Fryderyk Chopin (ship)
Encyclopedia
History
The ship was designed by Zygmunt ChoreńZygmunt Choren
Zygmunt Choreń is a Polish naval architect and the proprietor of the naval architectural firm Choreń Design and Consulting. He is a graduate of the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Leningrad Ship-Building Institute....
, named in honour of the early to mid 19th century Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, and launched in 1992 in the Dora Shipyard, Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. She was chartered for a year by West Island College
West Island College
The West Island Colleges are a set of private Canadian junior high and high schools, one of which is located in Montreal's West Island, and the other in the south-east of Calgary. The schools also offer a program known as Class Afloat that provides students with an educational experience while...
(Class Afloat) in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
to expand their Tall Ship educational program. After that, she was operated by the European School of Law and Administration, a private university in Poland.
On 29 October 2010 the vessel is reported as in distress 100 miles off the Scilly Isles having lost both masts in gale force winds and heavy seas. It was on a 3 and a half month cruise from the Netherlands to the Caribbean with 47 crew aboard including 36 trainees aged 14 years. Although there was an engine the ship's master was unwilling to use it for fear of trailing debris snagging on the propellor. There were no reported injuries. The ship was towed into the sheltered waters of Falmouth Bay after 100 miles and 3 days on tow by a small fishing trawler the Nova Spero; who's Captain, Shaun Edwards answered the mayday call.