The brigantine Soren Larsen was built in Denamrk in 1948 and traded extensively in Baltic, British and European ports until 1972.  In the 1970s she starred in the popular BBC television drama series, The Onedin Line.   She has also appeared in the movies “The French Lieutenant’s Woman“, “Count of Monte Cristo” and “Shackleton.”   In recent years she has been based in New Zealand and has sailed the  South  Pacific  to romantic and barely accessible islands during the  Southern  hemisphere winter and the beautiful New Zealand coast from November to April.  Now the owners are putting the ship up for sail on a syndication basis.  From a message from Geoff Fraser of Workboats International who is representing the owners:

Many people dream of owning a slice of sailing history, but it is only a very limited few that have the financial resource to own and maintain such a wonderful historic tallship as the Soren Larsen.

The owners have lived the dream for 5 years. They have enjoyed travel to many exotic locations and have enjoyed the company of many who chose to sail on her. They have invested seriously in the ship and she is restored to her full magnificence.

The owners have decided to move on and believe it is now time to share this beautiful slice of history. It is their belief that in the interests of the ship and the sailing community it is best to offer her for sale by Syndication.

Syndication is one of the oldest known ways of ship ownership and in the bygone days of sail and (pre multi-billion dollar insurance companies) was commonly used as a means for ship owners to mitigate risk through having shares in multiple vessels rather than owning a single vessel outright.

Today we can mitigate risk with insurance, leaving a unique opportunity for those passionate about tallships, such as the Soren Larsen, to actually become a part owner.

Unlike commercially motivated ship syndicates, the focus will be to invite people who are passionate about tallships. Especially people who are already familiar with and fond of the Soren Larsen. People who would like to own a manageable portion of maritime history. The owners have an extensive season of sailing planned for her in 2011 so the timing is right.

We would like to obtain expressions of interest from people who like this idea and would consider participation in some form of syndicated ownership. We can safely say cash returns will be minimal, however, there may be some tax advantages.

Importantly participants will qualify for “owners usage rights” giving access to a number of nights a year at heavily discounted rate. The exact terms of the scheme will be developed in due course. These rights can be gifted but not sold.

At this stage we would to like to hear from anyone wishing to register an expression of interest in investing. We are anticipating that investments will start from $10,000 with enhanced owners’ usage rights for larger investments. (This is not an offer of an investment – an offer may be made in due course subject to sufficient interest be expressed)

To register your interest, please send your name, address, email address, phone number and indication of desired investment amount to:

Geoff Fraser
Workboats
PO Box 33352 Barrington, Christchurch 8244, New Zealand
P) +64 (3) 366 8007
F) +64 (3) 366 8004
M) +64 (21) 61 222 5
E) geoff@workboatsnz.com

Registering an interest is NOT a commitment but will place you in a priority position should we proceed to a formal syndication offering.

If after reading this, you decide that this style of ownership just does not appeal and Full Ownership of the a tallship such as the Soren Larsen has always been your dream, let us know and we will listen.

Yours Sincerely,

Managing Director
Workboats NZ Ltd