Square Rigged In The Galapagos Square Rigged Sailing In The Galapagos

 

The S/S Mary Anne is an elegant sailing ship. At 216 feet from stern to bow, with over 1000 square meters of square-rigged canvas at her disposal, the Mary Anne is an impressive and imposing yacht. Standing on the deck of this huge, powerful craft under full sail is a truly exhilarating experience.

The ship carries nine crew and wildlife guide and although originally built to accommodate 28 passengers, today The Mary Anne carries only 16 passengers, leading to an extravagant sensation of space.

Navigating between the islands on a square rigger gives you as authentic an experience as possible, truly following in Darwin’s footsteps. Alongside the crew and an experienced guide, there is a full-time chef and an assistant who are on board The Mary Anne to prepare delicious meals.

But The Mary Anne is simply today’s showpiece in a long and fascinating tale of one family’s dedication to, and faith in, the water’s of The Galapagos.

Fiddi AngermeyerFiddi Angermeyer, now CEO of Angermeyer Cruises was born and raised on The Galapagos, spending a lifetime on the water, helping others explore this natural paradise.

Fiddi’s parents Carmen and Fritz moved to the Galapagos from Spain in 1934 amidst a political backdrop of pending war. Sailing to The Galapagos aboard ‘Marie’ the yacht they bought with the money form the sale of their house in Hamburg, they were accompanied by Fritz’s three brothers Hans, Gustav and Karl. On arriving in the Galapagos, Fritz began building boats.

Settling on Santa Cruz island, they built their houses from Lava rock with their own hands on hunted, fished and farmed to survive.

Among the very first settlers on The Galapagos, Karl Angermeyer was one of the first to take guests on scientific expedition voyages in the Galapagos. Today this is widely recognised as the beginning of tourism in the Galapagos.

In the sixties Karl, Fritz, Carmen and Fiddi started using their boats for scientific expedition cruises, to improve their income.
Initially, photographers accounted for most of the visitors but as their photographs started to catch the public’s eye in newspapers and magazines, the Galapagos and the charter business grew in reputation, and tourists began to join their voyages.

Fiddi set out on the water as a fisherman when he was eight years old to raise pocket money. He helped his father building boats and as soon as he reached eleven, he began to help out in the charter business. Since then, he has spent a lifetime following in his parents footsteps, developing his experience afloat and developing the business.

With a heritage deeply ingrained in the Galapagos and its people, Angermeyer Cruises  is committed to supporting the local economy in every way they can. Employing locally, sourcing local products and investing in sustainable local development wherever possible.

With a keen eye on customer satisfaction,  Fiddi approaches the Mary Anne and their expedition cruise with one simple approach, by asking himself “What would I like?”.
From the space onboard, to the food served, everything is maintained at a standard that Fiddi himself would be happy with.

In this short video, Fiddi Angermeyer tells us a little more about this unique square rigged yacht and its place in the history of the Galapagos.

The S/S Mary Anne sets sail on various itineraries through the year, ranging from 7 to 14 nights, exploring the most interesting and rewarding locations in the Galapagos.

With four cabins where single occupancy isn’t charged for, this is the only small vessel offering single cabins, this is a truly unique vessel with an additional environmental benefit as it is powered solely by the sails whenever the conditions allow.

Check out our trips to the Galapagos aboard the S/S Mary Anne

Wildfoot Travel are proud to be in partnership with S/S Mary Anne located in the Galapagos Islands and delighted with all the extremely positive feedback we have received from returning passengers