''J.R. Tolkien'' is a gaff-topsail

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

of Netherlands registry used for passenger cruises on 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 ...

and elsewhere in European waters. Originally named ''Dierkow'', the vessel was built in 1964 as a seagoing diesel-electric

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

at the Edgar-André-Werft in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. As a tug ''Dierkow'' was employed in freight transportation under East German registry from the Baltic port of

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. In 1994 ''Dierkow'' was acquired by the Van der Rest family for conversion to a topsail schooner with auxiliary propulsion for passenger cruising. Undergoing conversion at

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 ...

between 1995 and 1998, the craft was placed in Netherlands registry at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and was renamed ''J.R. Tolkien'' in honor of the British author

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

. As a schooner ''J.R. Tolkien'' is a topsail-rigged vessel of 139 tons and measures 36m in hull length (41.7m overall) with a beam of 7.8m and draft of 3.2m. Two 32m masts carry a sail area of 628 square meters. Auxiliary propulsion is supplied by a

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

engine of 365 horsepower. ''J.R. Tolkien'' carries a crew of 10 with 20 to 90 passengers on a day sail or up to 32 passengers on weekends or longer cruises. Accommodations include 11 cabins (ten with three berths, one with two berths) with separate shower and WC. The main salon can seat 50 persons for dinner. ''J.R. Tolkien'' is operated by Van der Rest Sail Charter, who also operate the

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 ...

'' Loth Loriën''.

Gallery

File:20240814 J R Tolkien Rostock 104518225.jpg , Warnemünde 2024 File:J R Tolkien_S_Kiel_05-09-2021.jpg , Kiel 2021 File:Race of the Classics - Tolkien.jpg , Ramsgate 2007 File:JR Tolkien 4480.JPG , Saloon interior 2013 File:JR Tolkien Ship in Dublin.jpg , Dublin 2007 File:J. R. Tolkien rear.jpg , Rear taffrail 2008 File:JR-Tolkien2 4804.JPG , Boulogne 2013 File:Hamburg-Neustadt, Hamburg, Germany - panoramio (119).jpg , Hamburg 2013 File:Schooner ship J R Tolkien in Binz 2023.webm , Seebrücke Binz 2023

References

External links

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Photos of J.R. Tolkien at shipspotting.com

Photos of J.R. Tolkien at marinetraffic.com

Van der Rest Sail Charter Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:J.R. Tolkien (Schooner) Schooners of the Netherlands 1964 ships J. R. R. Tolkien Ships built in East Germany Tugboats of Germany

See also

Gallery

References

External links