A ship, a team, a philosophy:  Robert Baden Powell was the founder of the boy scout movement. He was an English general who u. A. had fought in the Boer War. His declared goal was to get the youthful proletariat off the streets in England at the turn of the century and to keep them busy. The basic principles of his work were A. Education for self-education, social behavior, early acceptance of responsibility and a strong connection to nature / environmental protection. SRBP was one of the first experience educators.

Sir Robert Baden Powell's hull dates from 1957/58 when the tug and icebreaker `Robert` was built in Magdeburg in the former GDR in the VEB Edgar Andre shipyard. The tug `Robert` comes from a series of ships that were built for export to the" socialist brother states "and for the Third World. In 1989 the ship was launched and put up for sale after the Eastern bloc collapsed, and with it the Polish state-owned company for which the 'Robert' had served for the past few years.

The most important on-board facts & dimensions:

42 meters long (overall), 6.50 meters wide, 3 meters draft

Class: Register Holland

Cabins: 6 (shower / toilet), of which 5 cabins with double bed & single bed, 1 cabin with `only` double bed

Passengers: 12-17 people

Crew: 5 - 6 crew members including 1 diving instructor

In 1991 it was bought by Karsten Börner, transferred to Holland by a colleague, and in 1992/93 in Lemmer it was extensively transformed into a top sailing schooner based on the Baltimore clipper as a sailing passenger ship. The drawings were created by the architects Kapteyn & Stromenger from Enkhuizen (Netherlands). The conversion work on the hull was carried out by the shipyard van den Berg in Lemmer, the interior work by Azomat, later Aquamar BV in Lemmer. Electrics, rigging and many other things were completed in-house with many friends and small businesses. In the spring of 1993, the conversion was completed after only eleven months of construction, the "Robert" was "ennobled" and was now called Sir Robert Baden Powell.

The Baltimore Clipper was a type of ship that was developed for the American War of Independence. It was very fast and agile for its time, had both good "on the wind" and "room wind" characteristics and was therefore very well suited as a blockade breaker, since it was able to maneuver much faster and better than the sluggish British ships of the line. Characteristic were the masts that were tilted aft (up to 15 degrees) and the 1-2 frame sails that are typical for a topsail schooner.

She has been running as a cruise sailing ship offering sailing trips for people who want to relax naturally in a short period of time, to return to their everyday lives strengthened and with new perspectives. Our main goal has been to offer a special kind of sailing experience: Take the helm or relax on deck. Successfully running with experienced, competent and friendly ship crew, consisting of captain, helmsman, manager, diving instructor, cook, service staff. High service and customer orientation. Smooth process from booking request to return. Safe navigation of the ship. Excellent condition of the ship, maintained to class.

Since 1993 Sir Robert Baden Powell can look back on an eventful history. Just a week after leaving the shipyard in Lemmer / Fryslaan, she reached the Portuguese port of Porto for the first charter after a stormy crossing (SW 11Bft). Then she spent a summer season in the Spanish Mediterranean. From October 1993 - 1996 she was in the Red Sea for diving cruises. The focus was on the southern Red Sea, which was still undeveloped for tourism at that time, with a focus on southern Egypt. Diving cruises were carried out to the most beautiful reefs in the Red Sea, also in Sudan and Israel. To name a few: Elphinstone Reef, Daedalus Reef, Brother Islands, Rocky Island, Zabargad, Foolbay, Zanganeb, Schab Rumi, Umbria and many more. From 1997 the Sir Robert spent all summers in the Mediterranean, first in Spain, then also in Sardinia, Corsica, Gulf of Naples, Cote d'Azur, Sicily, Malta, Gozo and in many other beautiful places. In the winter months from 1997 to 2002, sailing and diving cruises were carried out in the Caribbean, for example on the Leeward Islands, the Winward Islands, the Grenadines and the Virgin Islands. When the effects of September 11, 2001 on tourism became noticeable, the Cape Verde Islands were the new winter driving area. After three years in the Cape Verde Islands in winter, including a few stays in Senegal and beautiful tours in the Canary Islands, the summer season in the Mediterranean was getting longer and thanks to the temperatures, it can now be extended into November. The pleasant side effect is to be able to keep the now 'fine older lady' happy during the winter rest periods, i.e. to entertain.

Below decks:  All rooms below deck are equipped with fireproof walls and the cupboards, tables, beds and shelves are made of stylish Merbau wood as well as Meranti and Bankirai wood. The salon is the ship's spacious lounge with three tables, upholstered benches, chairs and also serves as a dining room for breakfast and lunch.

In front of the salon there are 3 A-cabins (  Constellation, Mystic, Columbia ) and a B-cabin (  Argus ) and behind the salon an A-cabin ( Pride of Baltmore ) and a B-cabin ( Blue Nose). In the salon there is the fridge, which is always filled with a cool drink, from which the guests can help themselves - using a tally list. The kitchen, which is open to the salon, invites you to a gourmet chat with the cook and is also used for show cooking. All rooms are cool, shady and offer plenty of space for the pleasant crowd. If you like, you can also get into the navigation with the captain and admire, among other things, the ultra-modern Chartradar.

The Sir Robert is an exclusive sailing ship with six passenger cabins. That means: plenty of space for few guests. If you like: the absolute opposite of mass tourism. We are therefore pleased that we can offer you six spacious cabins. All cabins have their own toilet and shower. In addition to a double bed, five of the six cabins are equipped with an additional single bed. All cabins are equipped with portholes or hatches that can be opened independently from the inside and also provide fresh air. We switch on the air conditioning during the midsummer trips and there is the possibility to spend the night on deck. The sockets are European standard. That means: hair dryer, shaver or charging cable for I-Phones & Co can be easily plugged in. Because we have been passionate about sea for more than thirty years, we have taken the liberty to build our six cabins after important ships from the great era of the Baltimore Clipper in the 18th and 19th centuries. Century of seafaring history.

Sir Robert's salon is located directly amidships and resembles a large lounge. All guests can comfortably find space for dining and is also where our on-board library is located.

The Sir Robert Baden Powell runs under class at Register Holland, class 1234+, so it is approved for worldwide passenger travel and is accepted annually. It corresponds to the highest possible safety standard for this type of passenger ship.

The Sir Robert's sailing plan approximates the model of the American Balltimore Clipper, modernized to make it easier and safer to operate the ship together with the guests:  the mast fall is less, the large boom towers a little less over the stern and the schooner sail is driven on the boom.

Sir Robert Bladen Powell is an ideal vessel to operate a cruise sailing or charter business or sail training operation or schoolship or as a private family yacht.