SV ''Estelle'' is a fair trade cargo

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

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 ...

, currently the biggest sail ship in Finnish register. She was built in

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

, Germany in 1922 as a 42-meter (137.8 feet), steel-hulled ship for trawl-fishing 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 ...

. ''Estelle''s hometown is

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. She was long owned by Eestaas and operated by Uusi Tuuli. Now she belongs to a "Ship to Gaza" company Northern Breeze AB, registered in Turku,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. ''Estelle'' was previously maintained by volunteers who had the desire to sail to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

to export assistance supplies and bring back fair trade goods and operate according to the ideals of Fair Trade. She made her first trip to Africa in 2002, before which she also visited the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and some harbors of

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. In addition, many of the ship's crew have been trained while sailing in the Baltic Sea. After her trip to

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, ''Estelle'' has mainly sailed in the Baltic Sea, participated in the Tall Ships Race of 2003, and collaborated with

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

on research and campaign work. ''Estelle'' is also constantly training new crew members since it is open to practically any one. ''Estelle''s operations are primarily based on volunteers. Operations strive for environmental sustainability, solidarity and global equality. Since 2003, Prometheus camps have been organized on ''Estelle'' every summer as a non-religious alternative to confirmation camp. During the camp the boat tours around the archipelago near Turku. ''Estelle'' joined Sail Training International's (STI) Class A Forum as a member during the spring of 2005. The forum is intended for training the crews of the world's largest sailboats, improving operations and other related development. On 27 April 2010, ''Estelle'' board member Jyri Jaakkola was killed by paramilitaries in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In 2012, ''Estelle'' was sold to Swedish interests for an attempt to break the Gaza blockade.

Gaza mission

''Estelle'' departed for the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

to try to break Israel's maritime blockade in the summer of 2012. "We are sailing with peaceful intentions," a crew member said. ''Estelle'' is Swedish-owned, but Finnish-flagged ship. According to the Ship to Gaza organization, there are also eleven Swedes, two Finns, five Greeks, four Norwegians, three Israelis, three Spanish citizens, one Canadian and one Italian aboard. On October 20, 2012 the Israeli military seized the vessel without incident and took it to the port of Ashdod. In August 2013 the state of Israel filed a petition to confiscate the vessel. In August 2016, the Israeli supreme court ruled that the state cannot confiscate the ''Estelle'', and ordered to state to pay NIS 40,000 to the ship's owner to cover court costs. ''Estelle'' is the latest in a series of vessels crewed by activists who have tried to challenge Israel's blockade on Gaza, imposed after Hamas seized power in 2007.

References

External links

S/v Estelle's homepage

Estelle will sail along the shore of Finland in Summer 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estelle 1922 ships Individual sailing vessels