The vessel was built in 1926 at the N.V. Capello Shipyard in Zwartsluis, the Netherlands, originally as the Hans 2, a live eel transporter.
A large tank\u2014where the captain\u2019s saloon is now located\u2014once held live fish that swam freely during transport. At that time, the ship was powered by a steam engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1936, it was sold to Sweden and renamed Sven Wilhelm, in honor of the son of the new shipowner\u2019s director. The transaction did not involve money\u2014the purchase price was 25 tons of live eels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years of service and fishing took their toll on the vessel\u2019s structure and appearance. By 1977, she was withdrawn from service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following year, in 1978, the deteriorating wreck\u2014soon to become a beauty\u2014was discovered by her future long-time owner, Victor Gottlow, who decided to buy her. After an extensive restoration, the vessel was first converted into a schooner, and later\u2014since 2004\u2014into a brigantine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new shipowner named the ship Dominique Fredion in honor of his wife. However, when the couple\u2019s affection cooled somewhat, Gottlow decided to choose a more neutral name and renamed the ship Baltic Beauty. Interestingly, below deck there are, among other features, three bathrooms and a sauna. Also worth noting is the galley, which includes a sculpture of a woman entwined with an eel \u2014 a tribute to the ship\u2019s fishing past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2018, management of the vessel was taken over by the shipowning company POLSail from Gda\u0144sk. This change came about because the owner of Baltic Beauty was looking for someone younger to handle the ship\u2019s operations on his behalf. Eventually, he decided to sell the vessel. As a result, Poland gained another A-class sailing ship. On July 6, 2019, the red and white flag was raised on the ship\u2019s flagstaff, and the home port was changed to Gda\u0144sk (previously Ronneby). At the ceremony, Victor Gottlow experienced a mix of emotion and satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The vessel was built in 1926 at the N.V. Capello Shipyard in Zwartsluis, the Netherlands, originally as the Hans 2, a live eel transporter.A large tank\u2014where the captain\u2019s saloon is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poland"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n