The ''Geertruida Gerarda (2)'' was a steel
four-mast barque launched in the Netherlands in 1904. Measuring 2505
tons,
she was the largest sailing vessel ever built in that country and also the last
tall ship
A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...
built by a Dutch
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
for commercial purposes.
History
The ''Geertruida Gerarda'' was built between 1902 and 1904 at the
J. & K. Smit yard in
Krimpen aan de Lek
Krimpen aan de Lek is a village on the Lek River in the municipality of Krimpenerwaard, province of South Holland, the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbe ...
, just east of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. The yard, raised in 1847, had some experience building large sailing vessels. The ship was named after an 1890 three-mast barque under the same name,
[Geertruida Gerarda (2)]
website owned by the Van der Hoog family, retrieved 10 February 2016. that was abandoned and sank west of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in 1902. First owner of the ''Geertruida Gerarda (2)'' was Pieter van der Hoog, a former skipper and an entrepreneur who had been in shipping since 1877.
The ship made her maiden voyage from Rotterdam to
Batavia carrying a load of
break bulk cargo
In shipping, break-bulk, breakbulk, or break bulk cargo, also called general cargo, are goods that are stowed on board ships in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct bill of lading, bil ...
, departing 20 April 1905.
In 1906 Van der Hoog died and the ship came under the management of Cornelis Lels, a ship owner in Rotterdam. He sold the vessel in 1910 to the
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
based
Rhederei AG von 1896, that renamed her ''Olympia''.
Geertruida Gerarda
www.bruzelius.info, retrieved 10 February 2016. At the onset of World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the ship was in Iquique
Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...
, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
and she was interned. After the war the owner was forced to hand her over to the Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
government as war reparation
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. War reparations can take the form of hard currency, precious metals, natural resources, in ...
. The Italians never did much with the ship and she was demolished in Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
in 1926.
Sources
*
Krimpen aan de Lek, thuishaven van reders en zeevarenden
website maintained by the Krimpen aan de Lek historical society, retrieved 10 February 2016.
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{{reflist
Ships built in the Netherlands
1904 ships
Barques