The challenging tides, rough weather and dense ship traffic of the North Sea will be the first chapter within the Global Offshore Sailing Team‘s Expedition Blue Ocean. In 2022, GOST will undertake various missions to all Seven Seas to learn about and promote the most exciting #CLEAN ENERGY & #CLEAN SEAS projects and the driving forces behind them.
Inspired by the great Prince of the Sea Albert I and his strong commitment to international understanding, the environment and our oceans, we will carry out various missions with our supporters around the globe to promote international understanding and environmental awareness around #cleanseas and #cleanenergy
I’m proud commanding the 1st Mission with an outstanding experienced team:
NORTH SEA ENDURANCE 600+nm Offshore (Expedition Blue Ocean) Departure Zeebrugge, Belgium – 14 May 22: Into the Night – 271 nm Offshore to Wilhelmshaven/Bremerhaven – Meet the drivers of the #CLEAN SEAS initiatives of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Beach Cleaner and many more. Sail from Wilhelmshaven North-West to the major offshore wind farms. Meet Northern Helicopters and others who keep these breathtaking #CLEAN ENERGY projects running in such challenging conditions.
Other missions to come: GOST-Senior Officer Wolfgang Händel will command parallel to NORTH SEA ENDURANCE, the MEDITERRANEAN ENDURANCE MISSION in the Thyrenian Sea. With the great support of the Asociación para la Investigación y Difusión de la Historia Naval de Cuba projects with the Yacht Club de Havana (CARRIBEAN ENDURANCE) are in planning. Same with the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club (ATLANTIC ENDURANCE), our Californian team mates (PACIFIC ENDURANCE) and many more.
Please find updates at www.ExpeditionBlueOcean.com
It has always been a primary goal of Global Offshore Sailing Team (GOST) to promote international understanding. Since GOST and the Channel Dash Association first met 10 years ago, the two organizations have worked together to deepen Anglo-German friendship. Through joint expeditions and commemorative events, we kept history alive and created new connections between so many people. Together we accepted the challenge of a global pandemic which closed our borders and distanced us physically. We found new ways of staying in touch. And now – for the 80th anniversary commemoration – we have the great opportunity to finally meet again and create new relations for a peaceful future.
From the 70th to the 80th Anniversary of the Channel Dash
Peter Nixon, former Chairman of the Channel Dash Association, who established the contact with the Global Offshore Sailing Team, once summarized the effort perfectly with the words:
Working so hard to bring history back to everyone’s attention and recognizing the many great acts of courage performed on our behalf by men and women of all sides during a period of conflict. It is not about winners or losers. The world is a wonderful place to live because it is made up of many different, but beautiful countries. We should be proud of this fact. Equally, we should not be ashamed of our past, nor should we glorify it, for it was our past which created what we are today.
peter Nixon – Former Chairman of the Channel Dash Association
The Channel Dash, (codenamed Operation Cerberus by the Germans),[1]was a major naval engagement during World War II in which a German Kriegsmarine squadron consisting of both Scharnhorst-class battleships, and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen along with escorts, ran a British blockade and successfully sailed from Brest in Brittany to their home bases in Germany via the English Channel.
On 11 February 1942, the Kriegsmarine‘s ships left Brest at 21:14 and escaped detection for more than 12 hours, approaching the Straits of Dover without discovery.[2] As the German ships passed through the straits and on into the North Sea, British armed forces intercepted them, and attacks were made by the Royal Air Force, the Fleet Air Arm and Coastal Artillery. The attacks and bombardment were unsuccessful, and by 13 February all the Kriegsmarine‘s ships had completed their transit.[3]
‘The Channel Dash’, is also known as the heroic but futile attempt by six Swordfish torpedo bombers to stop the German Warships breaking through the Dover Strait and reach safety in their home waters.
Vice-Admiral Otto Ciliax, who commanded Operation “Cerberus” commented the attack of the slow and outdated Swordfish crews as follows:
“The mothball attack of a handful of ancient planes, piloted by men whose bravery surpasses any other action by either side that day”
The Channel Dash remains the only occasion since the Spanish Armada in 1588 that ships belonging to an enemy of Great Britain (other than the Dutch in the Anglo-Dutch Wars) have successfully traversed the English Channel
Detailed Description of the Channel Dash by The Operations Room
PROGRAM: 80th Anniversary Celebrations
12th February 2022: Thanks to the excellent work of Channel Dash Association Chairman Malcolm Godfrey, CDA Secretary Sheila Howard and all CDA members and supporters, a major commemorative event will also be held on the 80th anniversary on 12 February 2022 at the former Royal Airforce Base Manston.
13th February 2022: On this day, the Global Offshore Sailing Team will set off from Dover in a joint mission with the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club Dover to the English Channel for a commemoration at sea. We are grateful for the excellent organisation by Bernard Sealy.
GOST co-founder JOCHEN WERNE is awarded the STATE MEDAL – the highest honor of the Free State of Bavaria – for special commitment to environmental protection and announces an extraordinary new project with the EXPEDITION BLUE OCEAN.
In the Imperial Hall of the Residence in Munich on 26 October, Minister of State Thorsten Glauber presented the Environmental Medal 2021 to selected personalities, municipalities or organisations for their special commitment to environmental or consumer protection. The honor of this highest award of the Free State of Bavaria is bestowed on a maximum of 15 people each year.
Jochen Werne, who founded the Global Offshore Sailing Team (GOST) together with Guido Zoeller in 1999, was awarded the Bavarian State Medal. For more than 20 years he has been working to raise awareness in society for ocean issues. Over 30 GOST expeditions across the world’s oceans culminated in 2018 with the Expedition Antarctic Blanc in an act of state in Antarctica supported by 19 heads of state and led to extraordinary attention to the concerns of our environment and the need for close friendly international understanding.
Werne emphasizes, “This extraordinarily honorable award may bear my name, but it is for me a GOST AWARD. Without the commitment and passionate dedication of all GOST members and supporters to each mission, all that has been created would not have been possible.”
GOST is already planning the next major initiative, Expedition Blue Ocean (www.ExpeditionBlueOcean.org), which is open to anyone who wants to contribute to the oceans. Expedition Blue Ocean will take the sea route from Monaco in the Mediterranean to the Arctic port of Longyearbyen. Comparable to the Olympic torch relay, the expedition flag will be passed from one ship to the next. In the process, many crews will make a small but very important contribution to achieving a major goal. This will also serve symbolically to involve important actors in the field of marine protection and international maritime shipping in a dialogue.
Expedition Blue Ocean will serve as a platform for all crews and supporters in ports to promote the beauty of our oceans through events, fundraisers, international media coverage, etc. This will be done by raising civil society awareness of the importance and fragility of our planet’s marine ecosystem in light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Viewers around the world will be able to follow the prestigious yachts, their crews and the events on the internet and social media, or get involved themselves as ambassadors of the expedition with their own contribution. The expedition management can be contacted at info@expeditionblueocean.org.
BAVARIAN MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT THORSTEN GLAUBER PRESENTS ENVIRONMENTAL MEDAL FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICES TO NATURE, ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE PROTECTION
“The severe pandemic brought pain and hardship to all our lives and many of our efforts to support international understanding through international diplomacy had to step back to the important goal of not putting lives in danger. Who could understand this better than seafarers.
But now there is light at the end of the tunnel…dawn on the horizon. And even if we cannot all meet on the same boat and on the same ocean yet, we want to announce a very special challenge with GOST’s 2021 Expedition UNITED OCEANS – of course in compliance with all COVID-related regulations.
In June, GOST members from around the world will meet on different oceans with different yachts for Expedition UNITED OCEANS. While this time the current of the salt water will unite us, we celebrate the freedom of the seas and the friendship that knows no boundaries.”
Jochen Werne Co-Founder Global Offshore Sailing Team
Video cut from different Global Offshore Sailing Team expeditions. Voice: John F. Kennedy. Speech at the Admirals Cup Dinner 1962. Video prepared with Splice. ————-
“EXPEDITION UNITED OCEANS”
Del 29 de Mayo al 5 de Junio de 2021.
“Una grave pandemia nos ha traído dolor y dificultades a nuestra existencia. Muchos de nuestros esfuerzos para apoyar un acercamiento internacional a través de la diplomacia, se han visto frenados, en un esfuerzo de no poner en peligro vidas humanas. No obstante, en estos momentos en que se aprecia una luz al final del túnel, así como un nuevo amanecer en el horizonte, y aunque aún todavía no podemos reunirnos todos en el océano, queremos anunciar un nuevo y especial desafío de Global Offshore Sailing Team GOST para este año 2021; se trata de la realización de la EXPEDICIÓN UNITED OCEANS, cumpliendo, por supuesto, con todas las regulaciones y protocolos relacionadas con el COVID19. En estas mismas fechas, los miembros de GOST de todo el mundo se reunirán en diferentes océanos con diferentes yates, que navegarán apoyando la “Expedition United Oceans”. Esta vez y simbólicamente, serán las corrientes oceánicas las que nos una para celebrar la libertad de los mares y la amistad que no conoce de fronteras”.
An expedition supporting the creation of international understanding and the creation of awareness for the UN sustainability goal No.14
EXPEDITION MISSION
THERE HAS BEEN AWAKENING
We are living and experiencing a time where we are globally opening borders again. It’s a time of hope and a time to celebrate the great achievements mankind made throughout cooperation, diplomacy and exchange.
Like in the days – many of us do record very well – when the Cold War ended and borders opened, brave women and men worked intensively in many projects to overcome also the barriers in the minds of the people. Fear was replaced by the hope for a better future for mankind. Adversaries became friends and as a result nationalism and populism were disarmed.
With Expedition Baltic Sea Hawk we want to commemorate with a ceremony on sea all those who were engaged for international understanding because we’re convinced that in these days it’s more than ever important to create understanding for the continuation of the historically longstanding period of peace in Europe. The GOST ceremony supporting international understanding will take place at the historical site, where sailors of the navies of NATO and Warsaw Pact operated with a sober attitude in closest distance during times when political tensions were on the edge.
SUSTAINABILITY
In addition to that we will support the UN sustainabilityGoal 14 by creating awareness for the BALTIC SEA AS A TIME MACHINE predicting the impact of human activities on our oceans.
Overfishing, warming, acidification, pollution, eutrophication, loss of oxygen, intensive use of coasts—all these are phenomena that we observe around the globe. Because they have been particularly drastic in the Baltic, but also because some key problems were successfully addressed, the region can, for good and for bad, tell us what to expect and how to respond to the challenges of the future.
The Baltic Sea, as a model region, can contribute to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 14— THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF THE OCEANS, SEAS AND MARINE RESOURCES
It‘s a great privilege commanding the flagship of Expedition „BALTIC SEA HAWK“ during this offshore challenge through the Baltic Sea to the North and hence crossing twice one of the planet’s most exciting waterways: the Kattegat. With a commemoration ceremony supporting international understanding we will remember and honour the sailors of the navies of NATO and Warsaw Pact who operated during the Cold War in these waters always with a sober attitude in closest distance, even when political tensions were on the edge. Their professional engagement has been instrumental for the long-standing period of peace in which we have the comfort to live in.
JOCHEN WERNE EXPEDITION LEADER & CO-FOUNDER GLOBAL OFFSHORE SAILING TEAM
Heading to the sea – Planung trifft Realität What to do when the storm hit you – Vom Lock-down zum Lock-On Finding new routes Die neue Realität in einer Welt beschleunigter Transformation
Black Sea expedition fosters international relations by connecting people and their cultures
GOST‘s adventurous 2020 expedition BLACK SEA DRAGON (www.BlackSeaDragon.com) will depart on June 27 from the famous Bulgarian Black Sea harbour and home of the country’s Naval Academy, Varna.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: By combining TRADITION and FUTURE in today’s hyper-connected world, the initiators of the expedition will bring together people and sailors from around the world to commemorate peacefully not only the great seafarers and explorers of all times – who were the first to unite our nations and people around the globe – but also to raise awareness and sensitise civil society to the importance of our MARITIME ECOSOCYSTEM with regard to the UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. Together with all partners, new relations will be created between sailors, states and academic officials in support of international understanding and peaceful relations.
COMMEMORATION: In international waters the expedition yacht crews will remember the Black Sea sailors of all nations who lost their lives while being on duty with a wreath laying commemoration ceremony on sea.
CHALLENGE: In just one leg the yachts will challenge each other from their home base to the Northern entrance of the Bosphorus. There the yachts will unite to pass the strait southwards to their Marmara Sea destination, the famous Mega Yacht Marina Ataköy near Turkey‘s biggest city Istanbul.
Jochen Werne Co-Founder GOST & Expedition Leader
“It‘s a great privilege commanding the flag ship of Expedition „BLACK SEA DRAGON“ during this offshore challenge through the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and hence crossing twice one of the planet’s most challenging waterways: the Bosphorus. While in Greek mythology Jason and his team of Argonauts challenged clashing rocks in the strait, the dedicated international sailors of the Global Offshore Sailing Team will be challenged by today‘s busy ships traffic, the famous powerful 4 to 6kn current and strong funnelling wind effects.”
Guido Zoeller Co-Founder GOST
“Expedition BLACK SEA DRAGON will mark another milestone in the history of the Global Offshore Sailing Team. After missions on nearly all oceans of this planet, the Black Sea is an outstanding challenge for 2020. Fostering international relations in this historically rich region will be a great pleasure.”
This prize to be awarded to the person, group or team that contributed the most to the goal of creating international understanding within the year, of the Lord Warden Trophy and it was unanimously agreed by a panel of judges that this should be presented to Jochen Werne (a founder member of GOST as well as a member of RCPYC) for his outstanding work in reaching across national boundaries and promoting and advancing the spirit of sailing around the world both through his work with GOST and the various other organisations he represents, not least his organising the Lord Warden Challenge race. Congratulations to you Jochen.
Geoff Dunne esq., Commodere, Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club Dover
Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Boyce and the Commodore of the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club Dover, Geoff Dunne presenting the Award for special engagement in International Relations to Jochen Werne
It was a great honour to receive the Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Prize, awarded for the first time for international understanding, on behalf of all those who, through their commitment, have helped to unite people from different countries of our beautiful planet.
A great privilege to receive the prize from the hands of one of the people I greatly admire for his life’s work and especially for his brilliance in bringing people together. The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Boyce is a shining example for so many and a great inspiration.
It’s a great pleasure seeing GOST’s Documentation Officer Stefano Malvestio in an in-depth Interview with Italian TV-station Asterisco about Navigator’s Heritage Challenge and its effects produced in the creation of International Understanding and the creation of awareness for the UN Global Goals.
We’ve been honoured by a message arrived from the ASOCIACIÓN PARA LA INVESTIGACIÓN Y DIFUCIÓN DE LA HISTORIA NAVAL DE CUBA. We are grateful that we were able to establish a long-term relationship with this esteemed association and its great members . Together we reached far beyond the boundaries often faced by national politics.
Jochen Werne Co-Founder Global Offshore Sailing Team
¡EXCELENTE! 20 años de esfuerzos, destinados al matenimiento de las tradiciones e historia naval, a mantener vivas las hazañas de los pioneros exploradores, a unir a la familia naval internacional, a unir pueblos, culturas, a salvaguardar el medio ambiente y a lograr la union de los pueblos con un mensaje de paz y de concordia. Toda esa labor a hecho grande a GOST, que sin dudas hoy ocupa el liderazgo entre la organizaciones de su clase. Nos sentimos profundamente honrados y orgullosos de haber sido un pedacito de esta hazaña de gigantes. ¡Larga vida a Global Offshore Sailing Team! Sois un ejemplo a seguir, una esperanza. FELICITACIONES!!!! Reciban todos su miembros, las muestrasde del más profundo respeto y admiración de la Asociacion para la Investigacion y Difusión de la Histora Naval de Cuba. Gracias por existir.
Maximino Gomez Alvarez Vice-President of the AIDHNC
Historian Maximino Gomez Alvarez with the AIDHNC flag
Translation: EXCELLENT! 20 years of efforts aimed at maintaining naval traditions and history, keeping alive the exploits of pioneer explorers, uniting the international naval family, uniting peoples, cultures, safeguarding the environment and achieving the union of peoples with a message of peace and harmony. All that work has done great to GOST, which undoubtedly today occupies the leadership among the organizations of its kind. We feel deeply honored and proud to have been a bit of this feat of giants. Long live Global Offshore Sailing Team! You are an example to follow, a hope. CONGRATULATIONS! Receive all your members, the deepest respect and admiration of the Association for the Research and Dissemination of the Naval History of Cuba. Thank you for existing.
