Training Ship Joseph Conrad

Built by Burmeister and Wain in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1882, the iron-hulled training ship later known as Joseph Conrad was originally named Georg Stage and sailed the Baltic and North Seas on six-month training cruises with 80 cadets at a time. In 1905 it sank in a collision, losing 22 young men, but was raised and repaired, and more than 4,000 cadets sailed on it over 50 years of service. In 1934 Australian sailor Alan Villers bought the ship, renamed it Joseph Conrad after the Polish-born British novelist, and continued using it to teach seamanship, making a two-year voyage around the world with a crew of professional seamen and paying cadets that covered 58,000 miles. Financier G. Huntington bought the Conrad in 1936 and converted it into a yacht with luxury accommodations, and after three years Hartford turned the ship over to the U.S. Maritime Commission. During World War II it was used in Florida to train U.S. Merchant Marine personnel. In 1947 President Harry S. Truman signed an act of Congress donating the Conrad to Mystic Seaport, where it serves as both an exhibit and a training ship for young people ages 10 to 15 in the Mystic Mariner Program - Joseph Conrad Summer Camp, who receive instruction in sailing, seamanship, and maritime life.

Mystic, Connecticut · United States