The Long Stay of the German Sailboat “Pamir” in La Palma

To Fernando Leopold

On September 21, 2017, it will mark 60 years since the tragic disappearance of the German sailboat Pamir, when it was sailing about 600 miles SSW of the Azores, on its journey from Argentina to Germany with a cargo of grain. The disaster had a significant international impact and took on dramatic tones in the ship's home country, as 80 men disappeared, including 51 young cadets from the merchant marine, and only six managed to survive under very dire conditions.

In La Palma, where the ship had been interned during World War I, there was a deep sense of sorrow, as well as in Tenerife, since it had made its last stop at the port of the Tenerife capital in 1956. The same sentiment was felt in Chile and Argentina, where the ship was a well-known presence. In 2007, on the occasion of the tragedy's fiftieth anniversary, an emotional commemorative event was held in Buenos Aires aboard the frigate Presidente Sarmiento, a training ship of fond memory.

The sinking of the sailboat Pamir was the greatest disaster of the German merchant marine after World War II. Among the numerous official condolences received at the state level, there was a personal message from Pope Pius XII, expressing his deep sorrow.

The hurricane Carrie occurred between September 5 and 23, 1957, and is noted as an exceptional case in meteorological history. With characteristics of a tropical cyclone, it was the closest to Europe, reaching a more northern latitude (50º N 17º W), as well as the unusual trajectory described, crossing the Azores while still in full force, heading NE.

The ship Pamir had set sail from Buenos Aires on August 10, 1957, on its way to Hamburg, carrying a cargo of 3,780 tons of grain in its holds, and also had 255 tons of ballast in bags to improve its stability. Due to a dockworkers' strike at the Buenos Aires port, the grain was loaded in bulk rather than in bags, as was customary.

In the middle of the Atlantic, the crossing was proceeding normally. There had been 41 days of sailing. Suddenly, a gusty wind arose, increasing in intensity, which did not particularly alarm the crew, accustomed to frequent changes in direction. However, Captain Diebitsch, a veteran sailor with over fifty years at sea, went on deck and shouted, “Set all sails.” At that moment, no one on board could suspect the storm that was approaching, due to the evolution of hurricane Carrie.

Evolution of cyclone “Carrie” and the defeat suffered by the sailboat “Pamir” on its last voyage

The wind progressively intensified with such force that the ship seemed to fly over the waves, while being struck hard against the hull, heeling strongly to port due to the shifting of the cargo. The sails began to tear amidst loud rips, and the rigging, stretched beyond its limit by the wind, also began to break violently.

Captain Diebitsch demanded that his crew hoist the sails more quickly, trying to head the ship into the strong prevailing wind to save their desperate situation, but by then it was already partially dismantled, and the old iron hull had begun to lean over the water, progressively increasing its heel.

When it reached 40 degrees of heel - which the officer on watch shouted in confusion - it became practically impossible for the sailboat to right itself, so Captain Diebitsch ordered a desperate SOS to be sent, which was made in the last moments, as well as to don life jackets and abandon the ship to its fate. The last audible SOS from the Pamir was received at 12:54 hours, and another unintelligible one at 13:03 hours (11:03 GMT). According to the testimony of the survivors, the shipwreck occurred in about thirty minutes, when the ship was located at 35º 57’ N and 40º 20’ W, about 600 miles SSW of the Azores.

The shipwrecked crew members who were on a lifeboat managed to reach one of the capsized lifeboats, from which they could only recover a small barrel of fresh water, as everything else had disappeared. Shivering from the cold, and with the water temperature very low, some of the cadets had stripped off part of their clothing to swim better, which severely worsened their situation. In another boat, there were about twenty crew members, although the storm caused both to drift apart. By nightfall, many of the crew members of the Pamir had died from the cold, others from injuries sustained or drowned after falling from the boat, and some were even devoured by the sharks that prowled the area. They had seen the lights of some ships, but these did not notice their presence due to the darkness.

Upon receiving the distress signal at the Azores station, the alert was transmitted to the 57th U.S. Rescue Squadron, but they could not set out for rescue until several hours later, when the weather had improved. Then an SC-54 plane took off, spotted the survivors, and continued to Bermuda, where it provided details of the wreck's location.

The search and rescue operations were coordinated from the American cutter USS Absecon, which arrived the next day at the last position transmitted by the telegraphic station of the Pamir before its sinking. However, it would not be until September 24 that the American ship USS Geiger could rescue five crew members from one of the lifeboats. The next day, the USS Absecon found another lifeboat with a single survivor. In total, six men survived: cook Karl-Otto Dummer, sailors Günther Haselbach, Klaus Fredrichs, and Hans-Georg Wirth, and cadets Karl-Heinz Kraaz and Volkert Anders, out of a total of 86 men. Another cadet, Eckart Roch, also survived because he was hospitalized in Buenos Aires.

The sailboat 'Pamir' belonged to the powerful German company F. Laeisz

The rescue operation remained active for the following ten days, during which American aircraft continuously searched the established area, although they found not even a single body. The only interpretation provided by experts after the investigation was limited to a simple statement: they had been victims of fear.

Representative of the last era of its kind, the sailboat Pamir was built at the Blohm & Voss shipyards - construction number 180 - in Hamburg (Germany) and was a four-masted barquentine, with a gross tonnage of 3,020 tons, a net tonnage of 2,777 tons, and a deadweight of 4,500 tons, with main dimensions of 114.50 m in length including the bowsprit, 96.34 m in total length, 14.04 m in beam, and 7.25 m in draft.

Launched on July 29, 1905, it was delivered to its owner, Reederei F. Laeisz of Hamburg, on October 18 of that year, with command entrusted to Captain Carl Martín Prützmann. F. Laeisz then owned a significant fleet of sailing ships, the most famous of which were the five-masted ships Potosí and Preusen, as well as the four sailing ships Pamir, Passat, Peking, and Padua.

The fore, main, and mizzen masts measured 51.20 m from the keel to the crosstrees and 28 m from the main deck. It carried 3,800 square meters of sail and reached speeds of 16 knots, although its normal speed ranged between eight and nine knots.

Destined for the traffic of Chilean nitrate, on November 12 of the following year, on its first commercial voyage, it set sail from Lizard Point to Valparaíso, which it covered in 70 days. In 1906, it repeated the same journey in 64 days and also carried a cargo from Iquique to the Scilly Islands in 75 days. In 1907, it repeated the journey from Lizard Point to Valparaíso, winning the record in five days over the mark set two years earlier.

In 1908, Captain Heinrich Horn took command. Between May 1911 and March 1912, Captain Robert Miethe held the position. He was succeeded by Captain Gustav A.H.H. Becker, who was replaced in 1913 by Captain Wilhem Johann Ehlert. In 1914, the ship was under the command of Captain Jürgen Jurs, a period in which the ship became forever linked to the maritime history of La Palma.

In the background, the four masts of the 'Pamir' during its stay in La Palma

On October 4, it anchored sheltered by the Risco de la Concepción, where it would remain until March 1920. “It came opening the sea, full sail, heading towards land, and only the square sails were visible.” This is how the distinguished Palmero José Pérez Vidal remembered the day the ship arrived. “Suddenly it lowered all sails, took course towards the dock, and an immense four-masted frigate, flying the German flag, could be seen, which, as was later learned, was fleeing from the possible attack of a submarine.”

Captain Jurs communicated to the maritime authority in the capital of La Palma his intention to remain anchored there for the duration of the conflict, thus beginning the long stay of the elegant sailboat in the waters of La Palma. The crew kept busy with its maintenance, and from their relationship with the people of the port city, an affectionate bond emerged that, in some cases, culminated in the celebration of marriages. This was the case of Fernand Leopold, who married the young Juana García Fernández on September 9, 1917. Leopold passed away on April 23, 1919, and three of his companions also met their end during their forced stay in the generous land that welcomed them with such hospitality.

When the war ended, Captain Jurs received a telegram ordering him to set sail for Hamburg to unload the nitrate contained in the ship's holds and then proceed to hand over the ship to representatives of the Italian government.

At sunset on March 4, 1920, the crew of the Pamir began to weigh anchor and slowly started to set all sails. That day, the wind barely blew, and little by little, they bid farewell forever to Santa Cruz de La Palma. Hundreds of people gathered at the dock and the beach of Bajamar to see it depart, while many others watched the farewell from the heights of the Risco de la Concepción.

The bow of the Pamir headed towards Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it arrived at dawn on the 6th and anchored off Valleseco. Among its crew were several Palmero sailors, and in the waters of Tenerife, it repaired various damages due to the long inactivity, completing its crew with another six Tenerifeans, and on March 10, it set sail again.

When it arrived in Hamburg, it was handed over to the Italian government as compensation for the damages suffered during the war. On July 15 of that same year, it set sail towed from Hamburg to Naples, with a stop in Rotterdam. During its stay in Italy, it remained moored in Castellamare, in the Gulf of Naples, during which time it was under the command of Captain Ambrogi.

Moored in the port of Vancouver (Canada), viewed from the starboard side

In February 1924, it was bought back by its former owner, F. Laeisz, for 7,000 pounds sterling, returning to the routes of Chilean nitrate. In May of that year, Captain Joachim H. Hinrich Nissen took command. In December 1926, command briefly passed to Captain Heinrich Oellrich, and in that same month, it passed to Captain Carl Martín Brockhöft. On January 20, 1928, it began its first voyage that exceeded one hundred days of sailing, from Taltal to Delfzijl, in 102 days.

On April 23, 1929 - Captain Robert Clauss - it set sail from Hamburg on its way to Talcahuano in 75 days. In November 1930 - Captain Walter Schaer - it made the journey from Rotterdam to Talcahuano in 90 days. The following year, it made a journey from Iquique to Bordeaux in 108 days and then continued to Hamburg, taking another 39 days.

In November 1931, it was acquired by Finnish owner Gustav Erikson, based in Mariehamn, who paid only 4,000 pounds sterling for it, placing it in the “wheat race” from Australia. Under the command of Captain Karl Gerhard Sjögren, its first voyage under the Finnish flag was from Hamburg to Port Lincoln in 87 days. Other captains of the ship during this time were Maurtiz Mattsson (1933-1936), Uno Mörn (1936-1937), Linus Lindwall (1937), and Verner Björkfelt, who would remain on board until 1941.

Chartered by an English company to load guano in Mahé, in the Seychelles, it set sail for New Zealand. Upon arriving in Wellington on August 3, 1941, it was requisitioned by the New Zealand authorities and declared “good prize,” being handed over to the Union S.S. Co. for management. In just five round trips, the profit exceeded 36,000 pounds sterling: five trips to San Francisco, three to Vancouver, one to Sydney, and one from Wellington to London around the feared Cape Horn. During this period, the ship was commanded by Captains Christopher Stanick (1942-1943), David McLeish (1943-1944), Roy Champion (1944-1945), Desmond Champion (1946), and Horace Stanley Collier (1946-1948).

Memorial to the sailboat Pamir in St. Jacob's Church in Lubeck

In December 1947, it set sail on a new journey from Wellington to London in 80 days. It then loaded cement and set sail again for Auckland. In 1948, it made a journey from Antwerp to Wellington, which took 109 days. Upon arrival, the New Zealand government decided to return the ship to its Finnish owners. On November 12 of that year, Captain Verner Björkfelt took command, and in May 1949, it set sail from Port Victoria to Falmouth, taking 127 days for the journey, which was the longest in its maritime history.

In December 1950, it was sold, along with the sailboat Passat, to the scrapper Van der Loo of Antwerp for dismantling. However, in January 1951, it was bought by H. Schliewen of Lübeck to be used as a training ship and in the grain trade from Argentina. At the Kiel shipyard, it underwent major repairs and was also fitted with a diesel engine for propulsion in calm weather. Between 1951 and 1952, Captain Paul Greiff was in command. In April 1954, it was sold at public auction to the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesbank for 310,000 German marks, and in 1956, it was purchased by the Stiftung Pamir & Passat society of Lübeck, returning to sailing in the “tramp” trade. During this stage, it was commanded by Captain Hermann Eggers, and in early 1957, Captain Johannes Diebitsch took command. A few months later, the tragedy would occur.

Published on October 14, 2007, in Diario de Avisos.

Bibliography:

Díaz Lorenzo, Juan Carlos. La Palma and the Sea. V Centenary of the foundation of Santa Cruz de La Palma. Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands. Madrid, 1994.

Díaz Lorenzo, Juan Carlos. "Four Masts Pointing to the Sky". In Diario de Avisos, January 4, 2004.

López, Elsa and Cea Gutiérrez, Antonio, José Pérez Vidal: Interviews about His Life. Foreword by Julio Caro Baroja. Ediciones La Palma. Cabildo Insular de La Palma. Madrid, 1987.

Padrón Albornoz, Juan Antonio. "Today marks 50 years since the first stop of the Pamir in our port". El Día, March 4, 1970. Expanded in the same newspaper editions dated March 5, 12, and 19, 1989.

Yaksic Triantafil, Nicolás. "The Lost Wake of the Pamir". In Revista de Marina de Chile 2/95. Reproduced in histamar.com.ar.

Photos: lost-at-sea-memorials.com and seaarchives.vancouver.com