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Alma Doepel (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Alma Doepel is a three-mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
ed topsail schooner and is one of the oldest such ships surviving.
Alma Doepel was built in 1903 in Bellingen
Bellingen
Bellingen may refer to:*Bellingen, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipality in the district Westerwaldkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany*Bellingen, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
, NSW, by Frederik Doepel, and named after his youngest daughter Alma. She sailed mainly around the coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, carrying goods such as timber, wheat and jam. She was also used in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a supply vessel in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, before returning to commercial service around Tasmania in 1946. From 1961 to 1975 she was stripped of her rigging and used to carry limestone, before being sold, for the scrap value of her engines, to the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
company Sail & Adventure in 1976.
From 1976 to 1987, Alma Doepel was comprehensively restored and returned to full sail in magnificent style to lead the Parade of Sail in Sydney Harbour in January 1988. After that, she was used as a sail training
Sail training
From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea , sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on and off the water....
ship, based in Melbourne, until 1999 when the need for work on the hull and lack of funds put a stop to this activity.
In April 2001, Alma Doepel was taken to Port Macquarie where she was berthed a Lady Nelson Wharf and open to the public as a static exhibit.
In January 2009 the Alma Doepel returned to Melbourne. She is berthed at No 2 Victoria Dock undergoing an extensive refit to return her to survey so she can recommense sail training.