{{Short description|Finnish sailboat built in 1922}} {{Infobox ship <!-- age of sail --> |display_title=SV ''Estelle'' |infobox_caption=SV ''Estelle''<!-- caption: yes, nodab, or <caption text> --> |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=SVEstelle.jpg |image_caption=''Estelle'' alongside in her home port Turku, Finland }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country= |flag= |name= |registry={{flag|Finland|civil}} |owner=*Eestaas *Northern Breeze AB |operator=Uusi Tuuli |ordered= |builder= |original_cost= |laid_down= |launched=1922 |acquired= |commissioned= |decommissioned= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |struck= |reinstated= |identification=*{{IMO Number|5108883}} *Callsign: OGPW |honours= |honors= |captured= |fate= |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= |type=Schooner |length={{convert|42|m|abbr=on}} |beam= |draught= |draft= |hold_depth= |propulsion= |sail_plan=Bermuda |complement= |armament= |notes= }} }} '''SV ''Estelle''''' is a fair trade cargo Bermuda schooner, currently{{when|date=September 2013}} the biggest sail ship in Finnish register. She was built in Emden, Germany in 1922 as a 42-meter (137.8 feet), steel-hulled ship for trawl-fishing in the Baltic Sea. ''Estelle''{{'}}s hometown is Turku. She was long owned by Eestaas and operated by Uusi Tuuli. Now{{when|date=September 2013}} she belongs to a "Ship to Gaza" company Northern Breeze AB, registered in Turku, Finland.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.taloussanomat.fi/yritykset/uudet/uusi-256127/ |title=Uudet yritykset |trans-title=New companies |work=Taloussanomat |language=fi}}</ref>{{failed verification |date=September 2013}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uusituuli.blogspot.fi/2012_10_01_archive.html |title=October 2012 |website=Uusi Tuuli ry - S/V Estelle |language=fi |date=22 October 2012}}</ref> ''Estelle'' was previously maintained by volunteers who had the desire to sail to Africa to export assistance supplies and bring back fair trade goods and operate according to the ideals of Fair Trade. She made her first trip to Africa in 2002, before which she also visited the Mediterranean Sea, Ireland and some harbors of Northern Europe. In addition, many of the ship's crew have been trained while sailing in the Baltic Sea.
After her trip to Angola, ''Estelle'' has mainly sailed in the Baltic Sea, participated in the Tall Ships Race of 2003, and collaborated with Greenpeace on research and campaign work. ''Estelle'' is also constantly training new crew members since it is open to practically any one.
''Estelle''{{'}}s operations are primarily based on volunteers. Operations strive for environmental sustainability, solidarity and global equality. Since 2003, Prometheus camps have been organized on ''Estelle'' every summer as a non-religious alternative to confirmation camp. During the camp the boat tours around the archipelago near Turku.<ref name=prom>{{cite web |first=Osma |last=Suominen |url=http://www.protu.fi/ |title=Prometheus camps |website=Prometheus-leirin tuki ry |date=7 April 2009 |language=fi}}</ref>{{failed verification |date=September 2013}}
''Estelle'' joined Sail Training International's (STI) Class A Forum as a member during the spring of 2005. The forum is intended for training the crews of the world's largest sailboats, improving operations and other related development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sailtraininginternational.org/page.asp?PartID=6&depth=1 |title=Introduction |website=Sail Training International |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502143522/http://www.sailtraininginternational.org/page.asp?PartID=6&depth=1 |archivedate=2007-05-02}}</ref>
On 27 April 2010, ''Estelle'' board member Jyri Jaakkola was killed by paramilitaries in Mexico.{{citation needed |date=September 2013}}
In 2012, ''Estelle'' was sold to Swedish interests for an attempt to break the Gaza blockade.
== Gaza mission == thumb|A demonstration in support of the State of Israel, in the square Narinkka in central Helsinki in November 2012. The placard translates as "The attempt to break the maritime blockade is criminal." {{Further|Ship to Gaza (Sweden)}} ''Estelle'' departed for the Gaza Strip to try to break Israel's maritime blockade in the summer of 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/israel_reiterates_intent_to_stop_estelles_gaza_mission/6338563 |title=Israel reiterates intent to stop Estelle's Gaza mission |work=Yle |date=17 October 2012 |accessdate=2013-09-23}}</ref> "We are sailing with peaceful intentions," a crew member said.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/estelle_crew_no_aim_to_provoke_israeli_officials/6336623 |title=Estelle crew: no aim to provoke Israeli officials |work=Yle |date=16 October 2012}}</ref> ''Estelle'' is Swedish-owned, but Finnish-flagged ship. According to the Ship to Gaza organization, there are also eleven Swedes, two Finns, five Greeks, four Norwegians, three Israelis, three Spanish citizens, one Canadian and one Italian aboard.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/israeli_navy_intercepts_the_estelle/6343426 |title=Israeli navy intercepts the Estelle |work=Yle |date=20 October 2012}}</ref>
On October 20, 2012, the Israeli military seized the vessel without incident and took it to the port of Ashdod. In August 2013 the state of Israel filed a petition to confiscate the vessel. In August 2016, the Israeli supreme court ruled that the state cannot confiscate the ''Estelle'', and ordered to state to pay NIS 40,000 to the ship's owner to cover court costs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Supreme-Court-rules-against-major-state-initiative-to-deter-Gaza-flotillas-463509|title=Supreme Court rules against major state initiative to deter Gaza flotillas|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=8 August 2016}}</ref>
''Estelle'' is the latest in a series of vessels crewed by activists who have tried to challenge Israel's blockade on Gaza, imposed after Hamas seized power in 2007.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/20/gaza-ship-estelle-israeli-forces?INTCMP=SRCH |title=Gaza-bound ship Estelle intercepted by Israeli forces |first=David |last=Batty |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 October 2012}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [http://www.estelle.fi/en/frontpage S/v Estelle's homepage] * [https://archive.today/20130222160256/http://www.kansainvalisyyskasvatus.net/blogi/2009_01_29_estelle_kiertaa_ensi_kesana_suomen_rannikkoa Estelle will sail along the shore of Finland in Summer 2009]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estelle}} Category:1922 ships Category:Individual sailing vessels