Gustaf Erikson, the Finnish shipowner, purchased the Herzogin Cecilie in 1920. She was sent to the Spencer Gulf to load wheat from Port Victoria, Port Lincoln or Wallaroo.  There was intense competition between captains to reach the British Isles first, unloading at Queenstown, Ireland or Falmouth, Cornwall. Herzogin Cecilie was one of the fastest merchant sailing ships of her time and won the grain race four times (1927, 1928, 1931 and 1936). Although there was no economic incentive to reach port first, there was much public speculation and prestige around the winning vessels. Shipowners may have actually discouraged racing, as maintaining huge areas of sail in the southern ocean, around Cape Horn and in the ‘roaring forties’, was very hard on gear, potentially causing damage and loss of sails, lines and equipment.

A voyage under 100 days was considered a fast passage, although the winning ship could take anywhere between 83 days (1933, Parma) and 139 days (1948, Viking).  18 of the last 23 grain races were won under the Finnish flag. The famous Flying P Liners (eg. Pamir, Passat, Pommern and Parma) were German-built ships and some of the largest ever constructed. These ships were employed in the nitrate trade when first launched, but some were purchased by Gustaf Erikson and redeployed in the grain trade.

In the crew journal of the barque, James Craig (Issue 31, May 2013), a five page article describes the last journey of the Herzogin, using newspaper articles from April 1936 to April 1937. The article includes a first-hand account of the salvaging attempts by an Australian sailor, James Bragg, who was one of the last to stay on the vessel after she had been grounded.

“As an Australian, one could not help but feel a glow of pride when examining the wheat we were unloading. Wet it undoubtedly was, poisonous gas it might give off, but as we ripped and tore at the sodden bags, good, clean, even, golden Australian grain poured about our feet.” ~ James Bragg

“Herzogin Cecilie’s Last Days – Unexpected Gales Dashed Optimism – First-hand account of work” 15 April 1937, The Adelaide Chronicle”
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92482864/8833366

The Australian sailor, author and photographer, Alan Villiers chronicled the last days of merchant sailing in a series of voyages at the beginning of the 20th century. He wrote a total of 44 books between 1925 and 1975. In 1935 he sailed aboard the Herzogin Cecilie and wrote about his experience in “Falmouth for Orders : The Story of the Last Clipper Ship Race Around Cape Horn”.

Some of Alan Villiers photographs here.

Mike Robbins has written a review of “Falmouth for Orders” here.

Diane Woolner (Firth?) was a friend of Pamela Eriksson’s, who visited the ship in Falmouth. She sailed with them on the way to Ipswich in April, 1936. This became the last voyage of the Herzogin Cecilie and Diane was interviewed about her experience on board.

• Diane Woolner, a survivor’s tale
• The Wreck of the Herzogin
• Per Hjelt, the helmsman’s story

The Herzogin Cecilie was a four-masted steel barque built in 1902 in Bremerhaven, Germany. This blog is about the ship, especially with regards to it’s last captain, Master Sven Eriksson and his wife, Pamela Bourne Eriksson. Written by their grand-daughter, I am using this platform to draw together much of the online articles I can find relating to the famous ship.