05 04 2010 IN STOCKHOLM SWEDEN
The af Chapman, formerly the Dunboyne (1888–1915) and the G.D. Kennedy (–1923), is a steel full-rigged ship moored on the western shore of the islet Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, Sweden, now serving as a youth hostel.
Located on the shore next to the Admiralty House, the ship was built in the UK in 1888 and originally known as Dunboyne, after a town in County Meath, Ireland. On its arrival to Sweden in 1915 it was renamed G D Kennedy and when the Navy bought it in 1923 it was given its present name after the shipbuilder and Vice Admiral Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721–1808). The Navy used it as a training ship and as such it made several trips around the world before serving as a barracks during WW2.
The Stockholm City Museum saved it from being broken up in 1947 and since 1949 it is managed by the Svenska Turistföreningen (STF, Swedish Tourist Association) and serves as a youth hostel with 285 beds. During 2008 the ship underwent a comprehensive restoration[1][2], which was completed on April 9. While the ship was being worked on in a drydock, the adjacent youth hostel Skeppsholmen remained open. Usually, the af Chapman and Skeppsholmen – not to be confused with the islet of the same name, on which both are situated – are run as a single hostel, with the af Chapman offering somewhat more extraordinary accommodation and Skeppsholmen housing the reception, a kitchen for guests, and other facilities
PHOTO BY ANITA BJELIS.