Estelle was originally built in Emden, Germany in 1922. She was moved to Sweden in the fifties where her masts were taken out, she gained 8 meters more in length and the steam engine was replaced with diesel. Later in the seventies she was used to transport sand in the Finnish coast.
The idea of Estelle as a sailing ship was born in Finland in 1982 when a group of Finnish fair-trade pioneers were joking about getting a modern sailing cargo ship for their use. One of them didn't quite get the joke and started to actually investigate the possibilities of such a project.
Various repairs were carried out by volunteers from 1986 and by 1997 she was eventually in the right condition for sailing. Her first trips were in the Baltic Sea, later she visited the Mediterranean as a flagship for European fair-trade organisations.
Nowadays, Estelle is licensed to function as an ocean-going freighter and special purpose vessel. Her main focus is on fair trade and humanitarian aid as well as educating people about related issues. Human rights and environmental awareness have a strong influence on her work.
She has a crew of 15 consisting mainly of volunteers.

Further Information at: www.estelle.fi