge: Showing a strong
performance, the first Haspa Hamburg finished
fourth place.
Specifications of the 56-foot one-off construction Haspa Hamburg
Hull length:
52.30 feet (15.95 metres)
LoA (including bowsprit): 56.45 feet (17.20 metres)
Beam:
(15.75 feet (4.80 metres)
Draft:
11.50 feet (3.50 metres)
Displacement:
approx. 12 tons
Ballast:
approx. 5.4 tons
Mast height:
82.80 feet (25.23 metres)
Mainsail:
1,045 square feet (97 square metres)
Jib:
754 square feet (70 square metres)
Gennaker:
2,691 square feet (250 square metres)
Engine:
55-kW Yanmar
Hamburg, 28 th April 2010
Contact:
Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt e.V.
Contact person: Henning Rocholl
c/o Dr. Detlef Thomsen
eMail media@HVS-Hamburg.de
Gänsemarkt 50 Tel.: (040) 866 42 1-41
D-20354 Hamburg
Picture Service (high resolution):
More about the sailing yacht “Haspa Hamburg” at: www.HVS-Hamburg.de -> Menu “Haspa Hamburg”
High resolution pictures for media use at: www.HVS-Hamburg.de/press
Copyright Notation: © Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt e.V. / Haspa / Nico Krauss
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