Specification
- Name: NEPTUN
- Class: A
- Nationality: Denmark
- Year built: 1947
- Home port: Marstal
- Rig: Brigantine
- Length of hull: 29 m
- Entered by: Anders Bischoff
About
- Areas of operation: Northern Europe, Baltic, Skagerrak/Kattegat, North Sea, Black Sea, Atlantic/Caribbean, North America East Coast, Canada, Pacific, South Pacific, Indian Ocean
- Number of trainees: 1
- Number of permanent crew: 1
- Berth types: Bunks;
- Showers: Yes
- Operational language(s) on board: English
- Other language(s) spoken on board: Danish
Biography
The brigantine NEPTUN was built in 1947 by the shipyard D. W. Kremer Sohn in Elmshorn, Germany. Originally constructed as a sturdy steel-hulled fishing vessel designed for the demanding conditions of the North Sea, her early career took an unexpected turn when she was captured by Polish authorities and converted into a border patrol vessel. In 1959, she received a new birth certificate and returned to fishing once more.
In 1990, NEPTUN was discovered in Ijmuiden, Holland, and underwent an ambitious restoration that saw her fitted with masts and rigging, transforming her into a sailing vessel. In December 2022, she was acquired by Foreningen Neptun, a Danish non-profit organization dedicated to sail training, and her home port became Marstal on the island of Ærø. In 2025, NEPTUN was converted from a schooner to a brigantine rig, adding square sails on the foremast. Today, she circumnavigates the globe as a community-based sail training vessel, offering hands-on instruction in traditional seamanship to trainees from around the world while exploring remote destinations from the Pacific islands to the Caribbean.
