A ship steeped in tradition, a sustainable project and plenty of team spirit – that’s the Franzius. Until 2019, this flat-bottomed sailing boat was an integral part of excursions organised by the ‘Blue Sciences’ programme at Bremen University of Applied Sciences (HSB). However, the boat is currently not seaworthy. It requires extensive repairs. Students, university staff and other sailing enthusiasts are working with the ‘Bremer Weserkahn Franzius’ association to get it back on the water by next year. One HSB student involved with the Franzius is Louis Lammers. The 24-year-old is studying Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and is not only contributing his experience to the project but also benefiting greatly from it. This has enabled Louis Lammers to sail on a flat-bottomed boat for the first time and to experience the team spirit of a crew and the special ‘vibe’ of a traditional sailing vessel.
I’m from Münster and never had any contact with ships or sailing during my childhood or teenage years. But I’ve always loved being on ships and boats and found them absolutely fascinating! A very significant event for me was visiting the Meyer shipyard when I cycled the Ems Cycle Route from Münster to Borkum with my family. I was incredibly impressed by the size and scale of the cruise ships, so much so that, years later, I did an internship there whilst in Year 11 and then applied for a dual study programme at the HSB: Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in a practical partnership.
I love delving ever deeper into these subjects and gaining a better understanding of how ships work and how to build ships that meet all requirements and constraints as closely as possible. That’s why, after completing my dual study programme, I decided to deepen my knowledge by taking the English-taught Master’s degree in ‘Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering’ at the HSB, whilst at the same time gaining further practical experience as a working student at Lürssen.
Towards the end of last year, a professor in our department told us about the Franzius and that they were looking for interested people who would like to volunteer to help with repairs, planning sailing trips and other tasks. I found the idea exciting and was sure that the knowledge I’d gained from my work in shipyards and my studies wouldn’t do the project any harm.
The Franzius is a beautiful traditional vessel with great potential – for example, for excursions, environmental projects or as an alternative learning environment for small seminar groups. As a shipbuilding student, I find the repair work very interesting, as there’s a lot going on and you can make changes quickly. With the large ships I deal with professionally, I tend to focus on broader, theoretical topics such as hydrodynamics and hydrostatics. I also enjoy getting stuck in and pottering about on the ship, rather than just sitting in front of a computer.
Naturally, I was very keen to take part, as I wanted to experience sailing and life on board a small traditional sailing vessel with 20 other young people and a crew, and I’m also interested in nature and the Wadden Sea.
I also saw the trip as a form of further training for myself: I believe that, as a naval architect working in a shipyard, one should have gained a bit of practical experience on the water in order to understand certain things better and get a feel for them. Many observations can only be made if you have a theoretical background, and conversely, you can only gain new insights or impressions for your theoretical understanding whilst on board and out on the water.
It was brilliant – I’m absolutely thrilled! As far as I’m concerned, the trip was a complete success – not just for me and the rest of the crew, but also for the Franzius Project. The adventurous trip was incredibly exciting and thrilling from start to finish. I gained so many new experiences, learnt a lot and had a great time. I got to know life on board and the ‘sailing vibe’. What’s more, lots of young people studying biology came along on the trip, who enriched our experience and inspired us with their knowledge of the Wadden Sea and the animal kingdom.
The crew gave us plenty of freedom and explained and taught us a great deal, which I thought was really cool. A personal highlight was steering the Verandering. I really enjoyed it and it gave me a feel for the ship’s course stability and manoeuvrability, which was sometimes a challenge due to the current, wind, waves and the sails.
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