SaltyJobs.co

About Queen Galadriel

Built in 1937 as a Baltic Trader, Queen Galadriel is 33m overall with a gaff ketch rig. Her original name was ‘Else’, after the Captain’s daughter. 

The Cirdan Sailing Trust took ownership of Queen Galadriel in 1983 and have maintained her as a sail training vessel ever since.

She remains the flagship of Cirdan Sailing’s fleet, the largest of their current three vessels. She focuses on sail training with young people, who are often disadvantaged in some way and receive bursaries to sail aboard Queen Galadriel on week-long residential voyages.

Queen Galadriel has also been known to participate in events including the Small Ships Race, public open ship events, charity regattas and even blockbuster films.

Ship Particulars

Year	1937
Builder	Ring Andersen
Built	Svenborg, Denmark
Length Overall	32.9m
Length On Deck	23.95m
Beam	6.6
Draught
Sail Number	TSK645
Home Port	Maldon, UK
Permanent Crew	3 + 1 volunteer bunk
Trainee Berths	16
Website	CirdanTrust.org

Construction, Build & Restoration History

Queen Galadriel was built in Svenborg, Denmark by Ring Andersen in 1937. She is a classic Baltic Trader, and traded around the coasts of Denmark and Norway.

QG was originally a motor sailor, but after 1956 she was just a motor vessel. By 1970, the demand for vessels such as Else had ceased, and her future became uncertain.

In 1983, she was bought by The Cirdan Sailing Trust, specifically for youth sail training work. She was then renamed ‘Queen Galadriel’, the elven queen in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

After running residential sailing voyages for twenty years, she was taken out of service in 2003 for a major structural refit. This was carried out at T. Nielsen and Co.’s shipyard in Gloucester Docks. It was a big project:

• Keel replacement
• Extensive re-planking
• Installation of watertight bulkheads
• Renewal of all electrical systems
• Renewal of all mechanical systems
• Complete redesign & renewal of all below-deck accomodation

Queen Galadriel returned to service in May 2004 to continue her important role in working with young people.

By the end of the 2015 season, Queen Galadriel was again in need of major work to continue to enable her to run sail training voyages. She again spent the winter at T. Nielsen and Co.’s yard in Gloucester, and was put back into service with brand new decks laid in May 2016.

She continues her work taking disadvantaged young people to sea on residential trips.

Queen Galadriel’s Work With The Cirdan Sailing Trust

The Cirdan Sailing Trust specialises in providing sail training voyages for young people. They have a fleet of three sailing vessels to specifically undertake this work – Queen Galadriel, Faramir and Duet.

Queen Galadriel’s home port is Maldon, with Cirdan’s offices being back along the River Blackwater in Bradwell-on-Sea. She starts & ends her season here, spending time sailing on the East Coast. In the summer QG makes her way south and has recently been based out of Poole Harbour for the summer. 

Depending on the weather and abilities of the groups, she can make her way west along the Jurassic Coast past Dorset and Devon, or east into the Solent. Queen Galadriel is also ideal for longer adventures for the right groups, including Channel crossings. She also takes part in the Small Ships Races, and has previously participated in Tall Ships Regattas further afield. 

As the largest vessel in their fleet, Queen Galadriel has a massive and extremely sociable saloon and galley below decks. She has ample accommodation for groups of up to 16 people – usually, groups bring 12-14 young people and 2-4 leaders depending on their needs. Because of her versatile accommodation, with two sets of 6 bunks either side up forward, and two separate two bunk cabins, groups with additional needs can easily be catered for. 

Her traditional gaff rig provides a great platform for everybody to get involved in hoisting, dropping and tacking the sails. Being a ketch, the level of work involved in sailing her can be increased or reduced given the needs of the groups!

Queen Galadriel’s Crew

There are three permanent crew onboard Queen Galadriel:

• Skipper
• Mate
• Bosun

The Skipper needs to be qualified to RYA Yachtmaster Offshore, with a commercial endorsement. She or he also needs an RYA Cruising Instructor or Yachtmaster Instructor qualification, so voyage participants can work towards RYA Start Yachting or Competent Crew certificates.

The Mate needs to hold an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or above certificate of competence, with commercial endorsement.

The Bosun ideally needs RYA Day Skipper and RYA Power Boat Level 2, but equivalent experience is accepted. This is seen as a training and development role, with the potential to progress through Cirdan’s fleet with support to access funding for further training. 

All of her professional crew need to have their ENG1 or ML5 medical certificates to endorse their health for working at sea. 

In addition to her permanent crew, Queen Galadriel has a fourth hand’s bunk available in the aft crew quarters. Opportunities are available for passionate individuals to volunteer as fourth hand in order to build their experience further. Often, this means that particularly keen young people from sail training voyages are invited back to sail as a volunteer.

Work Onboard Queen Galadriel in 2018

SaltyJobs is currently helping The Cirdan Sailing Trust recruit two new Bosuns for their 2018 season. One position is to work onboard Queen Galadriel, and the other is onboard their Bermudan ketch Faramir – but you’ll have the chance to sail on both.

Discover more & apply using those links. Contact us for more info.

Our Connection With Queen Galadriel

Eleanor, the founder of SaltyJobs, first sailed with The Cirdan Sailing Trust as a young person in 2007. She went back to volunteer with them, and spent 6 weeks onboard Queen Galadriel and Faramir as a 17-year-old. Through her volunteering, she was sponsored for an ASTO & Trinity House bursary to support her professional sailing qualifications. 

Nearly ten years later, Eleanor has stayed involved with sail training and achieved her commercial Yachtmaster certificate, having worked as freelance crew on a range of traditional sail training boats. In 2016 she fulfilled a dream of completing a whole season full-time on one ship.

Queen Galadriel, the first boat she ever fell in love with at 17 years old, came back into her life and Eleanor worked onboard her as First Mate. It was an extremely tough but incredibly rewarding season. We’ll write more about it so keep your eyes peeled.

Share Your Queen Galadriel Stories 

Have you sailed onboard Queen Galadriel, either as a young person recently or in the past? Or perhaps you’ve worked on her as permanent crew? Played a part in her history? Always fancied sailing her?

Let us know! We’re here to represent your voice and our community. Say ahoy and join in with other SaltyJobs crew. Share a comment with your QG stories and experiences below.

Alternatively, you can send us a message directly.

 

Salty Ships