The Grumpy Gang

The Grumman Aircraft Pilots Association European Branch

Home > On Tour > Tour 2005 >  Mariehamn Åland

Wednesday, 13th. Varberg to Norrkoping, then to Marianhamn, Åland. 305 miles.

Good weather again and two short flights to Marianhamn, stopping at Norrkoping to fill up with cheap fuel. We decided to stay two days on this beautiful group of islands. We rented a car and went sightseeing. This is certainly a place to visit again and to stay longer next time.

From Varberg (Sweden) to Mariehamn (Åland)

Mariehamn (Finnish: Maarianhamina) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40 % of the population of Åland live in the city. Like all of Åland, Mariehamn is unilingually Swedish-speaking and around 89,5% of the inhabitants speak it as their native language.

The POMMERN a museum ship.  As new, POMMERN was a very modern ship with brass and fallwinches and a boiler for steam power to assist in loading and unloading. Steampower was also used to weigh anchor but never for propulsion.

POMMERN was a cargo ship and during her German years she sailed between Europe and South America. From Europe she sailed with general cargo and returned with saltpeter (guano).

The 4-mb POMMERN in the West Harbour in Mariehamn serves as a memory of the great fleet of sailingships, who once had the town as their homeport.

POMMERN is unique in that she is still in orginal condition and is shown as the chargoship she once was. All other existing ships in her class having been rebuilt at some time.

An average voyage from Chile took 85 days, which meant an average speed of 5,5, knots.

As did most of the Gustaf Erikson fleet, POMMERN sailed in what was known as "the grain trade". They carried grain from harbours in the Spencer Gulf area in Australia to harbours in England or Ireland. The voyage to Australia was often in ballast but occasionally a cargo of timber was taken from Finland to South Africa.