Von Luckner used this disguise to sail through the British blockade off the coast of Germany and into the North Sea. “It’s so elaborate it sounds like fiction,” says Sam Jefferson. The saloon was decorated with pictures of the Nowegian Royal family, the sailors were given a cigar box filled with forged letters from loved ones, secret compartments and false walls were put in place to hide weapons, including two small naval cannons. The crew had gone to enormous lengths to make the disguise authentic. Seeadler was a chameleon, carefully disguised as a Norwegian lumber transport. Von Luckner’s most famous exploits came in World War One as captain of SMS Seeadler, the last square-rigged sailing ship ever to be used in combat. Some friendly sailors from the ship helped him get back on his feet, he travelled back to Germany and enlisted with the Navy.Įight years had passed since he had left home and when he returned to his parents it was as Naval Lieutenant Felix Von Luckner.Ī painting of SMS Seeadler, the triple-masted windjammer Von Luckner captained during WWI Photo: CC 3.0 It was SMS Panther - a brand-new warship of the German Imperial Navy.
But when he was begging for food on the beach he saw something on the horizon which changed his life - a beautiful white ship. He ended up stranded in Jamaica with a broken leg and no money. Von Luckner himself was seriously injured in a fall from the rigging on the high seas (by then he was about 17). People did die quite regularly.” explains Sam Jefferson, author of The Sea Devil, a biography of Von Luckner. “It was the final fling of tall ships as a commercial entity, so they were often undermanned. Life aboard a sailing ship in the late 1800s was often dramatic and dangerous. Some of these stories are obviously made up - but others are probably true. At 13 years old, he ran away from home and jumped on a Russian sailing ship.Īccording to his autobiography he spent the next few years getting into adventures all over the world. Subscribe free to Black Sheep: Apple Podcasts, RadioPublic, Spotify, RadioPublic or Stitcher.įelix Von Luckner was born in June 1881 to a family of German military aristocrats but didn’t really seem to enjoy his childhood in the lap of luxury. He was also responsible for what probably ranks as the most embarrassing prison break in New Zealand history. He single-handedly saved his hometown from destruction during WWII.Īnd he punched a member of the Gestapo straight in the face. He sailed three thousand kilometers across the Pacific in a lifeboat. He captained the last square rigged sailing ship ever to be used in combat. He fought in the biggest naval battle of the First World War. He was a child of aristocracy who ran away to sea.
Portrait of Count Felix Von Luckner Photo: Public Domainįelix Von Luckner led a very interesting life.
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