Gdynia Maritime University GMU

On 3 September 1935 at 11:00 am, Dar Pomorza was welcomed back from its pioneering voyage around the voyage at the Maritime Terminal in Gdynia. The sail training ship of the State Maritime School was the first Polish ship to circumnavigate the globe on what was the longest and most well-known voyage of the “White Frigate” - an event of great symbolic significance for the maritime ambitions of the 2nd Republic of Poland.

It is said that the great expedition was the idea of Captain Konstanty Maciejewicz, the Captain of Dar Młodzieży. The concept for the voyage was adjusted several times based on recommendations from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The final plan envisaged sailing around the world via the Panama Canal, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Cape of Good Hope, returning to Europe after 11 months at sea. The crew was made up of fresh cadets - new students who passed the Maritime School’s entrance exam.   

The sailing ship was carefully prepared for the extended voyage. Taking part in this historic journey were the captain, 34 permanent crew members, 11 2nd-year navigation students, and 58 newly admitted candidates - a total of 104 persons. Those taking part in the voyage included persons strongly connected with the history of the Polish flag: the ship’s captain Konstanty Maciejewicz, and four subsequent captains of the sailing ship - Konstanty Kowalski (2nd Officer), Alojzy Kwiatkowski (radio officer, captain during the war), Stefan Gorazdowski (5th Officer), and Kazimierz Jurkiewicz (instructor). The 1st officer was the famous Captain Tadeusz Meissner, and the 2nd officer was Stanisław Kosko, the last director of the State Maritime School before WWII.

On 16 September 1934, at the French Quay at the Maritime Terminal in Gdynia, many turned out to bid farewell to the ship, which left port on the start of its great expedition. 

After crossing the Atlantic, on 27 November, the frigate reached the entrance to the Panama Canal. The following day, it met with Gdynian scout Władysław Wagner, during his circumnavigation of the globe on Zjawa II. The captain of Dar Pomorza provided him with food supplies and the ship’s crew helped carry out minor repairs. The yacht passed through the canal alongside Dar Pomorza.

On 4 December 1934, the Polish flag was flown for the first time in the Pacific Ocean. On 9 December, Dar crossed the equator — this moment was honoured with a traditional maritime baptism (the ship would reach the equator a further 3 times on this voyage).

In January 1935, after a few days' stay in Honolulu in Hawaii, the ship set sail for Japan, reaching Yokohama after 41 days, its longest period at sea. The widely known chaplain of the ship, Father Wojciech Kossak-Głowczewski, arranged for the crew to meet Polish missionaries, including Father Maximilian Kolbe. In the majority of ports visited, the ship was not only warmly welcomed by its local hosts, but also by Polish emigrants.

Dar also made a short stop on the Australian Continent, calling at the small port of Broome. It then set a course through the Indian Ocean for the Cape of Good Hope. The tall ship completed its circumnavigation of the globe in the Atlantic Ocean on 28 July 1935, and by the end of August, it had returned to the Baltic.

The welcome home celebrations organised for the return of the ship on 3 September were especially festive. Ships docked in the port in Gdynia welcomed the ‘white frigate’ with sirens and a formation of seaplanes flew above the returning Dar Pomorza. The ship entered the port decorated with bunting and a wimpel on the top of the third mast  - a white and red ribbon 39 metres long, symbolising the distance in nautical miles sailed by the ship. In total, Dar Pomorza called at 23 ports and travelled 38, 746 NM during 352 days.

Dar Pomorza’s pioneering voyage was repeated by Dar Młodzieży in 1987/88.