Exciting news, we’ve just been awarded the Menschel Fellowship, to both help with our journey this summer, and also to put together an exhibition of our project at the Cooper Union in New York next winter! 

We’re honored to be involved with the Menschel tradition of supporting interesting artistic projects, not to mention excited about putting our thoughts and documentation of the trip into a more refined exhibition context. 

More news as it comes!

After what might be called a winter break, Hippo’s crew has been plotting to get her moving again this August. 

This year we’re going to be trying something a little different. With the Captain occupied with business in Berlin until mid July, Hippo’s trip this year will be shorter, and more focused. Rather than the constant crew changes that last summer afforded her, we’re assembling a single crew of artists, that will hopefully contribute to an exhibition in New York when we return in the fall. All the details are still being sorted out, but expect to hear from the decks of your favorite swashbuckling schooner soon! 

Again, if you have any questions or just want to tell us we’re crazy, please email us at:

schooner.hippo(at)gmail.com

Three months. Several thousand kilometers of rivers and canals. More than a dozen adventurous friends. Countless supporters. Incalculable good cheer.

Hippo has found her home for the winter at an unlikely but charming old marina in Belgrade, Serbia. After a decidedly bizarre and beautiful summer, Captain Clemens and Chief Engineer Kennedy spent a long week working on getting Hippo ship shape for the winter months. All the hard work this summer paid off in the end though. By the time Engineer Kennedy thumbed his way back to Germany a week ago, she was sitting pretty, up on stilts waiting for next year’s paint job and repairs. The Captain and his lovely assistant stuck around the city for a few days to tie up some loose ends, and finally, a few days ago, managed to bid farewell to our proud ship and start the journey home. 

The boat is in good hands, with good friends, in a beautiful country—which is all we can ever ask for.

As for her captain and crew, we’ve come away a little wiser, a little saltier, and with heads full of images, experiences and people. Hippo, above all else, has been our patient teacher these past months. With a (somewhat) forgiving hand she uniquely described to us both the lands we traveled and the people we shared the passage with. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that what Hippo has shared with us this summer can be learned nowhere else. We thank her once again for blessing us with her good graces. 

Thanks for tuning in this summer. We hope this has been a good way to share our adventures, and we hope to be able to add more to this story soon.

Captain Clemens, signing off.

Also, if you have any feedback about the boat, the trip, the crew, the blog, or anything, please give us a holler at schooner.hippo(at)gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you.