Impressive three-masted schooners sail into Ramsgate Port

Alva and Oosterschelde Photo Trevor Coles

A Dutch schooner that celebrates its 100th anniversary next year has sailed into Ramsgate Port.

The three-masted topsail schooner Oodterschelde is the last remaining representative of the large fleet of schooners that sailed under the Dutch flag at the beginning of the 20th century. As the largest restored Dutch sailing ship the ‘Oosterschelde’ is a monument for Dutch shipbuilding and maritime navigation under sail.

Photo Adam Dark

It was launched in 1918 and restored between 1988 and 1992.

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Also in port was triple masted Swedish training ship, the Alva.

She was the last sailing cargo ship in Sweden and was still active in the Baltic when she was redesigned and converted to a passenger ship in the 1980s.

The craft is now used for students from the Danderyd’s Maritime Centre near Stockholm, which is a upper-secondary school and adult education centre. The school takes around 400 pupils and provides courses in Marine Biology, Leadership and Communication and Maritime Engineering.

Isle photographers Adam Dark and Trevor Coles caught these images of the crafts in port yesterday (September 6). Adam also went onboard to capture some video.