No TikTok, just ropes and rigging

When Captain Marcus Seidl sails up the River Elbe on board the Statsraad Lehmkuhl in the next few days, Hamburg will initially appear on the horizon only as a silhouette. Then the ship will pass container terminals, tugboats will cross its path and port cranes will tower up above the water. Hundreds of thousands of people will be waiting on the banks of the river to see the parade of traditional vessels as Hamburg celebrates its port anniversary.

It will be a special moment for Seidl. “It’s 52 years since I first came here on board my father’s ship,” he says. “I’ll be interested to see how the port has changed.” More than 250 ships from all over the world are expected to attend Hamburg’s port anniversary celebrations in 2026, which last year attracted around 1.2 million visitors.

A three-master from another era

And this imposing three-master will be right in the midst of things: 98 metres long, white square sail, dark hull. The ship looks like something from another era. It has sailed the high seas for more than a century, with some interruptions, and these days is a Norwegian sail training ship, research vessel and place of learning at sea. As part of the international One Ocean Expedition, the Statsraad Lehmkuhl also teaches about marine protection and sustainable shipping.

The Lehmkuhl was built in Germany in 1914 and was originally named the Grossherzog Friedrich August. After the First World War it moved to Norway, where its home port is now Bergen. It is one of Europe’s biggest active sail training ships. Those who board here learn how to raise the sails, tie knots and keep watch - and above all how to take responsibility in an extremely confined space.

This is the life Marcus Seidl has known since he was a boy. His German parents emigrated to Canada; he was born in Vancouver and already spent months at sea as a child. “I could never imagine any other life than working on big sailing ships,” he says. He’s captained the Statsraad Lehmkuhl for more than 30 years.

These days, Seidl passes his knowledge on to young trainees. One of them is 22-year-old Thomas from Norway. He heard about the Statsraad Lehmkuhl on TikTok and signed up for the voyage. There’s often no mobile phone signal on board. That’s just the way Thomas likes it - partly because he also sleeps better on board than he normally does. “You forget the world on the ship. That’s an entirely new experience,” he says.