Collections Online

Port broadside view of the three-masted ship SORLANDET.

(499gt) : Built 1927 by Høivolds Mek Verksted, Kristiansund, Norway, as a sail training vessel for ship owner O.A.T. Skjelbred, and operated by "Sørlandets Seilende Skoleskibs Institution”. 1940 - She served as accommodation for German submariners at the start of World War 2, and later used to house Russian prisoners of war during which she was sunk at Kirkines Bay during an air raid. At the end of the war, she was raised and towed back to Kristiansund where the damage was repaired and made ready to sail again by 1948. SØRLANDET was motorised (with a 560hp engine) for the first time in 1958. 1974 - No longer used as a training vessel, she was sold to ship owner Helmer Staubo & Co., Oslo, and although registered at Arendal, she was laid up at Kilsund for the next three years where she was allowed to decay. 1977 - Re-purchased by O.A.T. Skjelbred and presented to the people of Kristiansund who restored her to her former glory by 1980. 1981 - Training foundation "Stiftelsen Fullriggeren Sørlandet" became her owner and operator. After restorations in 1988, and again between 2003 and 2007 (when she was provided with air-conditioning), she underwent a major refit in 2012 and is still (2015) in full service as a training vessel.