This is what reading in a howl to our square rigged ships in the interwar period. There is still use for these sailing ships. A new wave of enthusiasm and admiration seems to surround these vessels that in their time gave so much "glory and power" on the seven seas.

Sørlandet is not only one of the few preserved full riggers in the world today, it is also rightfully one of the most beautiful. She was built in the part of the country where, for a long period, she has been central to the education of sailors. About. 6,400 young people have received basic training at sea on board this sailing ship.

The region Sørlandet has rich maritime traditions that were long associated with sailing ships. The role of the sailing ships is strongly intertwined with the region's economic and cultural history. Few other material remains has such indisputable and clear symbolic value and speaks such a clear language to the population as this ship.

It is therefore no coincidence that the schooner bears the name " Sørlandet » as the rich bearer of tradition and the valuable cultural object it is and will always be, not just to the delight of one part of the country, but the whole country.

Where to start the story about thew full-rigger Sørlandet? It is striking that this ship has had an unprecedented impact on our maritime traditions. The ship was only six years old when it wrote history in Norway by being the first Norwegian schoolship to cross the Atlantic in connection with the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. Since then, the full-rigger has displayed flags at many major international events, most recently during the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York in 1986 where Sørlandet together with Christian Radich promoted Norway that Norwegian interests in the United States have not seen in recent times.

Verdensutstillinger, internasjonale kappseilaser, representasjons-tokt, TV-film, verden over fra BBC, ærefulle tokt hjemme og ute, - tilsammen er det et enestående repertoar skuta kan vise til. Gjennom 60 år har Sørlandet representert sjøfartsnasjonen Norge på en verdig og stilig måte verden over. Få «kjendiser » i dette land kan vise tilnærmelsesvis til en lignende verdensberømmelse. I massemediene har skuta vært en «gjenganger» år ut og år inn. Uttrykk som <<solkystens hvite svane», «landets seilende ambassadør», «superkjendisen» osv. er det nok dekning for. Ingen tvil om at skuta fortjener virak og honnør når hun nå 10 som den eldste norskbygde skværrigger har rukket å bli 60 år.

After activity and admiration in the mass media to judge, fame at home and abroad, her popularity is steadily rising. beauty seems to be in its prime and ready for new challenges that there does not seem to be lack of.

She has made Norwegian history several times over. The legendary Chicago voyage is one thing, but the fact that she was ahead of her time and created a sailing ship revolution by inviting girls on board is another. This happened after the refit of the banjer in 1980 and long before the country's Minister for Gender Equality went to the press and announced that it was time to get girls on board our square rigged ships. Sørlandet was the first to introduce gender equality on board, and also attracted a lot of attention when it made a comeback in 1980 with a student crew representing 11 nations. Sørlandet became a kind of "sailing mini-UN" and has in recent years maintained this international fraternization in the form of student representation from several countries around the world.

The objective was in addition to providing concrete maritime knowledge, to develop social maturation and international fraternity by welding pupils of different nationalities and genders together through the demanding joint efforts of a sailing ship of this type. For this reason, one has wanted to give the student body an international composition.

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- Source: " The Ship Sørlandet - a school under sail",
published by the Foundation The Ship Sørlandet in April 1987.
Editor: Helge Svein Halvorsen

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Other articles in this series:

• The gift letter that became a national cultural treasure
• A school of a lifetime
• Discipline - order - seamanship
• They came down from the rig and manned our fleet
• School under sail
• "We became men"
• Our youngest Vikings
• "Continuation School" for future sailors
• War, occupation, reconstruction
• Inspiration in art
• Over and out as a training ship
• In 1956, at the age of 14, he took part in the Tall Ships Races