Amorina was built as a

lightship A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

in 1934 for the Swedish maritime authorities then designated as lightship 33. It was bought by private parties in 1979, converted to have masts installed and competed in the 1983 Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race.

Design and construction

The vessel was designed as a

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

for use by Swedish maritime authorities.Clarke & Iggulden, ''Sailing Home'', p. viii ''Lightship 33'' was constructed in 1934 at the

Götaverken Götaverken was a Swedish shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. It was founded in 1841, and ceased building ships in 1989. History The company was founded in 1841 by Scottish businessman Alexander Keiller (Gothenburg), Ale ...

shipyard in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. The hull was built to Lloyds' Ice Class A1, with an icebreaker bow and -thick riveted hull plates.

Operational history

From completion until the late 1960s, ''Lightship 33'' was usually moored on station in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

: either at Sydostbrotten or Nordströmsgrund. During the 1960s, the lightships were replaced by the prefabricated Kasun Light Houses. ''Lightship 33'' was laid up in 1970. A group of Swedish sailors, who had lost their vessel in the Mediterranean, formed the company Amorina Cruises, and purchased the lightvessel in 1979. Renamed ''Amorina'', the vessel was refitted into a

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing ...

Aveiro, Portugal Aveiro () is a city and a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. In 2021, the population was 80,880, in an area of : it is the second most populous city in the Centro Region, Portugal, Centro Region of Portugal (after Coimbr ...

. Three steel masts were installed and the wheelhouse was relocated, while increased accommodation and a saloon were fitted belowdecks. After refitting, the vessel was in length, with a beam of , and a draught of .Clarke & Iggulden, ''Sailing Home'', p. 8 She had a mast height of , and a total sail area of . Auxiliary propulsion was provided by a Deutch diesel, with a service speed of . The conversion was completed in 1983, and ''Amorina'' participated in that year's Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race. The vessel was based in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

during 1985 and early 1986. In March, ''Amorina'' sailed to England and joined the First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage: a historical re-enactment for the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

. She left England for Australia in May 1987, and sailed with the fleet via

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, and

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

before arriving in Sydney on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

(26 January) 1988.King, ''The First Fleet''. p. 89-90

Citations

References

* * {{coord missing, Sweden 1934 ships Lightships Tall ships of Sweden Lighthouses in Sweden Ships built in Gothenburg