Specification
- Name: VENUS
- Class: B
- Nationality: Denmark
- Year built: 1900
- Home port: Marstal
- Entered by: Anders Bischoff
About
- Areas of operation: Northern Europe, Baltic, Skagerrak/Kattegat, North Sea
- Number of trainees: 12
- Number of permanent crew: 6
- Berth types: Bunks;Cabins;
- Showers: Yes
- Operational language(s) on board: English
- Other language(s) spoken on board: Danish
Biography
The topsail schooner VENUS was launched in 1900 from the shipyard J.J. Pattje & Zoon in Waterhuizen, the Netherlands, under the name Adelheit. Built as a flat-bottomed steel cargo schooner for the North Sea and Baltic trade, her shallow draught allowed her to work harbours where larger ships could not enter. In 1943, during the Second World War, she was fitted with a diesel engine. Through the post-war decades she continued as a small freighter along the northern German coast, one of the last traditional coasters still in service. By the late 1970s, she was sold to the Netherlands and underwent major restoration—her hull renewed, rig rebuilt, and a deeper ballasted keel added—transforming her from a coastal trader into a true deep-sea sailing vessel.
Re-launched in 1984 as Bisschop van Arkel, she joined the Dutch charter fleet and spent over three decades sailing the North Sea, the Baltic, and the Scandinavian fjords, becoming a regular participant in tall ship gatherings. In 2025, she was acquired by the Danish non-profit Foreningen Neptun and now sails proudly as VENUS af Marstal, sister ship to the brigantine NEPTUN. With her home port in the historic maritime town of Marstal on the island of Ærø, she serves as a sail training and association vessel in the Baltic Sea—after more than 125 years afloat, still connecting people through the timeless experience of wind and sea.
