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The "Gorch Fock" in the port of Kiel
Photo: Gregor Fischer / Getty Images
For years, the "Gorch Fock" stood primarily for a renovation that was many times more expensive than originally planned.
The repair of the ship cost 135 million euros instead of the initially estimated ten million euros.
Now it has to be seen whether the investment was worth it: On Friday morning the "Gorch Fock" set off for the Canary Islands on time.
The crew of the German armed forces' training ship is supposed to train under favorable weather conditions off the Canary Islands.
For Christmas and the New Year, the ship of commandant Nils Brandt, 55, with a regular crew of 120 men and women, moored in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the northeast of the island of Tenerife.
The ship will also make a stopover in Lisbon.
Originally the first long trip of the three-master was supposed to start in the middle of last week.
However, the start was delayed by germs in the drinking water system of the Bundeswehr training ship.
The problem has now been resolved.
New on board, for example, is better internet access for the crew at sea.
Films cannot be streamed with it, but short messages and e-mails can be written.
At the beginning of October the ship returned to Kiel after years in the shipyard.
The repair work caused political turmoil, mainly because of the drastic cost increases.
The first of a total of around 220 candidate officers are not expected to go on board until January 3, 2022.
You should learn the nautical skills in two training stages on the "Gorch Fock".
In mid-January, the ship and the first cadets sailed for the Mediterranean.
The second group of cadets will then begin their training in Malaga, Spain.
In the home port of Kiel, the ship and crew are expected back on March 25th after around 10,000 nautical miles (around 18,500 kilometers).