BALTIC BEAUTY

The ship was built at the N.V. Capello Shipyard in Zwartluis, the Netherlands, in 1926. Initially, her name was Hans 2 and the vessel was used for transporting live eels.

The today’s captain lounge initially was a large tank for fish. At that time, the ship had a steam engine. In 1936, she was sold to Sweden and renamed Sven Wilhelm, after the son of the new owner. Instead of money, it was bought for 25 tons of eel, live of course. Years of service and fishing hardships have deteriorated her structure and beauty. In 1977, she retired from the regular service.

In 1978, Victor Gottlow came across the wreck of the “beauty”, decided to buy the ship, and became her owner for a number of years. After a lengthy overhaul, he transformed her into a sailing ship. She became a schooner, and in 2004 she was converted into a brigantine.

In honour of his wife, the new owner named the ship Dominique Fredion. However, when the relationship between the spouses faded, Gottlow decided to seek a more neutral name and renamed the ship as Baltic Beauty. Interestingly, she has three bathrooms and a sauna developed under the deck. Another peculiarity is the figurehead which contains an eel embracing a woman, which commemorates the ship’s fishing past.

In 2018, the Gdańsk-based POLSail took over the operation of the vessel. The owner of Baltic Beauty was looking for someone younger, who on his behalf could take care of ship’s operation. After some time, he decided to sell the ship and Poland gained another class A sailing vessel. On 6th July 2019, the white and red flag was hoisted up the flagpole and Gdańsk became the homeport of the ship (previously it was Ronneby). Victor Gottlow, who attended the ceremony, was profoundly moved and satisfied.

After the change of flag, the time came to change the colour of the hull as well. Nelson’s blue background was replaced with the noble white and a grey strip at the deck height. The colours were similar to those of Baltic Star, the other vessel operated by the POLSail. Additionally, specially designed inscriptions containing ship’s name and homeport appeared on both sides of the brigantine.