Formerly known as Roter Sand (‘red sand’ in German) in honour of a famous lighthouse, the EcoMaris was designed for educational purposes: its construction served as a class project at the Aucoop shipyard in Bremen-Vegesak. Once built, the boat was used as a training and research vessel, notably in the North and Wadden Seas.
After its arrival in Canada in 2012, the EcoMaris 1 became Quebec's first sail training vessel with an environmental focus. Since then, it has allowed thousands of EcoMaris participants to take to the sea for life-changing expeditions.
The centerpiece of the EcoMaris 1 is its vast and well-lit saloon that provides a ‘conference room at sea’. It includes an oval table which can seat up to 16 people. The EcoMaris 1 has over 18 berths. Its aft cabin serves as crew quarters while trainees occupy the saloon.
The boat's shallow draught enables it to explore hard-to-reach nooks and crannies, such as shoals and narrow bays. Suited to tropical and cold water alike, the ship is ideal for sailing the St. Lawrence thanks to its steel hull.
A ketch with auric sails, the EcoMaris 1 is equipped with four separate sails - jib, staysail, mainsail and mizzen. Its maneuvers are performed manually. Its rigging requires extensive maintenance work, which is carried out throughout the year by our shipyard team as well as trainees.