The galeas Loyal is an 85-foot, two-masted, hull-built sailing ship, built at Rosendal in 1877. It is therefore – in contrast to a galley-rigged yacht – a real galeas, and probably the world's oldest sailing galeas.
The galeas Loyal is an 85-foot, two-masted, hull-built sailing ship, built at Rosendal in 1877. It is therefore – in contrast to a galley-rigged yacht – a real galeas, and probably the world's oldest sailing galeas. There were rumors about her from the moment she was launched, especially among sailors, and she was quickly nicknamed "Kvitegalease" for obvious reasons.
You don't need to have salt water in your veins to be able to enjoy the sight of the beautiful hull and the flattering lines of Loyal. Now, fully restored and better than new, Loyal is ready for action: pleasure trip or representation, team building or accompanying event, excursion or trip over several days - you can be sure that it will be a good and lasting memory.
LOYAL was built as a galeas in Rosendal in Hardanger in 1877 by Knut Johannessen Nes or "Gjøra-Knuten" as he was called colloquially. This is the same man who made the Hardanger hunt world famous because he also built the GJØA that Roald Amundsen took through the Northwest Passage.
Loyal was built to carry up to 900 barrels of herring and was intended to be able to sail on the high seas. Today we know a good deal about her turbulent history. Some have come to light through oral sources and some have been documented in various books and ship journals. We have the most valuable (unique) in log books from 1887 – 1922.
The period 1874-95 was a prolonged age of depression. Despite the depression and the special salt herring crisis from 1877-95, 34 new galleys were acquired for Haugesund, the largest increase among all vessel types. It was people from Haugesund who started Icelandfishing, even though the economy was very bad. LoyalL was primarily built with fish trade in Iceland and Nordland in mind, as well as the large export market.
The weather conditions in Iceland made great demands on the ships. As many yachts were wrecked, galeas increasingly took over because they were larger and more seaworthy. They also had a more manageable rig, which made the voyage safer. Thus, the crew hire could be reduced. Loyal was built at a time when the Haugesunds were seriously throwing themselves into shipping on the high seas.
But it would turn out that this was the last phase of Norwegian sailing's heyday. And it came to an abrupt end in 1879. This year, which ushered in the end of shipbuilding in Haugesund, was also the decisive turning point in the history of white sails in Norway. The sailing ships are now entering their long death struggle. As far as LOYAL was concerned, it was also a long battle.
It would take over 40 years before it got its first machine. LOYAL survived thanks to its loyal crew.
In 1881 she was in Iceland and brought herring back. In the Baltic Sea, the most used ports were Kønigsberg, Riga, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Norrköping, Kalmar and Karlskrona. Other countries in Europe include Germany, Denmark, France, England, Spain and Portugal.
Loyal has also sailed around Cape Horn with rockfish to Chile. From oral sources, it is also said that she helped transport the copper to the Statue of Liberty in New York.
She has been registered in Western Norway from Haugesund in the south to Kristiansund in the north and has always carried the name "Loyal". She got her first engine in 1932, but had sails well into the 1950s.
In 1974, she was bought by John Hausberg who, together with his son Audun, restored her back as a sailing ship. She was launched again in 1997, and since 1998 has operated in commercial speed with Audun Hausberg as skipper. The intention is to safeguard and pass on our maritime traditions in a living and genuine way.
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