CAPTAIN HENRIK SKOG
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Henrik Skog Photo
Captain H. Skog
 
Henrik Emil Ludvig Skog served as master of the Hermes from 1902 to 1916, for 14 years and 7 months.

Captain Skog survived because of illness. During his leave the Hermes was commanded by First Officer Johannes Tengström, who disappeared with the rest of the crew and the ship.

Henrik Skog went to sea in 1872 at the age of 18 as a deck-hand on the auxiliary steamer Wiriä. He served as ordinary seaman aboard the auxiliary steamer Aino in 1873.

In 1874 Henrik earned the position of bosun aboard the schooner Hulda (which later also proved to be the name of his wife).The Hulda, commanded by Captain Nyberg, was wrecked on the coast of Juthland in Denmark in 1875, but the whole crew survived.
skogFirst Officer H. Skog

By 1878, having served as first mate on the schooner Felix
and second mate on the auxiliary steamer Aino, Henrik 
possessed the required practice for theoretical studies.

In 1879 he took his first exam as Merchant Skipper.
After a summer's service as First Mate aboard the
barque Guido he returned to the Navigation School
and took his Officer's Exam in 1880.

After a brief return to Guido,
Henrik transferred to the brigantine Hangö,
first as First Officer and then as Master of the ship.

In 1883, after an additional visit to the school bench,
he graduated as Captain for both sailing and motor ships.

Henrik Skog served then as commander of s/y Hangö and s/y Guido
until the end of the era of the sailing ships in that company in 1891.

From 1891 to 1897 Henrik Skog served as Officer aboard the steamers Sirius, Capella,
Urania and Vesta until he was appointed Master of s/s Helios.
hermes in london

Captain Skog finally served as commander of s/s Hermes for more than 14 years on 164 journeys of which more than 30 were Atlantic crossings.

He celebrated his 50th birthday 1904 aboard the Hermes in the Northern Atlantic on a passage from Canada to Ireland. Ten years later in 1914 his 60th anniversary took place in the same ship, but this time close to the equator on a passage from England to Argentina.

The photo on the left is from a postcard from London, dated December 22, 1913 (Kalle Lanamäki's archives)

(Click on photo for larger image)

Hermes disappeared without a trace in May 1917.

If you would like to know what happened, click HERE or the NEXT arrow below.

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