Bay of Biscay, 25–28 November 1965
The night the towline parted §
On the morning of 25 November 1965 the wind gets up, the rain sets in, and the ship heels 35 degrees to both sides. The Mircea is bound for Hamburg under tow, pulled by two Romanian tugs, Viteazul and Voinicul — and the ocean, writes the Naval Academy history, is running at force 8.
The next day the storm grows until both tugs are pulling with all their strength and the ship stands still. Then the towline parts, and the Mircea, without propulsion, is left alone in the inferno. The waves push her toward the giant buoy marking the approach limit of the Chaussée de Sein rocks. The crew lets go both anchors; the starboard one drags over the rocky bottom, the port one holds — and the ship's fight with the 16-metre buoy begins. Part of the rigging breaks, the port boat is smashed, and the buoy's spurs tear nine holes in the bow plating, letting the water in.
The SOS goes out, and the authorities of the French port of Brest send two rescue vessels to the area. The Norwegian freighter Conrad closes in and tries to pass a line, without luck. On the morning of 27 November the French tug Implacable arrives and tries several times, also without luck; at 15:00 a second tug, Rinogerus, arrives, but the storm has grown and passing the line is impossible. Only on 28 November, at about 8 o'clock, does Rinogerus succeed in passing the towline — and the Mircea is towed into Brest.
That storm sank 40 ships, one of the most powerful recorded in 20 years in that area. The Mircea was not among them. A single sailor was lightly injured, notes the ship's history.
years since the Mircea entered Constanța harbour, on 17 May 1939
Time for three generations of sailors to learn their knots on the same deck — the cadets of the first voyage were already grandparents when the ship turned 60.
From 17 May 1939 (Naval Academy) to September 2026; the generations are the editors' arithmetic.
Hamburg, 1938–1939
Fourth of a series of five §
On 22 September 1938, on the slipway of Blohm & Voss at Hamburg, a three-masted ship slides into the water, christened Mircea. Her birth certificate had been signed on 26 January 1938; she is the fourth of a series of five twin training ships, all built in the same yard.
The name comes from Mircea the Elder, who ruled Wallachia between 1386 and 1418 — and at the bow, under the bowsprit, stands his carved likeness: blue shirt, red cloak, crown on his head. In the spring of 1939 the national flag is raised, and on 17 May the ship enters Constanța harbour, greeted by officials and the ships in port — among them the old brig, brought from Galați to hand over the relay of training at sea.
On 3 July 1939 the Mircea leaves on her first training voyage, in the Mediterranean: Palermo, Toulon, Palma, Gibraltar, Algiers and Alexandria. Aboard are 11 officers, 16 warrant officers, 37 naval-school cadets, 83 military-school students and 67 sailors — 214 people. The last leg, with Syria, Cyprus and the Greek islands, is cancelled after the German attack on Poland — on 3 September the ship is back at Constanța, at the naval berth.
Brăila – Black Sea, 1941–1964
Seized, returned, forgotten, saved §
On 19 February 1941, for fear of the war, the Mircea is taken to Brăila, on the Arapu channel — and there she stays until the summer of 1944, still a training ship. A long period begins, over 25 years, in which the ship makes no training voyage outside the Black Sea.
In early September 1944, together with other Romanian vessels, the Mircea is taken over by the Soviets and sent to their Black Sea fleet, where she is given the name Rion. Two years later, on 27 May 1946, the restitution ceremony takes place in Constanța harbour: on Romania's side King Michael I, members of the government, and a large crowd. Between 1946 and 1947 the ship undergoes repairs, mostly to the rigging, and the voyages resume in 1947, short ones, in the Black Sea.
In September 1948, out at sea, the Mircea is caught by a force-8 storm and hove to for three days and three nights — good training and brave sailors bring her back to port. Between 1951 and 1953 the crew faces more furious storms. Then, in 1959, when the fleet is cut back, the Mircea lands on the list of ships to be struck off — and is saved only by a move to Mangalia, as base ship of the auxiliary division.
Salvation comes from across the ocean: in 1963 the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, invites the Mircea to visit American ports. The invitation goes unhonoured, yet it catches Gheorghiu-Dej's eye — and in August 1964, after the ship parades on Navy Day, her repair and modernisation are decided. In October 1964 she is brought from Mangalia to Constanța, where German technicians and Navy officers draw up the work list. On 12 October 1965 the convoy leaves for Hamburg, with Viteazul and Voinicul, under NAVROM colours. The rest is the storm in the chapter above — and the major refit from January to 24 August 1966, in the yard that had built her.
nautical miles measured along the four voyages drawn on the map below
Almost seven times the direct Constanța–New York run, 4,228 miles — and the real sea miles are longer than our straight lines.
Haversine sums over the documented calls, measured along the drawn lines; the editors' arithmetic, checked in qa/static.mjs.
Amsterdam – New York, 1975–1976
Under full sail across the Atlantic §
In 1975, at Amsterdam, for the city's 700th anniversary, the crew climbs into the rigging and salutes from the yards, caps off and a single shouted “Ura!”. That was the birth of “Ispas' salute”, after the captain of the day — and the crew still gives it at ceremonies.
A year later the Mircea crosses the Atlantic for the first time: from Las Palmas to the Caribbean, under sail alone. Then La Guaira, Cartagena, Veracruz, Havana, Hamilton, Newport, New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia — and on 4 July 1976 the ship parades at the Grand Parade of Sail for the United States Bicentennial, at New York. It was the only time all five sisters were ever in one place.
Between 1977 and 1994 the Mircea sails the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, for training and representation. Between 1994 and 2002 she is modernised at Brăila, then returns to the regattas: Tall Ships Challenge 2004, Tall Ships Race 2005, the 2007 and 2009 races, the 2014 Black Sea regatta. In 2026 she spread sail for America again, for the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The four-voyage map
Four passages, one ship §
Each route joins the calls documented on paper; the legs between them are drawn across open sea, not from the logbook. The 1939 delivery follows the calls cited by the ship's history; the other three follow the Naval Academy lists.
square metres of canvas carried by the 23 sails, on three masts
Almost seven tennis courts spread above the deck — and the mainmast, 44 metres tall, matches a block of flats of about 14 storeys.
Naval Academy; the comparisons are the editors' arithmetic.
Catalogue
The measure of the ship §
Four numbers describe her briefly; the full chronology and the sisters sit folded below, each with its evidence.
Length · with bowsprit
81.18 m
Beam 12.04 m, draught 5.40 m, displacement 1,844 tonnes.
Masts · three
44 m
Main and fore above the waterline; the mizzen 39 m.
Sails · 23
1,750 m²
Canvas for almost seven tennis courts, on three masts.
Complement · at sea
200 people
Of which 120 students; MaK engine of 1,100 hp, 4,000 nm range.
Full chronology, year by year
- 26 Jan 1938The training-ship contract is signed with Blohm & Voss, Hamburg.
- 22 Sep 1938Launch and christening: Mircea, fourth of the series of five.
- spring 1939The raising of the national flag — the day differs between sources.
- 17 May 1939Entry into Constanța harbour; the old brig hands over the relay.
- 3 Jul 1939First training voyage: Palermo, Toulon, Palma, Gibraltar, Algiers, Alexandria.
- 3 Sep 1939Return to Constanța; the voyage's last leg cancelled by the war.
- 19 Feb 1941The Brăila refuge, on the Arapu channel, until the summer of 1944.
- Sep 1944Taken by the Soviets, as Rion; over 25 years with no voyage outside the Black Sea.
- 27 May 1946The restitution ceremony, with King Michael I; repairs in 1946–1947.
- Sep 1948A force-8 storm: three days and three nights hove to, then Constanța.
- 1951–1953More furious storms in the Black Sea.
- 1959The proposal to strike her off; salvation through the move to Mangalia.
- 1963President Kennedy's invitation to visit American ports — not honoured.
- Aug 1964The Navy Day parade and the decision to repair and modernise.
- 12 Oct 1965Departure for Hamburg with Viteazul and Voinicul, under NAVROM colours.
- 25–28 Nov 1965The Biscay storm: parted towline, nine holes, SOS, Brest.
- 19 Jan 1966Docking at Hamburg; works until 24 August 1966.
- 7 Nov 1966Return to Constanța, a training ship again.
- 1975Amsterdam 700 and “Ispas' salute”, kept for ceremonies.
- 1976The first Atlantic crossing; the 4 July parade at New York.
- 1977–1994Voyages in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
- 1994–2002Modernisation at the Brăila yard.
- 2004–2019Tall Ships regattas: 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, Black Sea 2014.
- 2026For America again, for the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The five sisters
All built at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, to the Gorch Fock-class plans:
Mircea · Romania, 1938Eagle · USA, 1936Gorch Fock I · Germany, 1933Gorch Fock II · Germany, 1958Sagres · Portugal, 1937
Game
At the helm, on the night of 26 November §
You are the officer of the watch on the storm night: the wind howls, the ship has heeled 35 degrees, and the towline has parted. Six decisions from that night — each answer opens the note with the evidence, from the Naval Academy history.
Verdict
What the numbers say — and what they don't §
The numbers tell a clear story: a ship launched on 22 September 1938, entering Constanța on 17 May 1939; a first voyage of 11 officers, 16 warrant officers, 37 cadets, 83 students and 67 sailors; two years under another flag, as Rion; a force-8 storm ridden out for three days and three nights in 1948; a striking-off avoided in 1959; a parted towline, nine holes and 40 ships sunk around her in November 1965; an Atlantic crossed under sail in 1976; 81.18 metres, 44 metres aloft, 23 sails, 1,750 square metres of canvas.
What the numbers don't say matters just as much. How many miles the Mircea has gathered in her whole career, and how many cadets she has schooled — nobody has published in citable sources. The exact day of the flag-raising differs between sources, in the spring of 1939. And the 29,305 miles are our own reckoning, over four routes — the rest of the career stays, for now, unmeasured.
Evidence
How we know §
Every date and every number on the page comes from one of the sources below, read on 20 September 2026.
- Naval Academy: training ship Mircea — the series of five, contract and launch, the name, Constanța 1939, the first voyage.
- Naval Academy: history — the war, the Soviets, the 1948 storm, Mangalia, Kennedy, the 1965 convoy and the Biscay storm, the 1966 rebuild.
- Naval Academy: technical characteristics — 81.18 m, 44 m, 23 sails, 1,750 m², 200 people, engine and range.
- Naval Academy: training voyages — the 1939–2015 calls and the regatta participations.
- Naval Academy: transatlantic voyages — the calls of the 1976 crossing.
- Naval Academy: sister ships — the five twins and the 1966 and 1994–2002 modernisations.
- Naval Academy: student training — the training aims aboard: rigging, sails, boats, signals.
- Wikipedia: Mircea (ship) — a working lead for the 1939 delivery calls, the first-voyage complement, the name Rion, Ispas' salute and the 1976 parade; each use is marked in the ledger.
- US Embassy: Mircea for New York, 2026 — the Sail250 voyage and confirmation of the 1,750 m².
What we could not verify
- The career total of miles sailed — no citable source publishes it; the 29,305 are our reckoning over four routes.
- The career total of cadets schooled aboard — we know some voyages' complements, not the career sum.
- The exact day of the flag-raising — March or April 1939, depending on the source.
- The exact dates of the 1976 crossing — the Academy lists give different periods for the same calls.
Send it on §
Someone in your family learned knots on that deck. Send them her numbers.