S/Y Hetman was launched in Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard of Lemverder/Bremen seventy years ago. It was in 1936 when the Polish ensign was hoisted at Hetman's stern. This year, under the patronage of the Hetman Maritime Foundation, in her jubilee sailing season the yacht set sails to Narvik.

For the Poles living both in their homeland and all over the world, the name Narvik and heavy fights to defend the city by our destroyer ORP Grom have a very special meaning. Sailors, who embarked the yacht for the cruise to Narvik remembered, that back in 1936, on 5 May the destroyer was named GROM (Thunder) and that later on that year, on 27 July at 1310 the ship was launched in the John Samuel White & Co Ltd. shipyard of Cowes. Thus, this year we have been celebrating the 70th anniversary of ORP Grom being commissioned and the 70th birthday of S/Y Hetman.

The Naval duty of the destroyer lasted till 4 May 1940, when she was sunk in the Rombaken Fjord near Narvik by a German He111 aircraft during the Norwegian Campaign. There were 59 causalities and 154 survivors. Before being lost she bombarded German troops in the Narvik area.

66 years after that tragic event, on 10 August 2006 at 1755, in the position
= 68° 27' 42" N,
= 017° 26' 58" E
- the place where ORP Grom was sunk, the crew of S/Y Hetman made a salute with her ensign and launched a wreath composed of white and red flowers. Later on, in Narvik, a crew-exchange took place. The next crew started their leg of the cruise with launching a wreath and making a salute to pay tribute to the heroes of Grom on 11 August at 1600.

The cruise to Narvik began on 20 July 2006 in Gdynia, when Hetman set sails to Danish and Norvegian harbours: Frederikshavn, Stavanger, Bergen, Aalesund, Bodo, Svolvaer, and Copenhagen. Hetman visited various places, as the archipelago of Lofoty with the capital in Svolvaer, where mountains grow up from the sea. She spent one night berthing to a pier of a miniature water plant in Trollfjord, the most beautiful fjord of Lofoty surrounded by mountains higher than 1000 m. The crew quickly found out that Lofoty is the kingdom of code fish. Having caught a 1 meter long fish, Kasia Armińska was announced The Cod Queen. Not to mention, according to Norwegian Pilot the biggest codes can be as long as 1,5 m. The Butcher of Lofoty - Piotr Nogaś achieved perfection in de-capitating and filleting the fish, keeping the remaining crew away from the galley.

Overall, the cruise to Narvik gave both crews an excellent opportunity to gain general seamanship and to benefit from tourist attractions offered by the region. On one hand they were sailing in all conditions from calm to gale, in tidal waters, beyond the Polar Circle. On the other - they were sailing within Norwegian fjords. One of the most known and photographed fjord - the Gejranger Fjord famous of its "Twelve sisters waterfall" and the Lyse Fjord with its 600 m high Rock of Prekestolen and another 1000 m high stone of Kierag Rocks were visited.

Two crews commanded by Yacht Master Waldemar Waszczyk and composed of one female and nineteen male sailors covered over 3300 nautical miles and spent over 700 hours at sea. Their adventure finished successfully on 31 August 2006 in Gdynia. Yet another time, the beautiful mahogany yacht added next card to her impressive history, glorifying the Polish flag.

S/Y Hetman started her jubilee season in May heading to St. Petersburg, where a part of the crew took part in the 43rd World Congress of Submariners. The cruise Gdynia - Tallin - St. Petersburg - Gdynia was led by Yacht Master Jędrzej Czajkowski, former submariner himself, with seven crew. Many sailors often and willingly visit the port of Tallin. There is an inscription at the entrance to the Maritime Museum informing the act of detaining a Polish submarine ORP Orzeł during W.W. II. Inside the naval harbour some can find the berth of the submarine. And that was in September 1939, when ORP Orzeł escaped from the Estonian custody and sailed to England. The "submarine-driven" cruise of Hetman allowed her crew to cover 1208 nautical miles and spend 217 hours at sea.

It is worth mentioning that during the sailing season of 2006 s/y Hetman additionally sailed for three cruises to Polish and Russian harbours, in particular to Klajpeda. Overall - 25 sailors covered 655 nautical miles during those voyages.