NRP ''Sagres'' is a

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 ...

and school ship of the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'') or as the Portuguese Armada (''Armada Portuguesa''), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is ...

since 1961. As the third ship with this name in the Portuguese Navy, she is sometimes referred to as ''Sagres III''.

Design and specifications

The ship is a steel-built three masted

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

, with square sails on the fore and main masts and

gaff Gaff may refer to: Ankle-worn devices * Spurs in variations of cockfighting * Climbing spikes used to ascend wood poles, such as utility poles Arts and entertainment * A character in the ''Blade Runner'' film franchise * Penny gaff, a 19th- ...

rigging on the

mizzen The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

mast. Her main mast rises above the deck. She carries 22 sails totaling about and can reach a top speed of under sail. She has a sparred length of , a width of , a draught of , and a displacement at full load of .

Ship history

The three-masted ship was launched under the name ''Albert Leo Schlageter'' on 30 October 1937 at

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...

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 ...

for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

''. The ship was named after

Albert Leo Schlageter Albert Leo Schlageter (; August 12, 1894 – May 26, 1923) was an Imperial German Army officer who served in World War I before joining several ''Freikorps'' groups and carrying out acts of sabotage against French occupational forces in the Ruhr ...

, who was executed in 1923 by French forces occupying the Ruhr area. Her first commander was Bernhard Rogge. ''Sagres'' is a sister ship of the ''Gorch Fock'', the ''Horst Wessel'', and the Romanian training vessel ''Mircea''. Another sister, ''Herbert Norkus'', was not completed, while ''Gorch Fock II'' was built in 1958 by the Germans to replace the ships lost after the war. Following a number of international training voyages, the ship was used as a stationary office ship after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was only put into ocean-going service again in 1944 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 ...

. On 14 November 1944 she hit a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

mine off

Sassnitz Sassnitz (, before 1993 in ) is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2012 was 9,498. Sassnitz is a well-known seaside resort and port town, and is a gateway to th ...

and had to be towed to port in Swinemünde. Eventually transferred to

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

, she was taken over there by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

when the war ended and finally confiscated by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1948, the U.S. sold her to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

for a symbolic price of US$5,000. She was towed to

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 ...

where she sailed as a school ship for the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

under the name ''Guanabara''. In 1961, Ambassador Teotónio Pereira of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, who was also a man of the sea, loved sailing ships, and had been an organizer of the first

Tall Ships' Races The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships" (sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and co ...

, persevered in his mediations and the Portuguese Navy bought the ''Guanabara'' to replace the previous school ship ''Sagres'' (which was transferred to

, where she is a museum ship under her original name '' Rickmer Rickmers''). The

renamed ''Guanabara'' as ''Sagres'' (the third ship of that name), where she remains in service to this day. In 2010, the ship performed her longest voyage, a round the world trip performing an approximate total of 35000 miles, under the command of CMG Pedro Proença Mendes. The ship left

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

on 19 January and returned on 24 December, having participated in Velas Sudamerica 2010, a historic

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n tour by eleven tall ships to celebrate the bicentennial of the first national governments of Argentina and

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 ...

. She also took part in the Expo Shanghai, among other events during that year. The ship has sailed under the Portuguese flag since 1962. For that reason, in 2012 there were major commemorations of her 75th anniversary and 50 years in the service of the Portuguese navy.

Sister ships

* ''Gorch Fock'' (ex-''Tovarishch'') * USCGC ''Eagle'' (ex-''Horst Wessel'') *'' Herbert Norkus'', never completed * ''Mircea'', Romanian sail training ship * ''Gorch Fock II''

Gallery

File:Portuguese tallship NRP Sagres.png, Line art of the ''Sagres'' File:NRP Sagres 1.jpeg, ''Sagres'' during Harborfest '82 File:Sagres II Opsail 2000 Crop.JPG, The ''Sagres'' at OpSail 2000 File:Sagres-MDQ.jpg, ''Sagres'' at dock in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, February 2010 File:Embarque del NRP Sagres.jpg, Decorative buoy, ''Sagres'' File:Buque 515 construido por "Blohm & Voss". NRP SAGRES. Portugal.jpg, ''Sagres''' builders' plaque File:Visita al Buque Escuela NRP Sagres de La Armada Portuguesa en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (14280935517).jpg, ''Sagres'', view from aboard

References

External links