Cutty Sark

El Cutty Sark fue, en 1869, uno de los últimos veleros de tipo clipper en ser construidos. Se conserva en dique seco en Greenwich (Londres). Fue gravemente dañado por un incendio el 21 de mayo de 2007 cuando se encontraba en plena restauración.


Debe su nombre a un personaje de ficción llamado Cutty Sark, una bruja danzarina de un poema cómico de Robert Burns publicado en 1791.

Fue diseñado por el ingeniero naval Hercules Linton y construido en 1869 en Dumbarton (Escocia) por los astilleros Scott & Linton. Fue botado el 23 de noviembre de ese mismo año.


El Cutty Sark fue destinado al comercio de té que, en aquella época era muy activo en las líneas entre China y Londres. Este comercio generaba grandes beneficios si se llegaba a Gran Bretaña con el primer té de la temporada. Sus inicios no fueron muy prometedores. En la carrera del té de 1872 contra el clipper Thermopylae ambos buques abandonaron Shangai juntos el 18 de junio pero el Cutty Sark quedó descolgado dos semanas después tras sufrir una avería en el timón a su paso por el estrecho de Sunda. Llegó a Londres el 18 de octubre, una semana después que el Thermopylae. A pesar de que había perdido la carrera, el Cutty Sark se hizo famoso porque su capitán prefirió continuar el viaje con un timón improvisado antes que detenerse en un puerto para efectuar las reparaciones.

A finales del siglo XIX los clipper fueron sustituidos por los barcos de vapor en la carrera del té. Podían pasar a través del Canal de Suez y, además, la entrega de la carga era más fiable. El Cutty Sark fue destinado entonces al comercio de lana con Australia. Bajo el mando del respetado capitán Richard Woodget consiguió transportar cargas de lana en sólo 67 días. En esta época consiguió su mejor marca, 360 millas náuticas (666 kilómetros)en 24 horas de navegación a una media de 15 nudos (27,7 km/h).

En 1895 el Cutty Sark fue vendido a la naviera portuguesa Ferreira y se rebautizó con ese nombre. Su tripulación portuguesa, no obstante, se refería al clipper como "Pequena Camisola" que es la traducción de la palabra escocesa "Cutty Sark". En 1916 fue reformado en profundidad, reconvertido en goleta en el puerto de Ciudad de el Cabo (Sudáfrica) y rebautizado como "Maria do Amparo". En 1922 el capitán Wilfred Dowman compró el buque, lo devolvió a su aspecto original y destinó la embarcación como buque de entrenamiento. En 1954 fue llevado a Greenwich y emplazado en dique seco.

El Cutty Sark tiene también su hueco en la literatura gracias al poema de Hart Crane, "The Bridge", publicado en 1930.

El Cutty Sark es uno de los tres barcos que quedan de la era de los clipper. Posee estructura metálica y cubierta de planchas de madera.

Proa del Cutty Sark

• TRB (Tonelaje de Registro Bruto): 921 toneladas
• Eslora: 64.8 metros
• Manga: 11 metros
• Puntal: 6.4 metros

El siguiente material fué obtenido de

http://www.cuttysark.org.uk

1870-1878: The China Tea Years

On 16th February 1870, the Cutty Sark left London bound for Shanghai, via the Cape of Good Hope, on her first voyage. Commanded by Captain George Moodie, she carried "large amounts of wine, spirits and beer” (Captain’s abstract log). The arrival of the ship at Shanghai, with “manufactured goods”, is listed in The North China Herald of 2nd June 1870. Departing with around 1,450 tons of tea on 25th June, she arrived back in London on 13th October 1870.

This is the first of 8 voyages the ship successfully made to China in pursuit of tea. However, the Cutty Sark never became the fastest ship on the tea trade. Dogged by bad winds and misfortune, she never lived up to the high expectations of her owner during these years. The closest the ship came to winning the tea race was in 1872, when she had the opportunity to race the Thermopylae head-to-head for the first time.

After arriving at Shanghai in late May 1872, she met the Thermopylae when loading her tea cargo. With both sailing from Woosung on 17th June 1872, the two ships closely matched each other through the China Sea and into the Indian Ocean. By 7th August, and with a good tail wind, the Cutty Sark found herself a good 400 miles ahead of the Thermopylae. On 15th August, disaster struck when the Cutty Sark’s rudder gives way. After reconstructing the rudder twice in heavy seas, the ship arrived back at London on 19th October, around 7 days after her rival. The courage and determination of Captain Moodie and his crew won the Cutty Sark great credit, but Moodie retired from his command of the ship due to stress and the ship was never to get this close to winning the tea race again.

1878-1883: Tramping for cargoes

Cutty Sark successfully collected her last Chinese tea cargo in 1877. In December of that year, the ship departed London bound for Sydney for a coal cargo, and then went onto Shanghai. Arriving at China in April 1878, the ship’s master, Captain Tiptaft, could not consign a tea cargo. By this time, steam ships had taken over this trade.

Steam ships had arrived onto this market with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The Canal gave the steam ships a quick and direct route from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea, whilst the sailing ships were unable to access the Canal because of their reliance on the trade winds that gusted around the coast of Africa.

Unable to find a tea cargo, Captain Tiptaft died at Shanghai in October 1878. His First Mate, James Wallace, was promoted to the command of the Cutty Sark.

With tea no longer available, the ship started to take different cargoes of various qualities around the world. For example, she took coal from Nagasaki in Japan to Shanghai; jute from Manila to New York; and jute, castor oil, tea and the Australian mail from Calcutta to Melbourne in March 1881.

In 1880, the ship’s First Mate, Sidney Smith, by all accounts a bully and disliked by the crew, killed (with considerable provocation) seaman John Francis. Smith was confined to quarters, but at Anjer Captain Wallace connived at his escape. The crew, incensed, downed tools and refused to work resulting in most of the sailing being done by the six apprentices and four tradesmen. On 5th September the ship was becalmed in the Java Sea for three days. With the guilt, calm, steaming heat and realisation that his career was finished, Wallace jumped overboard. Although a rescue attempt was mounted, the only sign of Wallace was the number of sharks swimming furiously about…

To make matters worse, on arrival at Anjer, William Bruce was transferred from the Hallowe’en and appointed Master of the Cutty Sark. By all accounts, Bruce was an incompetent, drunken master who connived with the Mate to remove the expensive Australian crew members, pocketing their wages. He was also negligent, failing to pick up enough provisions, resulting in the crew becoming half starved. On arrival at New York in April 1882, it appears that an inquiry was held into the conduct of the Master and the First Mate, resulting in them being suspended from service and the crew were given a discharge.

As a result, Captain F. Moore and his Mate were transferred from the Blackadder to the Cutty Sark and it was under his command that the ship embarked upon her most successful period of working life.

1883-1895: The Australian Wool Years

In July 1883, the Cutty Sark left Gravesend bound for Newcastle N.S.W, arriving in October. After loading 4289 bales of wool and 12 casks of tallow, she departed in December 1883 and arrived back in London in March 1884. Her return passage of 83 days was the best of the year, beating every ship sailing at about the same time by 25 days to over a month. This was a remarkable feat, considering that the Cutty Sark was now 14 years old, almost halfway through her expected working life of 30 years.

Captain Moore left the ship in 1885, and was replaced by the most successful Master who ever commanded the Cutty Sark; Richard Woodget. Captain Woodget’s skill lay as a successful man-manager and fearless navigator, getting the best out of both the ship and his crew. In order to catch the Roaring Forties trade winds, encountering some of the most violent gales and seas on Earth, Woodget would travel further south than any previous commander. This was perilous, as the ship came into frequent contact with icebergs around Cape Horn (the southern tip of South America). Woodget was also a keen photographer and he has left many striking images of the ship passing icebergs as well as shots of her in Sydney harbour.

Fortunately, the ship survived and produced stunning passage times. On his first voyage in command, the ship sailed from England to Sydney in 77 days, and returned to the UK from Australia in 73 days. This was the start of 10 years domination by the Cutty Sark in the wool trade. The ship soon established herself as the fastest vessel, the ‘last chance’ ship to make the English January wool sales.

In July 1889, the Cutty Sark was involved in a famous incident with the crack P&O steam ship Britannia. On the night of the 25th July, Britannia, doing between 14.5 and 16 knots, was overhauled by the Cutty Sark doing a good 17 knots. Robert Olivey, Second Officer on Britannia, watched the lights of the sailing ship overhauling his vessel with amazement and called Captain Hector. Neither could have known it was Cutty Sark, and Britannia’s log read with great amazement, “Sailing ship overhauled and passed us!”

In January 2006, letters written by Clarence Ray (apprentice on board the Cutty Sark in 1894) were brought to light by Dick Ray, his great-nephew. This important archive reveals how a fifteen year old boy lived and worked alongside his shipmates. In particular, he writes to his mother about the food on board the ship (including the delights of "Salt Tram Horse", "Leu Pie" and "Junk and Spuds"), dodging Captain Woodget's vicious collie-dogs, how the ship was swamped by the sea in bad weather and his duties, which included rowing the Master ashore for picnics, while the ship was in harbour.

As steam-ships moved further into the wool trade in the 1890s, the Cutty Sark began to make less money for her owner. After the ship returned to the UK from Brisbane in 1895, Jock Willis sold her to a Portuguese firm, J. Ferreira & Co. for £2,100. Woodget transferred to the Coldinghame, and the Cutty Sark left British ownership.

1895-1922: The Portuguese Years

The Ferreira at Birkenhead, about 1910

After being sold to J. Ferreira & Co. Cutty Sark was renamed the Ferreira. Reminiscent of her days in the late 1870s and early 1880s, Ferreira tramped various cargoes mainly between Portugal and her empire, and was a regular visitor to Rio, New Orleans, Mozambique, Angola and the UK. In the twentieth century she traded regularly between Oporto, Rio, New Orleans and Lisbon, and her crew claimed she was still capable of doing sixteen knots.

In October 1915 Portugal declared war on Germany which meant that the ship was in constant danger of being sunk by enemy naval activity. She survived unscathed until May 1916, when the rolling of the ship in bad weather led to the dismasting of the main mast and everything above the fore lowermast and the mizzen top-masts. Badly damaged, Ferreira was towed into port, arriving at Table Bay, South Africa. The cost and rarity of adequate masts and yards due to the war meant that she was converted into a barquentine (fore and aft rig) over an eighteen month period at Cape Town.

By January 1922 Ferreira ran into a Channel gale, and the captain put into Falmouth harbour to repair the damage. Wilfred Dowman, a retired windjammer skipper and owner of the training ship Lady of Avenel, saw the ship and set out to buy her. However, she returned to Lisbon without further mishap and was sold to a new Portuguese owner who changed her name to Maria do Amparo. But Dowman still wanted the ship, and at a price of £3,750 (more than what she was worth even in 1895) it was brought back to Falmouth.

In 1923 her old name and nationality was restored; the Cutty Sark had returned to British ownership.

1922-1938: The Falmouth Years

A restored Cutty Sark in Falmouth harbour, around 1924

After saving the Cutty Sark for the nation, Wilfred Dowman restored the ship to a close approximation of her appearance as a tea and wool clipper. This was a considerable feat, due to the shortage of necessary materials caused by the First World War. She was also the first historic vessel since Drake’s Golden Hind in the sixteenth century to be opened to the public, and oral history interviews have revealed how boatmen used to take many visitors out to the ship.

The Cutty Sark was used as a cadet training ship, where half a dozen boys from different backgrounds would live on board and train for a career in either the Royal Navy or the Merchant Marine.

However, Captain Dowman died in 1936, and his widow decided that she was unable to maintain the ship at her own cost. Therefore, the Cutty Sark was sold to the Incorporated Thames Nautical Training College, Greenhithe, and left Falmouth in 1938 accompanied by cheers from well-wishers and hoots from vessels in the harbour. This was the last time that she went to sea.

1938-1954: The Years

Cutty Sark alongside HMS Worcester, Greenhithe, around 1938

In 1938, the Cutty Sark arrived in Greenhithe, Kent, as an auxiliary vessel for the cadet training ship HMS Worcester. The ship continued her role in training officers for service in the Royal and Merchant Navies, which was soon to be vital with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.

In her early days at Kent, the ship was regularly used for sail-training drill and was lovingly maintained by cadets who were inspired by the ship’s record-breaking history. However, by the early 1950s, the College acquired a newer training vessel and were unwilling to keep the Cutty Sark. A new home had to be found.

In 1951, the ship was sent to London, to be moored in the Thames as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations. Returning to Greenhithe, it was not long before her plight became noticed by those determined to save her from the scrap-yard.

The Cutty Sark Society was formed by Frank Carr, Director of the National Maritime Museum, and patronised by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. In a special ceremony, just before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip took possession of Cutty Sark on behalf of the the society.

1954 - date: The Greenwich Years

In December 1954, in an event of such significance it was captured by BBC cameras, the Cutty Sark was towed into a specially constructed dry dock at Greenwich. Three years of painstaking restoration work followed, taking the ship back to her tea clipper appearance. She has remained in Greenwich, in her dry-dock, to this day.
Since her official opening in 1957 by HM The Queen (broadcast live on the BBC), Cutty Sark has been visited by over 15 million people from all over the world. Now, over 135 years after her launch (long since outliving her life expectancy of just 30 years), she is in urgent need of conservation. Keep checking the website for updates on the Cutty Sark Conservation Project, and from Spring 2007, a temporary visitor facility will be open, explaining why we are conserving the ship and the process of conservation.

Why is the ship called the Cutty Sark? The Burns Story

Painting of Tam O'Shanter. Nannie (left) is wearing her"cutty sark"
There is an old Scottish legend that was later turned into a story by Robert Burns. This story is about a farmer called Tam O'Shanter.
It was very late on a dark and stormy night when Tam, who had been to Market to sell his wares and had called at the local inn afterwards for a few drinks, began his journey home. Tam was riding his old mare Meg down a lonely road, when he drew close to the church at Kirk Alloway.
Through the cold night air he heard a strange and scary sound, and as he looked into the night sky he saw the glare of fire!
There, in the churchyard, dancing around a huge bonfire was a coven of witches and warlocks. Tam sat on his horse, rigid with terror! The witches danced on and Tam noticed that one of the hags was younger and more beautiful than the others. Her name was Nannie, but Tam didn't know this; all she was wearing was a short petticoat so he called her 'cutty sark', which is an old regional Scottish name for this garment.
Well, the dancing became wilder and wilder and Tam became more and more engrossed. At last, he could bear the suspense no longer and he shouted out,
"Weel done 'cutty sark'!"
With a flash the bonfire went out, and a soul-tearing howl went up from the witches and warlocks, as they began to race towards Tam, desperate to get to this mortal who had ruined their revelry.
Poor Tam. He was in fear of his life, and for a moment just sat there, but after a few seconds that seemed like lifetimes, he managed to spur Meg on, in a desperate race to save his life.
Now, witches cannot cross running water, and fortunately for Tam, the river Doon was nearby. He set Meg galloping madly towards the bridge, with the witches in hot pursuit.
Nannie, being younger and faster than the rest, was the closest to him, and was reaching out to grab Meg’s tail, just as the mare reached the bridge.
Luckily for Tam (although not so for Meg), the horse's tail came away in Nannie's hand just as the mare galloped over the bridge. Tam was saved! The witches and warlocks stood on the river-bank cursing and screaming at Tam who had had a very narrow escape.
This was the story that inspired the naming of the Cutty Sark. Although we do not know why the name was chosen, Jock Willis was a well-read man who enjoyed poetry. During his time as a ship's captain, he would read French novels in his cabin. He also named one of his other ships the Hallowe'en, the title of another Burns poem. Although "cutty sark" was a little unusual, it certainly suits a sleek, swift tea clipper, giving her an air of magic and mystery.

A.R.A. FOURNIER

LA PERDIDA DEL A.R.A. "FOURNIER"

El Rastreador A.R.A. "Fournier", botado el 5 de agosto de 1939 fue construído en el Astillero "Sánchez y Cía." de la provincia de Buenos Aires, e incorporado a la Armada Argentina el 13 de octubre del año siguiente. Destinado a la Escuadrilla de Rastreo y Minado tenía su apostadero en la Base Naval de Puerto Belgrano, su primer comandante fue el Teniente de Navío Ernesto del Mármol.

El "Fournier" apoyó la Campaña Antártica 1942-43, operó con la Flota del Mar, fue buque de estación en Ushuaia, rescató en medio de grandes temporales al remolcador Olco y al velero chileno Cóndor, y en junio de 1947 llegó a la Base Antártica Decepción. En 1949, bajo el mando del Capitán de Corbeta Carlos Negri, sus tareas de rutina incluían el patrullado de los canales fueguinos, el apoyo a la Base Naval de Ushuaia y eventuales labores de salvataje. El 17 de septiembre de ese mismo año arribó al puerto de Río Gallegos, luego de haber recorrido los canales con dos distinguidos pasajeros: el Dr. Raúl Wernicke -prestigioso físico y químico, por entonces Decano de la Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria de la UBA- y su hijo Julio, estudiante de medicina, quienes iban en busca de especímenes exóticos de fauna marina austral.

El Fournier zarpó de Ushuaia a las 7.40 hs. del 21 de septiembre, dispuesto a internarse por el intrincado estrecho de Magallanes, pasar por territorio chileno y regresar a Ushuaia. Ese mismo día, a las 16.30 hs., sus tripulantes comunicaron por radiotelégrafo que estaban pasando frente al faro Punta Delgada, en la primera angostura del estrecho. En horas de la noche, cuando el buque cruzó frente al faro San Isidro, el pronóstico meteorológico no era favorable para la navegación: soplaban vientos del noroeste a una velocidad de 20 nudos, se anunciaban nevadas y chaparrones, la visibilidad era de 2 a 4 kilómetros y la temperatura estaba por debajo de los 0 grados. Llegadas las primeras horas de la mañana del 22 de septiembre de 1949 era imposible comunicarse con el Fournier desde la Base Naval de Ushuaia, por lo que al día siguiente se inició su búsqueda por agua y por aire, dificultada por las tempestades y la niebla constantes. Participaron en las operaciones de rastreo, entre otros, el transporte San Julián, el rastreador Spiro, los remolcadores Chiriguano y Sanavirón, el buque hidrográfico Bahía Blanca y la fragata Trinidad.

Finalmente, el 4 de octubre de ese mismo año los diarios del país anunciaron en primera plana el naufragio del Fournier en Punta Cono -accidente geográfico de la isla Dawson, localizada a 54° 10' de latitud S y 71° de longitud O y rodeada por canales de entre 450 y 530 metros de profundidad promedio-, a la entrada del canal San Gabriel, 60 millas al sur de la ciudad chilena de Punta Arenas.

 

Las circunstancias de su desaparición hacen suponer que el rastreador se hundió al chocar contra una piedra no marcada en la carta de navegación que abrió un surco en el casco de la nave e hizo que se anegaran los compartimentos, o que, en medio del temporal, una ola lo escoró sin darle tiempo a enderezarse. La tripulación del Fournier estaba integrada por 77 marinos. No hubo sobrevivientes y el casco quedó para siempre en el fondo del mar. Sólo fue posible rescatar los restos de algunos de los tripulantes, que fueron trasladados a Buenos Aires por la fragata Heroína, con su bandera a media asta. El servicio que la Armada y el gobierno argentinos ofrecieron a las víctimas encontradas sirvió de homenaje a todos los fallecidos en el trágico y misterioso accidente.

La pérdida del Fournier fue un verdadero duelo nacional, y en su memoria y en la de sus tripulantes y pasajeros se efectuaron numerosos actos oficiales y privados, entre ellos el lanzamiento, por parte de los aviones del Centro Universitario de Aviación, de ofrendas florales en las aguas del Río de la Plata en la esperanza de que llegaran a los lejanos canales fueguinos, y la plantación de 79 árboles formando la palabra "Fournier" a un costado de la autopista que se dirige al aeropuerto de Ezeiza.

Características de la Nave

• Buque tipo Rastreador.
• Eslora: 59 m.; Manga: 7,30 m.; Puntal: 3.50 m.; Calado medio: 2,27 m.; Tonelaje: 554 tns.
• Armamento original: 2 cañones de 101 mm.; 2 ametralladoras A.A. de 20 mm.; 2 ametralladoras a. A.A. de 7,65 mm. Equipos de cortado de minas (paravanes y rastras).
• Máquinas: 2 motores MAN Diesel de 2 ciclos, 2000 HP.
• Velocidad: Máxima: 16 nudos; Económica: 12 nudos.
• Combustible: Fuel-oil. Capacidad: 50 toneladas. Radio de acción: 3000 millas a 10 nudos.
• Tripulación: 70 hombres.

Cesar Fournier, un marino olvidado

En nuestra guerra de corso con el Imperio del Brasil (1826-1828) una personalidad se destaca con vigoroso relieve, la de Cesar Fournier, seguramente el más eficaz de nuestros corsarios.
No se conocen sus antecedentes anteriores a la guerra, pero a falta de biografía hablan sus hazañas de sólo dos años y la audacia de su genio.
Nació en Livorno, puerto de mar de la Toscana, perteneciendo su padre a la nobleza de Francia y exiliado en esa ciudad por razones políticas. Cuando tenía 36 años, Fournier adquirió una nave a la que llamó "La Cesar", y se hizo a la vela con destino a Buenos Aires donde llegó a fines de 1824.
En enero de 1826, el Gobernador de Buenos Aires, Gregorio de Las Heras, a cargo de las Relaciones Exteriores de la Provincias Unidas, autorizó el corso contra los buques y propiedades del Emperador del Brasil y sus súbditos. Las naves con patente de corso eran fletadas por particulares y así Cesar Fournier, comisionado por el comerciante Vicente Casares, participó intensamente en la acción corsaria contra Brasil con la barca Congreso, de larga actuación en la Escuadra de Brown, ahora con patente corsaria. En 1827 navega las costas brasileñas durante casi tres meses atacando al comercio en las aguas próximas a Salvador y Río de Janeiro, capturando alrededor de 24 presas, realizando desembarcos y hasta planeando la captura del Emperador Pedro I.
El gobierno nacional ascendió a Fournier al grado de Teniente Coronel y en enero de 1828 lo comisionó a Estados Unidos para adquirir naves. Ya en navegación de regreso a nuestro país, los tres buques que formaban una nueva escuadra, enfrentan un terrible temporal que hunde dos de ellos, pereciendo en estas circunstancias este notable marino.
El olvido y la ingratitud sobre la memoria de los marinos de entonces, también se ensañó con Fournier, al punto que el nombre de este recio hombre de mar es desconocido para los argentinos

El hundimiento del Fournier

Recomiendo la lectura de todo el artículo, este es un ejemplo de la clarividencia de Solari Parravicini, cuya visión podran cotejar con las historias oficiales y sacar sus propias conclusiones.

Rastreador "Fournier"

Relato de Solari Parravicini

"Una noche, éramos en mi taller varios amigos en amena charla", en un almuerzo amigo. "Éramos varios y uno de ellos dijo: “Experimento una rara sensación que no puedo explicarla, pero me angustia”.

Entonces, según los presentes, yo exclamé en fuerte grito:

¡Qué terrible! ¿Por qué mi compañero de cabina me mira con un desmesurado ojo abierto? ¿Por qué las almohadas y los objetos flotan contra el techo? ¿Por qué estoy bajo el agua salada del mar? ¡Oh! ¡Qué frío espantoso! ¿Por ello gritan hombres que no veo? Pero ya veo el fondo del mar en noche. ¿Por qué mi cuerpo está en la cama y camino la cubierta entre peces y hombres muertos?".

Alguien dice: "El barco se hundió, fue una explosión de los artefactos ocultos, fue imprevista y lo despedazó."

"El sabio que traía el artefacto con dos personas más, viajan en una chalupa con provisiones hacia la costa, pero morirán de frío; otra chalupa igual va, e igual perecerá.

“Estoy en el mar, estoy en la cabina, soy sin cuerpo, no sé quién soy, mas tengo manos que se crispan; y el que habló, prosigue nombrando en llamado a la tripulación”, “Apunten sus nombres para avisar a las familias, porque todos están ahogados. Nada sabrá nadie hasta dentro de tres días, será necesario que así sea y suceda”

Aquí desperté de un trance que no advertí. Estaba helado como los amigos. ¡Mi estudio olía a mar!

Tres días después los diarios de la mañana anunciaron el "Naufragio del Fournier"

Informe del Comandante Hugo Alsina Calderón sobre el naufragio del ARA Fournier

De Wikisource, la biblioteca libre.
Wikipedia


En el año 1949, las relaciones entre Chile y Argentina se mantenían dentro de lo que era considerado normal en esos años, es decir dentro de una fría formalidad. La zona austral de nuestro país se encontraba bastante descuidada por los sucesivos gobiernos chilenos y eran frecuentes las incursiones de naves de guerra argentinas en los canales fueguinos chilenos, para llegar a Ushuaia, en el Canal del Beagle.

A mediados de septiembre de ese año, el patrullero Lautaro regresaba a su base en Punta Arenas, después de una comisión de reabastecimiento de faros en la parte oriental del estrecho de Magallanes. Al atracar al muelle, llamó la atención que el propio Almirante, Comandante en Jefe de la III Zona Naval, estuviese, en persona, esperando a la pequeña nave, junto a dos camiones cargados con víveres y elementos de auxilio y rescate. El Almirante subió rápido a bordo y se reunió con el Comandante en su camarote: ... ¿Qué pasaba? Poco después se supo. Una nave de guerra argentina, el aviso Fournier, había zarpado hacia una semana desde Puerto Belgrano, en la parte argentina de la Patagonia, con destino a Ushuaia y no se tenían noticias de él y la Armada de ese país pedia auxilio para encontrarlo.

La misión asignada al Lautaro era aprovisionarse y zarpar de inmediato en busca del buque perdido, lo que se hizo en el brevísimo lapso de tan sólo una hora, sin tener tiempo la tripulación de ir a sus casas o siquiera avisar a sus familias de las cuales ya estaban ausentes largos dias.

Todas las consultas hechas a las autoridades navales argentinas, sobre la ruta que se suponía que habría debido seguir el buque, fueron infructuosas. Nadie decía nada. Ni siquiera informaron si es que el buque había dado alguna posición después del zarpe. La Armada Argentina estaba hermética.

El zarpe del Lautaro fue tan rápido y urgente, que apenas alejados algunas millas del puerto, el buque paró sus máquinas y todos los oficiales, 3 en total, nos reunimos para evaluar la situación, analizar las alternativas y determinar un plan de rebusca bien concebido. Este análisis de la situación dio el siguiente resultado: la ruta desde puerto Belgrano hasta cabo Dungeness, en la boca oriental del estrecho de Magallanes era una sola y bordeaba la costa argentina, por lo que no se justificaba un pedido de auxilio si el siniestro se hubiera producido en esa parte.

Desde la latitud de punta Dungeness, el Comandante del Fournier pudo tomar dos rutas: una interior, por el estrecho de Magallanes, siguiendo los canales Magdalena, Balleneros y Canal del Beagle, hasta Ushuaia, y la otra, la ruta oceánica, bordeando por el Este de la isla grande de [[Tierra del Fuego; estrecho Le Maire entre la Isla de los Estados y la isla grande y Canal Beagle Oriental, hasta Ushuaia.

Se concluyó que lo más probable era que hubiera seguido la ruta interior. Como el Lautaro acababa de aprovisionar todos los faros del sector oriental del Estrecho, desde Punta Arenas hasta el faro Punta Dungeness, sin encontrar ninguna novedad y como además en esa zona existen numerosos faros y estancias con pobladores a los que nada pasa inadvertido, se descartó la posibilidad de encontrar la nave perdida, en esa zona. Por lo anterior, y resuelta ya la idea de maniobra a seguir, el Lautaro puso proa al sur, para explorar ambas orillas del Estrecho de Magallanes entre Punta Arenas y el faro Anxious, a la entrada del Canal Magdalena.

En los siguientes dias se continuó la exploración de los canales Balleneros; O'Brien, paso Timbales y Brazo Norweste del Canal Beagle, hasta la isla del Diablo, zona bien conocida por la tripulación del patrullero, pues desde su llegada, el año anterior, había hecho varios viajes a la Isla Navarino, donde comenzaba a nacer Puerto Williams.

Los dias pasaban y no aparecía ninguna pista que permitiera dar con la nave perdida. Se exploraron todas las salidas desde los canales al océano, tales como bahía Desolada, bahía Cook y ... nada. En forma muy inusual, a medida que el Lautaro avanzaba por el estrecho de Magallanes, iba encontrándose con buques de guerra argentinos, -algunos fondeados y otros navegando-. Al ser interrogados, pedían autorización y se unían al Lautaro, con lo que se fue conformando una verdadera flotilla que comenzó con tres naves, llegando a juntar un total de 8.

El Lautaro tomó el control de la operación de rebusca y distribuyó las zonas de exploración de acuerdo a las condiciones marineras de cada nave. Así pasaron varios dias más -14 desde el zarpe de Punta Arenas-sin que se hubiera encontrado el menor indicio del buque perdido. Es difícil describir la enorme frustración que se experimenta en tales casos. No es frecuente que una nave con 69 tripulantes a bordo desaparezca sin dejar ningún rastro. Todo lo que se podía hacer era esperar ayuda divina ... y la ayuda, ¡por fin llegó!

Muy desmoralizados, los 5 buques de la flotilla, el Lautaro y 4 naves argentinas, fondearon ese anochecer en puerto Morris. Al comentar los sucesos del dia, antes de planificar el trabajo para el día siguiente, en reunión de Comandantes con sus Oficiales de Operaciones, el Comandante del buque argentino Spiro, gemelo del Fournier, sorprendido comentó que navegando frente a caleta Zig-Zag, a la altura de puerto Cono, -a la entrada del canal Gabriel-, había visto a un poblador tan despistado, que en su bote tenía izada la Bandera de Chile al revés, es decir con la estrella hacia abajo y el color rojo hacia arriba.

Los chilenos saltamos en el acto y le explicamos al argentino que esa acción del poblador no era descuido ni ignorancia, sino que al izar la bandera en esa forma el hombre estaba pidiendo auxilio. Como la noche estaba ya muy avanzada y el tiempo tampoco era bueno, se acordó que los zarpes del día siguiente se harían una hora más temprano y que el Spiro se dirigiría de inmediato a Caleta Zig-Zag, para ver qué es lo que requería el poblador, lo que informaría de inmediato a todos los buques de la flotilla. Esta fue la primera señal útil que se obtuvo para empezar a desentrañar el misterio, hasta ahora insoluble, de un barco perdido sin dejar rastro. Aún no comenzaba a amanecer cuando los buques tocaron repetido y zarparon a sus zonas asignadas de rebusca.

El Spiro se dirigió a todo andar a caleta Zig-Zag, donde fondeó y envió un bote a tierra al mando de un Teniente. En tierra el poblador, hijo de chilote y yagana, le informó que unos 20 días atrás, había visto pasar un bote, llevado por la corriente. Echó su chalana al agua y lo alcanzó, encontrando dentro de él a dos cadáveres de marinos. Remolcó el bote hasta la orilla y para evitar que los cuerpos fuesen comidos por los perros, procedió a enterrarlos en la playa de arena y al ver pasar las naves frente a su casa, les izó la bandera al revés para pedir auxilio. El velo que cubría el enigmático episodio empezó a descorrerse. El Spiro llamó por radio al resto de los buques y todos concurrimos velozmente al lugar del hallazgo.

La noticia fue transmitida a la III Zona Naval y de ahí a las autoridades navales argentinas, las que ordenaron el despacho de tres naves más, para proseguir la búsqueda, entre ellos una nave de la Flota de Mar. Era un hecho que no había sobrevivientes; que el Fournier había violado la soberanía chilena entrando sin permiso a sus aguas interiores, y que se había hundido totalmente en un punto cercano a caleta Zig-Zag, en el llamado seno Magdalena. El área de rebusca se reducía ahora a una de 20 por 25 millas solamente, lo que facilitaba mucho nuestro trabajo.

La III Zona Naval pidió apoyo aéreo al mando de la Fuerza Aérea de Chile en Punta Arenas, el que dispuso la instalación de una cámara filmadora en un avión de caza A-24 para fotografiar toda la costa en busca de restos o de más cadáveres. Dos naves argentinas fueron enviadas a recorrer el canal Gabriel, el Cascada y el Seno Almirantazgo, en busca de restos náufragos. En la orilla del canal Gabriel fueron encontrados los cuerpos sin vida de dos marineros más, y como el invierno austral aún no terminaba y el clima en general continuaba frío y seco, los restos estaban en buen estado de conservación, pero con su piel ennegrecida, quemada por el frío.

En estas rebuscas el aviso Spiro tocó fondo en una roca y dado el estado de ansiedad y nerviosismo de su tripulación, el buque fue abandonado por algunos minutos. Al comprobarse que el buque no se hundía, la tripulación volvió a bordo y el buque flotó con la marea. Otra de las naves argentinas, el buque hidrográfico Bahía Blanca también chocó con una roca, pero la reacción de su tripulación fue menos dramática.

La base de la FACH, en bahía Catalina, llamó por telefonía al patrullero Lautaro y le comunicó que una vez revelada la película había aparecido una imagen, algo difusa, que parecía ser una balsa con varias figuras humanas en su interior. Dada la premura con que se había hecho la filmación y lo precario del sistema, informaban que no les era posible ubicar con exactitud el lugar de este nuevo hallazgo.

Utilizando un método poco científico pero efectivo, el Lautaro zarpó y se ubicó frente a un punto conocido, donde se iniciaba la filmación, y desde allí navegó la costa siguiendo una ruta paralela a la que había hecho el avión, comparando los accidentes de la costa con las imágenes de la película. El método era lento pero seguro, faltaba alrededor de una hora para llegar a la probable ubicación de la balsa, cuando se agotó la luz diurna. La expectación era tan grande que la rebusca no se suspendió, continuándose con la luz del proyector del buque. Al llegar al punto estimado, se mandó a tierra una chalupa ballenera, a cargo de un Teniente.

La noche estaba clara, había luna llena pero negros nubarrones la cubrían por momentos, dándole al escenario un macabro dramatismo. El teniente, a su regreso, muy emocionado, relató un hallazgo dantesco. A unos 20 m de la playa, medio iluminada por la luz azuleja del proyector apareció ante sus ojos un cuadro terrible: una balsa con cinco cuerpos sentados en la borda, con los pies hacia adentro, abrazados y acurrucados unos contra otros. Todos llevaban capotes o gruesas ropas de abrigo. La piel de todos ellos estaba ennegrecida por efecto del intenso frio. Era evidente que murieron antes de llegar a la orilla; la causa: el frío austral.

El traslado de los restos mortales de estos marinos fue largo y penoso. Fueron embarcados en una chalupa y llevados a bordo del Lautaro, donde fueron colocados respetuosamente en toldilla, cubiertos con pabellones chilenos, excepto el Comandante, que fue cubierto con la única Bandera de Argentina existente a bordo.

Una primera identificación, por sus prendas e insignias, indicó que se trataba del Comandante de la nave, su Segundo Comandante, el Oficial de Guardia, un Sargento enfermero y un Cabo, posiblemente el timonel de guardia.

Todos los relojes marcaban la misma hora, las 5 h y 25 min, lo que nos hace suponer que a esa hora se produjo el naufragio o que por lo menos a esa hora los hombres cayeron al agua.

Sin duda el accidente fue repentino y su desenlace rápido, ya que el buque no tuvo tiempo para lanzar un S.O.S. marítimo.

El día del naufragio fue también determinado y fue el mismo día en que el chilote encontró el bote con los dos primeros cadáveres. Lo anterior coincide con un avistamiento nocturno que comunicó el faro de punta Delgada, en la primera angostura del Estrecho de Magallanes, informando el paso de un buque oscurecido y que no respondió a las llamadas de identificación que se le ordenaron. Con todos estos datos sólo faltaba identificar el lugar exacto del naufragio y su causa.

La III Zona Naval envió a la barcaza Isaza a puerto Morris con un grupo de expertos en identificación y 9 ataúdes para trasladar los restos de los náufragos fallecidos a Punta Arenas y luego repatriarlos a Argentina. La rebusca continuó diez días más y cuando el tiempo mejoró, se solicitó exploración aérea, la que ahora se efectuó con un hidroavión Catalina, el que tras varias horas de vuelo avistó una mancha de petróleo que desaparecía con el oleaje y el viento y que reaparecía con la calma, en el mismo sitio.

No cabía duda, bajo esa mancha y a 250 m de profundidad se encontraba el casco del infortunado Fournier y buena parte de su tripulación. Ahora sólo faltaba determinar la causa del accidente. El Fournier era una nave tipo "aviso", buque ligero de poco tonelaje, de casco fino y alto, de poca manga, lo que lo hacía un barco "celoso", de poca estabilidad transversal. Además el buque venía con bastante carga en cubierta, lo que aumentaba su inestabilidad.

El informe obtenido de las anotaciones en el bitácora del Lautaro, coincidentes con los registros del Servicio Meteorológico de Punta Arenas, indicaban que ese día hubo un fuerte temporal de viento del norweste en esa parte del estrecho de Magallanes, y nuestra experiencia nos indicaba que en el seno Magdalena -lugar del accidente-, con esos vientos, el mar se torna excepcionalmente violento debido a la configuración de la costa y de los cerros que encajonan el viento. Cerca del lugar del naufragio, existe un bajo fondo de 7 m. En bajamar el Fournier calaba unos tres metros y medio, pero con un oleaje fuerte, como el de esa siniestra noche de tormenta, en una cabezada dura bien pudo haber golpeado su casco en la roca y haber sufrido una avería mayor que causara su hundimiento. Esta última hipótesis, aunque posible, fue descartada, ya que una nave, por muy grande que sea la vía de agua, tarda algunos minutos en hundirse y da tiempo suficiente para transmitir una señal de auxilio, lo que en este caso no ocurrió.

El análisis completo, documentado y ponderado, concluyó en que el aviso Fournier se dio vuelta de campana por la banda de babor, golpeado por una sucesión de olas de gran tamaño, generadas por la fuerte tormenta del noroeste, en el seno Magdalena, peligro conocido por los marinos chilenos que navegan esas aguas, pero ignorado por los infortunados argentinos. Al volcarse la nave, sólo pudieron saltar o cayeron al mar los hombres que iban de guardia en el puente y que fueron los encontrados en la balsa; algunos tripulantes que estaban en pie a esa hora pudieron echar un bote al agua, que fue el encontrado por el poblador de Caleta Zig-Zag, más los otros que cayeron al agua y que fueron encontrados en el canal Gabriel, suman 9, de los 60 tripulantes restantes no se encontró nada, a pesar de una meticulosa rebusca efectuada por naves chilenas y argentinas durante unos 10 dias. Solo se encontraron restos de la carga que iba en cubierta y algunos elementos de la estructura del buque, semidestrozados por la fuerza de la olas.

Mientras se efectuaba la rebusca final, se desató otro temporal de gran intensidad. El Lautaro aprovechó para hacer una interesante experiencia: lanzó al agua una balsa similar a las del Fournier, con un peso equivalente al de las 5 personas, en el supuesto lugar del hundimiento, para estudiar su comportamiento. Esta balsa demoró una hora y media en llegar a la costa y arribó a un punto muy cercano del que se encontró la balsa del Fournier. Esto terminó por corroborar toda la hipótesis del naufragio, como también el hecho de que todos los tripulantes cuyos restos fueron encontrados, cayeron al mar y que después se subieron a la balsa y al bote, donde murieron de frió, en menos de 90 minutos, por el enfriamiento resultante del efecto de la evaporación del agua de sus ropas, causado por el viento.

En el intertanto, la Prensa escrita, tanto chilena como argentina, cubria las noticias del naufragio a grandes titulares. No faltaron las especulaciones ... el aspecto ennegrecido de la piel de los cuerpos encontrados se habría debido a la explosión de una bomba atómica que trasladaba el Fournier hasta Ushuaia. Cabe recordar que en esa época Argentina anunciaba importantes experimentos atómicos -Proyecto Huemul- en Lago Nahuel Huapi, cerca de Bariloche.

Primó la cordura y esta audaz suposición fue descartada. La esforzada labor de los buques chilenos fue ampliamente reconocida por la armada y gobierno argentinos, tanto que su Presidente, Juan Domingo Perón, extendió una invitación especial para que el patrullero Lautaro fuera a Buenos Aires a recibir los agradecimientos del pueblo argentino por un trabajo sin descanso e ininterrumpido de más de un mes, en una zona inhóspita y de clima muy duro, sin volver a sus hogares que se encontraban a pocas millas de distancia.

El gobierno chileno declinó la invitación. No se podía dejar de lado el hecho de que el accidente se había producido mientras se llevaba a cabo una acción no autorizada por parte de la Armada Argentina. Pese a lo anterior, el Gobierno argentino, por intermedio de su Armada, decidió condecorar a los oficiales y algunos tripulantes del patrullero Lautaro, distinción que se entregó, tiempo más tarde, en la Embajada Argentina en Santiago de Chile.

Este relato está basado en hechos reales y auténticos, en los cuales su autor participó como 2° Comandante y Oficial de Operaciones del patrullero Lautaro, con el grado de Teniente 2°.

Patrullero "Lautaro"

"FOURNIER"

Tipo: Rastreador Año de referencia: 1940 Otros nombres: Característica: "M-5".

Lugar de construcción: Astillero "Sánchez y Cía.", de San Fernando, provincia de Buenos Aires. Forma de adquisición: Contrato de construcción de unidades gemelas, a realizarse en astilleros privados y de! Ministerio de Marina. Datos del buque: Gemelo del "Bouchard".

HISTORIAL

Botado el 5 de agosto de 1939.

1940
Incorporado a la Armada el 13 de octubre de 1940, día en que se afirma el pabellón argentino. Su pabellón de combate es obsequiado por la Escuela Normal Nacional de San Fernando. Se lo incorpora a la Escuadrilla de Rastreo y Minado de la Base Naval de Puerto Belgrano. Su primer comandante es el Teniente de Navio O. Ernesto del Mármol.

1941
Este año su comandante es el Teniente de Navio D. Alberto J. Frasch. En julio lo toma el Teniente de Navio D. Osear A. Baisi. Se mantiene en aguas de la B N. P. B.. cumpliendo las ejercitaciones previstas con la Flota de Mar.

1942
El comando lo ejerce el Teniente de Navio D Oscar Baisi. En igual orgánica y apostadero que el año anterior. De julio a agosto de estación en Ushuaia. Da apoyo a la Campaña Antartica del verano 1942/43.

1943
El comando lo toma el Teniente de Navio D. Alberto J. Frasch. quien lo entrega en noviembre al Teniente de Navio D. Luis García. Entre enero y marzo es buque de estación en Ushuaia. Se mantiene en aguas de la B. N. P. B. v opera con la Flota de Mar.

1944
Permanece en la orgánica, apostadero v tareas que en años anteriores. Hasta agosto el comando es desempeñado por el Teniente García, quien en ese mes lo entrega al Teniente de Navio D. Rodolfo N. M. Panzarini. Entre agosto v octubre opera en el Sur. como buque de estación en Ushuaia. Se mantiene asignado a la B. N. P. B.

1945
El comando es ejercido por el Teniente de Navio Carlos A. Bourel. Entre abril v mayo opera en los canales del Su" como buque de estación de Tierra del Fuego. Se mantiene en la orgánica de la Fuerza de Rastreo v Minado de la B. N. P. B.. y opera con la Flota de Mar en las ejercitaciones del año. en aguas del Atlántico Sur.

1946
De estación en Ushuaia en junio/julio. Auxilia al remolcador "Oleo" y lo lleva a remolque hasta la B. N. P. B.. en medio de un gran temporal, en julio. Participa del salvataje del velero chileno "Cóndor". El comando es ejercido por el Capitán de Corbeta D. Francisco Janzen Vadillo. Interviene en el operativo conjunto con el Ejército en La Paz, en octubre, regresando luego a su apostadero de la B. N. P. B.

1947
El comando es ejercido por el Capitán de Corbeta D, Emilio L. Díaz. En mayo es destacado a LTshuaia. y a continuación realiza un viaje a la Antártida llegando a Decepción a principios de junio. Regresa a la B. N. P. B. en julio y es destacado a Asunción del Paraguay en agosto, regresando a su apostadero en octubre.

1948
El comando lo ejerce el Capitán de Corbeta D. Domingo J. Luis. En abril va a la Antártida. En julio viene a Buenos Aires, con las unidades de la Escuadra de Mar, para los festejos patrios. En noviembre es designado su comandante el Capitán de Corbeta D. Jorge E. Suárez de la Madrid, pero no se hace cargo del mismo. En diciembre se designa comandante al Capitán de Corbeta D. Armando H. Llambi. Integra la División Rastreadores de la Zona Naval Marítima, con asiento en la Base Naval de Puerto Belgrano.

1949
El Capitán Llambi es relevado por el Capitán de Corbeta D. Carlos A. Negri. quien se hace cargo del comando en marzo. Destacado como buque de estación en Ushuaia, zarpa de su apostadero de la B. N. P. B. en agosto, con destino a las tareas de rutina de patrullado de los canales fueguinos, apoyo a la Base Nava] de Ushuaia, v eventuales tareas de salvataje.

Pérdida del buque

Zarpa al Sur, y se pierde el contacto con él a partir del 22 de septiembre, y se lo da por perdida en dicha fecha, en las proximidades de Punta Cono, a la entrada del canal San Gabriel, a 60 millas al Sur de Punta Arenas (Chile).

Se inicia de inmediato la búsqueda, tanto del buque como de los posibles sobrevivientes, con todos los elementos disponibles, participando además en ella unidades navales de la Armada chilena. Los resultados de esta búsqueda son poco tranquilizadores, y pronto se halla una embarcación, con los cadáveres del comandante y segundo comandante del buque, así también como del personal que se hallaba en el puente de mando al momento de la catástrofe. Las circunstancias hacen suponer, con justeza. que el buque se hundió al chocar con una piedra no marcada en la carta, en medio de un temporal, hundiéndose inmediatamente, y pudiendo abandonarlo solamente los tripulantes que se encontraban en ese momento en el puente de navegación. El resto de ellos, v cuyos cadáveres guarda celosamente el mar, debió fallecer en los sollados y camarotes del buque, y en sus puestos en máquinas, y debió de ser tan súbito el hundimiento, que no dio tiempo a efectuar el abandono de la nave.

Los cadáveres encontrados, correspondieron a los siguientes: Comandante: Capitán de Corbeta D. Carlos A. Negri. 2º comandante: Teniente de Fragata D. Luis H. Lestani. Suboficiales: 2º de Mar. Ramón Chávez: 2° Electricista, Ernesto P. Rodríguez; Cabo Principal Señalero, Juan C. Luca; Marinero 1º Torpedísta, Manuel González; Marinero 1° Electricista, Eliberto Oscar Bulo; Marinero 1º Señalero, Valerio F. Gaicano y Marinero 2º Maquinista, Miguel Lucena.

También se encontró el cadáver del naturalista argentino D. Raúl Wernicke, quien viajaba a bordo, y que era suegro del comandante, v de su joven hijo, el joven Julio Wernicke, ambos recorrian el Sur (el hijo como ayudante) en procura de especimenes de fauna marina.

El resto del personal, fallecido en las circunstancias aludidas, fue el siguiente:

Guardiamarina D. José Daniel Lamas; Guardiamarina (Ingeniero Maquinista) D. Osvaldo R. Moutin.
Suboficiales: Ambrosio Díaz: Francisco C. Castro; Felipe D. Maraño: Agustín Ortiz; Guido Bacci.
Cabos: Sixto Capdevila; Fausto A. Mercado; Miguel Carbone; Rafael T. Lofiego; Miguel A. Ferreyra; Joriíe E. Rivera; Jacinto A. Tejada; Alberto Campofreda; Osear Monti; Guillermo Rocco; Paulino Marcos; Horacio Robles; Juan F. Koch; Ernesto R. Yoller; Ovidio Strumia; Carlos Osores: Ricardo Altamirano: Eduardo Rodríguez; Roberto S. Roca; Isaac M. Belsky; Enrique A. Bloch. Marineros: Rubén Gastaud; Eduardo Palacio: Alejandro Romero; Pedro Villa-real; José L. Cartería; Concepción Mendoza; Rene Chanampa; Elio Coria; Humberto Medina; Afilio Arce; Demingo L. Gatti; Osear A. Panno: Ángel Quiroz; Ramón A. Góbez; Antonio Batista; Prudencio Romero; Antonio R. Urquiza; Rafael Barrera; Ángel Sarachi; Aldo Dezulcvich; Osvaldo A. J. Hillar; Eduardo J. Scopetta; Víctor A. Tejada; Ramón A. Cañete; Carlos A. Barrasa; Policarpo Be-nítez; Mario A. González; Héctor R. Carballada; Milton H. Silva; Jorge Misael Peralta; Leandro N. Pelozo; Nicolás Bertolla. Conscripto 1927 Abraham Bornsz-tajn; Conscripto 1928 Sebastián Tores.

La pérdida del "Fournier" constituvó un verdadero duelo nacional, y en su memoria, así como en la de sus tripulantes se efectuaron numerosos actos oficiales y privados, donde se puso de manifiesto la simpatía del pueblo hacia la Marina. De todos ellos, tal vez por la constante oración hacia esos compañeros perdidos en la misión de paz que llevaban, destacamos el bosque con tantos árboles como tripulantes v pasaje del "Fournier", y formando esta palabra, que se creara al costado de la autopista al Aeropuerto de Ezeiza (Provincia de Buenos Aires), y que hov, luego de casi quince años de iniciado, luce en verde el nombre del buque como homenaje permanente del pueblo argentino. (Nota del editor: Al 2008 sólo quedan algunos arboles en pie, señalando con dificultad algunas letras).

Es el 2º buque de la Armada con este nombre que recuerda a D. César Fournier, célebre corsario en las guerras de la Independencia y contra el Imperio.

Gemelos: Drummond M-2; Bouchard M-7, Robinson M-3; Granville M-4; Comodoro PyM-10; ParkerM-11, Seaver M-12, Spiro M-13, Fournier M .
Astilleros: B.N.Rio Santiago: Bouchard, Drummond, Granville, Spiro y Comodoro Py;Hansen y Puccini (luego Astarsa) el Robinson y Seaver; Astillero Sanchez el Parker.
CARACTERlSTlCAS GENERALES
Tipo: rastreadores	Año de construcción: 1937/1938
Tripulación: 62 hombres
DIMENSIONES
Desplazamiento standard: 450 toneladas.	Desplazamiento a plena carga: 520 toneladas.
Eslora total: 59,35 metros.	Manga: 7,30 metros
Calado máximo: 2,60 metros (9')
ARMAMENTO
2 cañones de 76 mm., dispuestos en torres individuales	2 canones antiaéreos de 20 mm
2 ametralladoras de 7,65 mm
MAQUINAS
Cantidad y clase: 2 motores Diesel Marca: M.A.N.	Potencia: 2.000 CVE
Hélices: 2	Capacidad y tipo de combustible: 50 tonel. de diesel oil
Velocidad máxima: 15 nudos	Radio de acción: 3.000 millas
lNFORMAClON COMPLEMENTARIA
Comenzados a construir entre 1935 y 1936. Fueron los primeros barcos de guerra modernos construidos en asti lleros argentinos. Fueron incorporados a la Marina de Guerra argentina entre los años 1937 y 1938.

Die "SEEADLER"

Der Seeadler

Durante la primera guerra mundial el navío Gladis Royal navegaba plácidamente rumbo a BSAS, cargado de excelente carbón ingles, surcaba las aguas solitario por que en aquella derrota no habia nada que temer de los u-boats alemanes, por otra parte estos no habian declarado la guerra total al comercio naviero ingles, las horas pasaban lentamente, y los marinos que no estaban en guardia tomaban sol sobre cubierta.Todo estaba en paz.

El vigia señalo un punto en el horizonte, las blancas velas lo delataron como un clipper, todos los veleros que aun surcaban los mares eran aliados o neutrales, Gran Bretaña gobernaba sobre el agua!

El alto mando de la marina de guerra alemana no cometeria la locura de tratar de quebrar el bloqueo con un barco tan lento pensaron los ingleses a bordo, no llevaba bandera pero que problema habia! seguro era amigo!

Hasta que estallo la tormenta el clipper giro rapidamente, de su costado bascularon planchas azomo un cañon que trono, y rapidamente se izo la bandera de la marina imperial alemana, el veterano capitan ingles no podia creer lo que veia, ordeno que subieran la "union jack" inmediatamente virar a babor y maquinas fondo, pero inmediatamente 2 proyectiles de 105 mm pasan silbando sobre el puente de mando, mientras un tercero pulveriza la caseta de control, parecia imposible, pero no, era un buque aleman disfrazado, un corsario.

Catorce triunfos ninguna victima



Vamos a contar la historia de este anacronico corsario, combatiente de los ultimos años de la gran guerra, que a lo largo de su carrera hundio a 3 mercantes y 11 veleros enemigos, con perdidas para el comercio aliado de 25 millones de dolares de esa epoca! y que pese a todo no causo ninguna victima mortal entre las dotaciones de los barcos que hundio.

La idea de utilizar un velero como corsario ya rondaba en las mentes de algunos miembros del estado mayor aleman de la kriegmarine, pues si aparte de tener que romper el bloqueo aliado era el aprovisionamiento de combustible, cosa que era solucionada con el uso de un velero

Conde Felix von Luckner

(Felix, Conde von Luckner; 1886-1966) Oficial de la Marina alemana, n. en Dresde y m. en Malmö, conocido por el sobrenombre de «El Diablo del Mar» por sus audaces singladuras durante la I Guerra Mundial. Participó en la batalla de Jutlandia como teniente de la Marina de Guerra imperial alemana. En 1916 asumió el mando del Seeadler, corsario disfrazado de pacífico velero, con el que consiguió atravesar el bloqueo inglés y, sin sufrir una sola baja, destruyó mercantes aliados por valor de más de 25000000 de dólares hasta ser capturado cerca de las islas Fiji en 1918. Persona no grata a los nazis durante la II Guerra Mundial, vivió, protegido por su popularidad, en Halle, donde en 1945 preparó la rendición de la ciudad a las tropas americanas.

Algunas caracteristicas tecnicas de corsario:

Shipyard: Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig
Laid down: Mid 1890
Launched: February 2, 1892
Commissioned: March 15, 1893
Fate: exploded at Wilhelmshaven April 19, 1917 while being used as a mine hulk
Struck: retired from active service January 1914
General Characteristics
Displacement: 1,630 tons; 1,864 tons fully loaded
Length: 82.6 m
Beam: 12.7 m
Draught: 4.42 m
Propulsion: 2 screws, 3 cyl. triple Expansion Engines, generating 2,888 shp
Speed: 16.9 knots
Range: 3,040 NM at 9 knots
Complement: 166
Armament: 8 rapid fire 10.5 cm (4.1") 35-calibre guns, 5 3.7 cm revolver guns, 2 35 cm torpedo tubes

Barcos que hundió


Las principales victimas del velero fueron logicamente sus pares del lado aliado, y se da el caso curioso de que en febrero de 1917 se detiene a un velero ingles, Luckner se da cuenta de en ese barco había navegado parte de de su juventud.

Allí antes de hundirlo encontró la litera donde tantas veces había dormido, y penetro en la cámara del capitán, en la que nunca se había atrevido a entrar.

En el timón todavía se leía, medio borrado por el tiempo su nombre grabado a cuchillo.
En contra de sus costumbres no presencio el hundimiento.

Se encerró en su camarote, tal vez para que sus hombres no le vieran llorar por una página perdida de su juventud.

La presa mas difícil y en cuya presa se ve claramente su astucia fue el vapor ingles Hongart, de 8600 tn armado con 2 piezas de 150mm, casi el doble de los que "calzaba" el Seeadler,

Al preguntarle la hora cronométrica no contesto y siguió su camino, como las piezas Krupp solo tenía un alcance efectivo de unos 4000 ms. era necesario si se le queria capturar que el vapor cambiara de rumbo.

Se había embarcado en Alemania un aparato productor de humo, que fue puesto inmediatamente en uso, mientras a bordo del Seeadler se prenden bengalas de humo para simular un incendio. El vapor ante este "teatral" accidente, se acerca al velero alemán, y cuando esta frente al él este iza la bandera de guerra y el guion encarnado de los corsarios, que junto a la driza lleva pintada una calavera blanca.
El velero dispara su pieza de 105 mm pero en el barco ingles no cunde el pánico, si no que por el contrario acelera las maquinas y los hombres empiezan a preparar las baterías de 150 mm, si los ingleses hubieran hecho a tiempo a poner en batería sus dos piezas ese hubiera resultado el fin del corsario, por lo que Luckner ordena a tres de sus hombres que suban a los palos con megáfonos, de golpe se rompe el silencio y en perfecto ingles se escucha "a los torpedos!!", Rapidas escenas de panico en el buque ingles y los hombres agitando toda la ropa blanca que tenian a mano, hasta el cocinero agita su delantal.
Una vez hundido el barco el capitan ingles charla con Luckner, asombrado por el engaño al ver las dos viejas piezas de 105 mm, se encoleriza, y suplica:"Por favor comandante no informe de esto es una verguenza para mi".


Buques hundidos por el Seeadler:

Gladys Royal...................... mercante..............................3628 tn
Lundi Island....................... mercante..............................4500 tn
Hongart............................ ...mercante..............................8500 tn
Carlos gauno V................... velero....................................2200 tn
Perce................................... velero.......................................368 tn
Antonin............................... velero ....................................3071 tn
Buenos aires....................... velero ................................... 1811 tn
Pinmore.............................. velero.....................................1983 tn
British yeoman...................velero.....................................1953 tn
La Rochefocauld.................velero.............. ......................2200 tn
Dupleix............................... velero.....................................2206 tn
A.B.Johnson........................ velero......................................529 tn
R.C.Slade............................ velero.......................................673 tn
Manila................................. velero.....................

El terreno más provechoso de caza fue sin dudas las costas frente a Brasil, allí en pocos meses hundios dos vapores y 7 veleros.

El 7 de marzo detiene y hunde al Rochefoucauld, de bandera francesa, cuyo capitán se lamenta ardientemente de que después de la guerra nunca más le dieran el mando de otro velero, puesto que imprudentemente no había hecho caso del consejo de los capitanes de otros dos veleros franceses, que anclados junto a él en el puerto de Valparaíso, habían esperado que el almirantazgo, les señalara las rutas seguras, por temor a los u-boot.
Luckner sonríe y les pregunta el nombre de los dos veleros anclados junto a el...desaparece un momento y vuelve con los dos capitanes de aquellos barcos hundidos, también por él, el francés grita de alegría, ya no será el único tonto de la flota.

Al cabo de varios meses de hacer presas, los entrepuentes del clipper están abarrotados. Y transborda a sus prisioneros al siguiente velero para enviarlos a tierra.
Pero, para que no lleguen demasiado pronto cierra sus mástiles, hasta dejarlos con pocas velas, así le dará tiempo a escapar, y pasar al pacifico, lo que lograra después de una dura lucha con los feroces vientos del otoño austral. Ya en el Mar Pacifico, la suerte cambia, solo capturara tres pequeñas goletas americanas, con cargamentos de poco valor.
Durante semanas y semanas, dan vueltas alrededor del ecuador, en las rutas oceánicas más frecuentes, pero nada.
El calor es terrible, el agua escasea y llega por fin, aparece el beri-beri a bordo, se impone una escala para que descanse la tripulación, embarcar alimentos frescos, y hacer guardia.
La isla elegida, es atolón Mompelia, del archipiélago de la sociedad. Allí, el 3 de agosto de 1917, cuando ya quedaba poco para terminar el aprovisionamiento del buque y zarpar otra vez hacia el atlántico, vieron que el mar se hinchaba a toda velocidad hacia ellos. Se corto inmediatamente la cadena del ancla , se intento arrancar el motor. Se inyecto aire comprimido, nada.
Desesperados, hacen girar los cilindros manualmente, nuevamente nada: La ola de más de 10 mts de altura levanto el velero, cuando, por fin demasiado tarde el motor arranca. El velero se levanta y, tomado de costado, es proyectado contra la superficie de coral.
Los mástiles y el castillos se desploman.El seeadler es ya una pura ruina.
Ya no volvera a navegar mas.Los ingleses no pudieron cazar nunca al corsario, solo los elementos pudieron contra el.Su fin, vino no por obra de los cañones de algun barco de la Navy, si no por un maremoto.Un barco con tanta suerte, solo podia perecer de esta manera a mano de los dioses, no a la de los hombres.En total, el corsario hundio mas de 30.000 tn, o sea unas 20 veces su propio toinelaje, y ademas, ostento otro record imbatido desde entonces: Fue el ultimo barco de guerra de vela que doblo el cabo de hornos, aunque le costo tres semanas y media de dura lucha, por el mal tiempo.

Algo del diario de Von Luckner volcado al libro Seeteufel

"el 2 de agosto, aproximadamente a las 9:30am, a punto de mandar un bote con quienes estaban autorizados a estar en tierra, vimos en el horizonte una ola que comenzo a desplazarse de una forma particular. ¿ Que era eso ? inicialmente asumimos que era una Fata Morgana, luego de algunos momentos nos dimos cuenta que este oleaje se acercaba mas y mas, al mismo tiempo creciendo en tamaño y velocidad. Era un maremoto causado por un terremoto submarino. Esta monstruosidad se acercaba cada vez mas, la nave estaba surcando la ola que le precedia. Podiamos contar los segundos que nos quedaban para intentar salvar la nave. Todos escuchabamos el sonido de los motores. Demasiado tarde!! La ola enfurecida, nos agarro por debajo, levanto la nave y la estrello contra los corales.
Los mastiles, la corona de nuestro barco, se rompieron en mil pedazos, grandes bloques de coral que pesaban mas de cien libras y grandes como barriles, se soltaron cuando impactamos el banco y fueron lanzados como granadas a la nave. Luego que la ola paso, alli se encontraba nuestro orgulloso "Seeadler", destrozado en mil pedazos y reducido a un naufragio en los corales.

Der Seeadler

La bandera del seeadler en el museo de Auckland

Félix von Luckner era el capitán de este buque corsario que, en la Primera Guerra Mundial hundió catorce cargueros de las fuerzas aliadas.
El SMS Seeadler paró en Mopelia porque la tripulación y los pasajeros presentaban síntomas de escorbuto, y buscaron una isla casi deshabitada para conseguir alimentos frescos (coco y pescado), Resulta que encalló en el arrecife mientras estaba fondeado cerca del paso, por fuera. La causa aún hoy se dicute, porque la versión del capitán sobre un enorme tsunami, parece bastante fantasiosa.
Perdido el barco, Von Lückner, acompañado de cinco de sus camaradas, navegó en un bote salvavidas hasta las Islas Cook. Allí fue hecho prisionero cuando se dirigía a Fiji.
El resto de sus hombres, que se habían quedado en Mopelia con los prisioneros americanos de los tres últimos cargueros detenidos, se apoderaron, a principios de septiembre, de una goleta llegada para la copra. Salieron en direccíon a Chile, pero encallaron al buscar un fondeo alrededor de la Isla de Pascua.
Von Luckner terminó la guerra como prisionero en Nueva Zelanda. Luego, escribió el relato de sus aventuras, e hizo ciclos de conferencias, donde contaba lo del tsunami.

Seeadler This vessel was the only sailing ship to be used as an Armed Merchant Raider, she carried a great deal of mystique that could be owed to her flamboyant Commanding Officer, Felix Graf von Luckner, also known as The Sea Devil. Should you enter into a discussion of this era with anyone with but a passing knowledge of these Raiders, it will always be von Luckner, who is remembered, and spoken about. Seeadler painting commissioned by the US Company W R Grace He was a past master at selling himself and his ship, although Seeadler achieved success, it was not the most successful Armed Raider of WW1, but if her Captain had lived in our present times, I am certain he would have been an exceptional Marketing Director! Providing coal for the German Armed Merchant Ships around the globe was a daunting task, thus the use of a sailing ship (fitted with a diesel auxiliary engine) would tend to alleviate this problem. However, the other side of the coin, was the fact that very few German Naval Officers were experienced in sail. To achieve success in this medium would hinge on first finding, and then selecting the right man, but, one such Naval Officer was von Luckner. Count Felix von Luckner, 1919, Naval Officer of Seadler 1916 - 1917 He had been born on the 9th. of June in 1881, and had run away to sea as a 12 year old, to serve as a cabin boy in the Russian full rigger Niobe. In pre war days he had sailed at Cowes in England aboard the Krupp yacht Germania, and had seen service in the American Golden Shore, a four masted schooner, and had also sailed in the British Pinmore in 1902, she was another four master. Further experience in sail was gained in the German Caesarea, and the Canadian schooner Flying Fish, thus he had a very reasonable grounding in the art of serving at sea under sail. Von Luckner had passed examinations for his Mate's ticket, and by 1908 had joined the steamer Petropolis, belonging to Hamburg-Sudamerikanisch, it was his intention to serve for nine months, and then volunteer to serve in the Imperial Navy for a year, and thence to gain his Naval Commission. He was finally called up for the Navy in February of 1912, and was sent to the gun boat Panther. During the early part of WW1 he was present at the Battle of Heliogoland Bight, and at Jutland he was in charge of a gun turret in the Dreadnought Kronprinz. It is reported that von Luckner's story telling abilities made him something of a favourite with Kaiser Wilhelm 11, so it was no great suprise that he was appointed Captain of the first sailing ship to be fitted out as a Raider, despite the fact that he was only thirty four years old, and that he had to overcome the raised objections of Senior Officers who thought they were more deserving of this command. Built on the Clyde in 1888, Pass of Balmaha was owned by the River Plate Shipping Company of New York, and in June of 1915, fully loaded with cotton bound for Archangel, she was stopped by a British patrol north west of Cape Wrath, a boarding party was put on board, and she was ordered to proceed into a Scottish port so that she could be examined. Pass of Balmaha But before this sailing ship could reach port, a German Submarine U-36, commanded by Kapitanleutnant Graefe seized her, put a Midshipman in command and sent her off to Cuxhaven, with the British boarding party still in her hold. At this stage the ship was named Walter, and the decision was made to convert her into an Armed Raider. Two 8.8 cm. guns were mounted and hidden behind hinged gunwhales, just aft and behind the forecastle, machine guns were also mountedon board. The ship known in Naval records as Seeadler or Sea Eagle, had a registered tonnage of 1,571, and fully loaded was 4,500 tons, she was 83 metres long with a 11.8 metre beam, and a draught of 5.5 metres, and under her deisel engine could make about 9 knots. Sails were her main means of propulation, and the force of any available wind would obviously determine her maximum speed at any given time. At this time in history, there were many sailing ships plying the world's oceans, and the large four masted barques carrying wheat from Australia to Europe still operated until about 1939. In seeking to disguise Seeadler as a similar Norwegian vessel Maleta. (during my research, I have found this ship sometimes spelt as Maletta, but have chosen to use the form most commonly used.) With typical German thoroughness prevailing, in von Luckner's cabin, pictures of both the King and Queen of Norway, plus King Edward V11 of England were all featured. Norwegian instruments such as a barometer and chronometer were also in evidence, and a number of his crew could speak Norwegian. A number of unforseen delays took place, and when the German Maleta was ready for sea, her true sister had sailed from Denmark, and all this planning came to nought. Another search of Lloyd's Register to come up with a suitable name brought to light, Carmoe, but no one seemed to know where she might be found, but at the last minute, a Norwegian newspaper revealed that the real vessel carrying that name had only recently been stopped and examined by British patrols, once again foiled. There is some evidence to suggest that von Luckner named his ship Irma, after his fiancee, but the name Hero seems to have been chosen, a Norwegian with a load of timber bound for Melbourne, Australia. Seeadler carrying false papers and a deliberately damaged log book, slipped out of the river Weser on the 21st of December 1916, skirted up the coast of Norway, to then sneak round the tip of Northern Scotland, and run free into the Atlantic. Within two days, von Luckner and his company of 6 Officers and 57 other men, were coping with a howling gale, at least it helped to explain the soaked state of his log book etc, should they be stopped by a British blockade ship, and subsequently boarded for a routine inspection. As part of the ploy to convince any British boarding party that his ship and crew were Norwegian, von Luckner had a slim young sailor masquerade as his wife, complete with a suitable blonde wig. Come Christmas Day 1916, Seeadler having battled the elements for three days was south west of Greenland, when out of the rain a large ship appeared, it turned out to be the British 15,000 ton Armed Merchant Cruiser, Avenger, she immediately signalled the sailing ship to heave to, and await its boat carrying an inspection party. All went well, and his ship's disguise proved successful, but at the last moment, as the two British Officers were about to leave the scene, von Luckner noticed with some trepidation that the Seeadler's propellor was very evident. His ship was purporting to only be a simple sailing vessel, so thinking and acting very quickly, von Luckner grabbed a rope and swung it towards the British boat, so that they could pull themselves forward. This distraction caused the Officers to focus their eyes on this rope, saving any embarrassment, and the propellor remained a secret. Now the timber deck cargo covering up the hatches was ditched over the side, and Seeadler assumed her true role as a German Raider. On the 9th of January 1917 von Luckner came upon a black hulled, single funeled steamer. He now hoisted a request for a time signal, not an uncommon proceedure from a sailing ship that had been out of sight of land for some time, and wished to fix her position. Many steamship Captains, having served their time in sail would welcome the opportunity to view close up a fine clipper ship under press of a full suit of sails. Then, too late, Seeadler would announce her true identity by running up the German Naval Ensign, and firing a warning shot to stop her intended victim. The ship in sight proved to be the 3,268 ton Gladys Royle, a British vessel loaded with coal, out of Cardiff and bound for Buenos Aires. A shot was fired across her bows, a second shot followed the first, then a third passed over the funnel, it was enough, and Gladys Royle quickly hove to, and a German boarding party laid and fired scuttling charges, and the ship slowly sank stern first. The crew were taken onboard Seeadler. The next day another steamship, unnamed, and not flying any flag, crossed ahead of Seeadler, whose question "What Ship?" remained unanswered, von Luckner now steered his ship across the steamer's bows. Under the International Rules of the Road at Sea, steam gives way to sail, but notwithstanding this rule, von Luvkner was forced to take avoiding action as the steamer simply ignored him. and steamed resolutely on. The German Ensign now fluttered to the masthead, and a shot was fired across the bows of this recalcitrant ship, but the Captain of the 3,095 British Lundy Island, remained stubborn, he reasoned that by steaming directly into the wind, he could outrun this German sailing ship beating up into the wind. Seeadler now took up this challenge seriously, and opened fire with real intent to stop her quarry, the funnel was pierced by a shell, one burst on deck, and a further two shells entered through the hull. The struggle was over, the steamer lowered boats and hove to, von Luckner ordered the British Captain to come onboard his ship, but he was totally ignored, so off went a German boarding party to investigate. It appears that British Lundy Island carried a cargo of sugar from Madagascar, it was thought that this was too valuable a cargo to quickly surrender to a mere sailing ship, hence the decision to try and outrun Seeadler. When the first shells struck home, the crew rushed to the boats leaving their Captain to take the wheel himself, but the rudder chain had been parted by an incoming shell, leaving the ship to wallow helplessly. Captain Bannister was left alone on board as his crew abandoned ship. Later, Bannister told von Luckner he had previously been captured by the German Raider, Mowe, and had been granted parole, which he had broken, he was thus not too keen on becoming a Prisoner of War for the second time. Von Luckner continued his journey southwards, and by the 21st. of January was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, level with both Brazil and West Africa. The French 2,199 ton, three masted barque Charles Gounod, loaded with corn for Bordeaux was intercepted and scuttled. From the Frenchman's Log Book, information was gleaned about sailing ships she had met, and their intended routes. It was necessary for a ship like Seeadler to seek out, and gather information of the whereabouts of possible victims, from whatever source she could, and captured documents from ships met, and sunk, proved invaluable. Von luckner's command, unlike her fellow Raider, Wolf, did not carry a seaplane that could extend her horizon. The ship's radio was not as advanced as this equipment had become by the time that the Raiders of WW2 were let loose on the world's oceans, to prey upon Merchant Ships carrying goods on outwards journeys to America, and the Empire, and essentials, particularly food stuffs on the return trip to Britain. On the 24th. of January, Perce, a small 364 ton three masted schooner from Canada was met, her crew including the Captain and his new bride were taken aboard Seeadler, and gunfire was used to quickly sink her. Another sailing ship was sighted on the 3rd. of February, and it proved to be the French four masted 3,071 ton Antonin loaded with saltpetre from Chile. Although Seeadler's diesel engine was not operating, she proved to be the faster ship under sail, and the Frenchman was very soon overhauled. Machine gun fire ruined her sails, she stopped, and hove to, her crew were taken aboard the Raider, and scuttling charges quickly sank this proud vessel. Now on the 9th. of February, an 1,811 ton sailing ship Buenos Ayres from Napoli, again loaded with Chilian saltpetre was met and despatched. Ten days later Seeadler sighted a four masted barque which immediately crammed on more sail, and started to draw away from the German, but now aided by the diesel auxiliary engine which was in working order again, the Raider commenced to gain on her target. When ordered to state her name, this ship responded with Pinmore, she was a 2,431 ton ship, her cargo, grain, her Captain, James Mullen. This British ship built on the Clyde in 1882 and registered in Greenock, Scotland, and now owned by Tridonic Limited, had, by coincidence been home for von Luckner, back in 1902 during his merchant ship days. The German Captain now took Pinmore into Rio de Janeiro for supplies, and according to his memoirs, he bandaged up his hand, so that he could avoid having to sign any customs documents as Captain Mullen. It is suggested that this claim, like many of the flamboyant von Luckner's yarns proved to be somewhat far fetched, as Captain Mullen was very well known in Rio. Eventually scuttling charges were used to sink this British ship. The next ship to be stopped was the Danish barque Viking, but as her cargo was untoward, she was released and allowed to proceed unmolested. On the 26th. of February, Leutnant Preiss sighted a ship looming out of the morning mist, after closing for 15 minutes, it proved to be the British 1,953 ton threemaster barque British Yeoman. She had sailed under the Red Duster prior to 1916, being registered in Vancouver British Columbia, but her new owners were American. Captain Armstrong asked for news of the war, and von Luckner said he would signal all this information, and promptly hoisted three flags C I D, their meaning, "Stop immediately or I will fire." The boarding party found a cargo which included live chickens and pigs, all of which were quickly transferred to their new owners, a most welcome addition to by now, a very mundane diet, after being at sea for some time. Scuttling charges sank British Yeoman, some distance off the Brazilian coast. Seeadler was making her presence felt on these trade routes where sailing ships plied, but, although she had sunk 7 ships, their total tonnage was not really significant. A great deal of effort for a relatively little return. That same evening, a light astern slowly revealed a large four masted barque, but von Luckner maintained a position ahead of this ship until at dawn she could be identified as the French Le Rochefoucauld. Seeadler now signalled, "Stop! We have important news." The Frenchman naturally very obediently slowed down, only to be met with unmasked German guns, and a German Ensign suddenly in view at the masthead, too late she understood that she had been outwitted by von Luckner and his ship. The boarding party discovered that the French ship had only recently been stopped by a British Cruiser, and that the French Captain had ordered this record be removed from his Log, in the hope that this Cruiser might catch Seeadler unawares, as her presence in the area was well known. The French barque was sunk on the 27th. of February. By the evening of the 5th. of March, Seeadler had moved far enough southwards to raise the Southern Cross, a stellar constellation that confirms to anyone at sea that they are now sailing well below the equator. The German ship now found a four masted barque standing out against the moonlight, von Luckner, using a signal lamp told the barque to "Stop immediately! German Cruiser." Now a quite bizarre incident took place, the French Captain rowed across to Seeadler, convinced that another French vessel was playing a practical joke on him, this was only a hoax, but to both his suprise and chagrin, he suddenly found himself the prisoner of a German Naval Officer, and his command Dupleix, of 2,206 tons about to be sunk. The next victim found by Seeadler on the 10th. of March, was asked to pass the chronometer time, but this signal was ignored, so von Luckner ordered a smoke generator to be ignited, and so simulated a fire was burning in his ship. The Horngarth of 3,609 tons, its large stern gun very much on view, now turned back to render assistance to this burning sailing vessel. Von Luckner acted quickly, up went the German Ensign, and a single shot from the 8.8cm.gun put the British ship's radio out of action. The boarding party set, then exploded scuttling charges, by this time they were most experienced in quickly blowing up captive ships, Horngarth's crew were embarked aboard the Raider. The German Captain was now faced with the same problem that his counterparts encountered in WW2. What to do with the increasing number of prisoners now on board? Almost 203 of them needing to be fed daily, and safely housed on board. Another 10 days brought a solution in the shape of the French four masted barque Cambronne, of 1,863 tons. But the prisoners and their disposal still posed their own set of problems, it was not practicable to release a sufficient number of German sailors to sail Cambronne to a position where von Luckner wanted her to proceed. If he merely put his prisoners aboard, and then released this ship, she would most likely sail to the nearest port to alert the world at large about Seeadler, her position, and her recent exploits. This dilemma was solved by removing the top gallant masts from the Frenchman, and destroying any spars and sails. These actions ensured it would allow sufficient time for Seeadler to clear the area and make good her escape. Captain Mullen ex Pinmore was placed in command of the Frenchman. The Royal Navy were aware of the presence of the German ship in the general area where she was operating, and the Armed Merchant Cruiser, Otranto, plus the Cruisers Lancaster, and Orbita were all set to spring the trap on Seeadler as she rounded Cape Horn. Von Luckner pausing in his rush for Cape horn, went off to the Falklands, threw overboard a large metal Iron Cross in memory of Admiral von Spee and his men who perished there in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December of 1914. Whilst earlier to this engagement, von Spee had been successful against the British Admiral Craddock at Coronel. Seeadler now ran into hurricane conditions, and was forced well south of the Horn before moving into the Pacific on the 18th. of April, the bad weather had actually proved to be a boon for von Luckner, as he thus escaped the British net, and now sailed northwards along the coast of Chile. During this time of inactivity, von Luckner ordered property taken from his prisoners to be thrown overboard, and he ensured these were all marked with the name Seeadler, the obvious inference being that his ship had been sunk. There seemed to be no end to the fertile imagination of this audacious German Naval Officer, who continued to scheme, and seek out new ways to exploit his role as an Armed Raider loose on the high seas. The British also played games, in an apparent attempt to restore confidence to ships sailing and trading in this arena, they broadcast a message "Seeadler gone down with all flags flying, Commander and crew taken prisoner and now on their way to Montevideo." Or had some of the cast aside gear from Seeadler been recovered by the Royal Navy? and they were trying to exploit the situation regarding the doughty von Luckner and his ship. From this distance in time, it may appear that these actions were somewhat childish but, one cannot know what effect it had at that time on the various players in this drama of the sea. By early June, Seeadler was eastwards of Christmas Island, and now learned that the United States had joined in the war. Von Luckner's next victim was the 529 ton four masted schooner A B Johnson from San Francisco, she was destroyed by fire on the 14th. of June, and on the following day, R C Slade, another American four master of about 673 tons met a similar fate, yet one more small American schooner Manila, on the 8th. of July was sent to the ocean floor. Some 29 prisoners including one woman were now on board, they needed feeding, exercising and in general looking after, the role of the Raider's crew could so quickly change. At one moment they are called upon to fight, and maybe put their lives at risk, then after a successful engagement, when the target crew have been taken onboard, their role changes to one of nursemaid. It has always been a suprise to me, and somewhat of a mystery, how individual Armed Merchant Ship crews could be kept motivated over long spells at sea, thousands of miles from home and loved ones, the dull, daily routine, with an endless horizon stretching in all directions, with but the rolling sea in sight. How did Captains and Officers keep themselves ready at all times? let alone their crew? I do not profess to know the answers to my own questions, was it possibly in the type of people selected to be a crew member aboard one of these ships? Was it a love for and of the Fatherland? or pure parriotism? I do not know, and of course I digress! After several weeks of fruitless cruising along the Doldrums, Seeadler was well overdue to be laid up so that her fouled bottom might be scraped clean again, so she put into Mopelia Island, about 450 kilometers from Tahiti, this circular atol was some 10 kilometers in diameter, and had a deep sheltered lagoon. But, Seeadler was forced to anchor outside the reef, as the water was too shallow to allow her to make a pasage into the shelter available inside the lagoon. On the 2nd. of August, disaster struck! If one accepts von Luckner's account of events, this is what happened. "At about 0930 (9.30 AM) he had noticed a strange bulge on the eastern rim of the sea.... at first we thought it was a mirage. But it kept growing larger. It came towards us. Then we at last recognized it... A TIDAL WAVE, such as is caused by a submarine earthquake and volcanic disturbances. "The danger was only too clear. We lay between the Island and the wave. We dared not raise sail, for the wind would drive us onto the reef. So, our only hope of getting clear of the Island was on our motor. The huge swell of the tidal wave was rushing towards us with breakneck speed. The motor did not stir. The mechanics worked frantically. They pumped compressed air into the engine. We waited in vain for the sound of ignition.... by this time the oncoming tidal wave was only a few hundred yards away. We were lost." The force of the water carried Seeadler bodily onto the reef, she was dismasted, and her hull broached by huge lumps of coral. She became a total wreck. There have been conflicting reports of what actually happened to von Luckner's ship, some American prisoners claim the ship ran aground onto the reef whilst the majority of her crew and the prisoners were picnicing on the Island. Tidal wave records make no mention of such activity around August of 1917. Whatever one accepts as the truth is of no great consequence, all the crew and their prisoners survived, but were now stranded on Mopelia Island. The crew salvaged what they could from the wreck, two of the ship's boats were still intact, some provisions and firearms were collected. Von Luckner now decided to take 5 crew, his Navigator Leutnanmt Kircheiss, Engineer Krause and three seamen, in one of the 10 metre lifeboats, rigged as a sloop, and rather ironically named Kronprinzessin Cecile, after a former trans Atlantic liner of that name. He proposed to sail via the Cook Islands to Fiji, capture a sailing ship, return to Mopelia for the rest of his crew, and the prisoners, and then resume his raiding activities, he was forever "The absolute optimist." So, on the 23rd of August, this intrepid band set off, three days later reaching Aitu Island in the Cook Group, pretending to be Dutch - American seamen trying to cross the Pacific Ocean to win a bet. The New Zealand Resident provided the group with enough fresh supplies to carry them onto another island in the Cook Group, Aitutaki. Here they posed as Norwegians, but this time the New Zealand Resident was very suspicious, but he had no means of arresting or detaining von Luckner and his five companions, and the German Captain reading the situation, decided to quickly exit this port, and sailed on to Rarotonga. The approach to Rarotonga harbour was made in darkness, there at anchor, without lights was what appeared to be a large ship, looking very like an Auxiliary Cruiser. Von Luckner was alarmed, was this ship waiting to trap them? He was not going to wait, quickly turning Kronprinzessin Cecile about, he sped off for Fiji. The supposed Auxiliary Cruiser, was in fact, the run aground Maitai, not at all posing a threat to the German sailors. By the time they had raised the Fijian Island of Wakaya, and anchored, the group were exhausted, they had traversed some 3,700 kilometers of lonely ocean in an open boat, a commendable feat of endurance and seamanship skills. The people here seemed to swallow the yarn that they were shipwrecked Norwegian sailors, but not one sceptic, named McPherson, he set off for the police station at Levuka, it had been the old capital of Fiji, prior to the British using Suva as their administrative centre. Sub Inspector Hills with a party of Fijian policemen manned a cutter and set out to investigate this strange group that had suddenly arrived at Levuka. Bad weather forced them back to harbour, but the German group would have had little trouble in coping with Hills and his party. Now by chance, the inter-island steamer Amra arrived at Levuka, it was requisitioned by Hills, and sailed for Wakaya arriving close to daylight on the morning of the 21st of September. Hills called on von Luckner and his men to surrender, bluffing that the gun on board Amra would blow them out of the water, not wishing to cause any bloodshed, the German Captain decided that for his men and himself the war was over. It was only later that he learned that Hills had tricked him into this surrender, Amra did not mount any guns at all, for this sailor who had lived by his wits and bluff for so long it must have been a sad and bitter moment. Now whilst von Luckner and his five men were enroute to a Prisoner of War Camp on Motuihe Island near Auckland New Zealand, back at Mopelia Island, the small French Island Trader Lutece, anchored off the reef. Leutnant Kling from Seeadler had learned by radio that his Captain had been captured, now rowed out to this schooner and captured her at gunpoint. A deed worthy of his swashbuckling Captain von Luckner. The crew of Lutece were quickly put ashore to join the American prisoners, and all the German sailors went aboard, and course was set for the west coast of South America. The boat left behind by Kling was now sailed by the Master of A B Johnson, Captain Smith, and three American seamen some 1,600 kilometers to Pago Pago, arriving on the 4th of October 1917, here, they were able to alert the authorities all about the exploits of Seeadler, and to report that forty four sailors were still stranded at Mopelia Atol. But back to Kling, hoping to refit Lutece, now renamed Fortuna, at Easter Island, prior to attempting to round Cape Horn, this vessel now ran into uncharted rocks off Easter Island, and sank. All the German sailors scrambled ashore to be collected by Chilian authorities and be interned for the remainder of the war. Although it appeared that the war had ended for von Luckner, still he plotted. The Commandant of the prison camp, Lieutenant Colonel C. Harcourt Turner, could communicate with the mainland by telephone, but also at his disposal was a fast motor boat Pearl. With Leutnant Kirscheiss and a few other prisoners, von Luckner, on the 13th of December grabbed Pearl and sped off to freedom, making for Mercury Island close to the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula. This motor boat was fitted with a dummy machine gun and then von Luckner boldly stopped Moa, a 90 ton scow owned by Leyland O'Brien Timber Company, she was only carrying the Master and four other men, Moa was boarded, von Luckner indicating "You are Prisoners of War to Germany." Up fluttered the German Ensign, and they set off for Kermadec Islands, north east of New Zealand, reaching this destination in five days. Pearl which was being towed, was suddenly swamped by an inrushing wave, she quickly sank, taking the very valuable radio with her to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, thus depriving von Luckner of his major source of information. At the time of seizing Moa, she had been close to another scow Rangi, her Captain had observed a party board Moa from a boat, and then noted that she sailed off away from New Zealand. He took his ship into Port Charles to report his suspicions. It so happened, that an hour later, the government cable layer Iris, armed with two six pounder guns arrived on the scene, having been given the story about Moa, she set off in pursuit, rightly assuming that Moa would make for the Kermadec Island group. On the 21st of December, Moa made it to Curtis Island in the Kermadec group, and von Luckner sent off a boat to raid the stores depot that he knew was there. Smoke now appeared on the horizon, sail was quickly raised, but in ninety minutes Iris overhauled Moa, and firing shots across her bows brought von Luckner to once more surrender. As he came aboard Iris, he commented " You left the door open, you cannot blame me for walking out!" At last, this time the war really was over for this wily German Naval Officer, von Luckner had indeed put up a good fight. He spent the remainder of the war in various prison camps around New Zealand until he was repatriated to Germany in 1919. In the mid thirties, von Luckner sailed around the world in his private yacht Vaterland, and when he visited New Zealand , was very warmly welcomed. During WW2 he lived in Germany, and moved to Sweden, dying there in 1966. He lived an adventurious life, grabbing every day by the scruff of the neck to extract the utmost from his environment. von Luckner served his country, and his Navy well, he was a man for his time, and it is unlikely that we will ever witness the likes of "The Sea Devil "again, it is now a totally different world that we all live in today. See also "The Search for Count von Luckner" by HL Dixon and "Life as von Luckner's Prisoner" by C Singer

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Die Piraten des Kaisers

Graf Luckners legendäre Fahrt mit der Seeadler

Felix Count von Luckner MemorialFelix Count von Luckner Society - Halle, Germany


Biography

Felix Count von Luckner: Biography

He lived an extraordinary life. Here is a time line:

1881	9th of June born near Dresden, grown up at his father's estate Pennrich.
1897	Runs away from his grandmother in Halle. Under the name of Phylax Lüdicke hires on Russian ship "NIOBE."
up to 1903	Voyages on ships belonging to various shipping companies, mainly in the Australian - American regions.
1903	Gets his mate's commission at the Lübeck Navigation College.
1903/04	After passing his examinations serves as an officer on the ship "PETROPOLIS"
1904/05	Serves as a volunteer in the Imperial German Navy.
1907	Gets his master's certificate at the Papenburg nautical college.
1910/14	Married to Petra Schulz from Hamburg; serves in the imperial navy.
1911	Promoted to the rank of a lieutenant junior grade.
1913/14	Serves on SMS "PANTHER" at the West African Station.
1914-16	Officer on SM cruiser "KRONPRINZ"
1914-17	Participates as an artillery officer in the Skagerrak Battle; Commands as a captain the auxiliary cruiser “SEEADLER”; sank 14 ships and tried not losing any lives both among his men and the men of the sunk ships, only one seaman (the freighter “Horngarth” from Cardiff) died after having injured by hot water caused by a leak in a steam pipe. This damage was caused by a shell of the “SEEADLER”.
1917	Loss of the "SEEADLER" at Mopelia Island; Voyage with "KRONPRINZESSIN CECILIE", the 6 metre "SEEADLER" lifeboat, rigged as a sloop. Capture and internment in New Zealand. Escape with motorboat of the commandant of the prison at MOTOHUI/New Zealand. Grabs coastal sailing boat "MOA". Recapture.
1919	Repatriation to Halle a.d. Saale; his father dies; 1st lecture at "Saalschloss Brauerei" in Halle.
1920	In Leipzig "birth" of the journey to America and idea to purchase a ship. Involved are: von Haase, Dr. Fritz Kirst, P.G. Kersten, General Lettow von Vorbeck.
1921	Luckner rigs the former Norwegian prize "THYRA", a four mast schooner, to become the first training ship of the German navy, renamed in "NIOBE", and is appointed her first captain; in May he is admitted to the freemason's logde "Zur Goldenen Kugel Nr. 66" in Hamburg.
1922	His discharge submitted and leaves the Navy as a lieutenant commander.
1924	Foundation of the society "Graf von Luckner Weltumseglung" (Count of Luckner Circumnavigation of the World); purchase of the four mast schooner "VATERLAND"
1926	Conversion of the "VATERLAND" for the display of samples of German products; September start of the "Circumnavigation of the World."
1927	Series of lectures in the U.S.A. "GOOD WILL MISSION"; Was given the freedom of the city of San Francisco, CA (honorary citizen); later also honorary citizen of Miami, FL, and Minot, ND.
1928	Return journey to Germany; Second journey to the U.S.A.. Renaming of "VATERLAND" in "MOPELIA"; Honorary President of the "Scouts."
1933	Frequent stays in Berlin. "MOPELIA" "moored" in the U.S.A.
1935	"MOPELIA" completely burnt out in the free port of Bremerhaven; Visit with his wife to Great Britain.
1936	Participates in the opening ceremony for the Navy Memorial in Kiel; Purchase of the "SEETEUFEL", a two mast schooner.
1937	Great journey round the world with "SEETEUFEL" starting from Oslo to the Caribbean, Panama Canal.
1938	Coconut Islands, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Ceylon, Aden, Suez Canal, around the Mediterranian, Italy, Gibraltar, England.
1939	Arrival in Germany.
1940/1945	Lives in his mother's house, Alte Promenade 13, in Halle; all lecturing activities and publishing of his books prohibited.
1945	April 16th, negotiates with the American forces and prevents the destruction of Halle by air attack and artillery shelling; in connection with the return of the American forces he leaves Halle and goes to the western part of Germany appointment as honorary colonel of the 104th US Infantry Division "Timberwolf."
1953	April 9th awarded the Great Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany; von Luckner is a member of the “Association of former Halle citizens”
1956	E.F. MacDonald, President of Zenith Radio Corporation, supports the suggestion that the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded to Felix Count von Luckner.
1964	End of April together with his wife he visits Halle in order to bury his half-brother Carl. On this occasion meeting with members of the Saltworks Brotherhood im Thale zu Halle in a private home.
1966	Died April 13 in Malmö/Sweden; April 28th buried at the OHLSDORFER graveyard in Hamburg under over-whelming sympathy of the public and the press worldwide; the “Stars ‘n Stripes” states: “Felix Count von Luckner was the German ‘good guy’”