Light Cruiser Nürnberg, The North Atlantic, Saturday, 25 June 1949
Kapitän zur See Wilhelm Rollman checked the charts, which put them at 47° north, 45° west, some three hundred fifty nautical miles east of the destination, St. Johan in Vinland.
“Slow to ten knots. We do not wish to run into any fishing vessels. Signal the Leipzig to conform.”
The two German cruisers had reached the rich fishing grounds known as Flemish Cap – the outrider of the Grand Banks of Vinland. Here would be trawlers, seiners, drifters, and whalers from many nations – not only Nordmark but from America, Canada, Britain, Iberia, Atlantia, France, and even Germany. Rollman ordered the dradis watches to be maintained and posted extra lookouts, for experience showed that small fishing craft sometimes disappeared the horizon of electronic detection gear.
“Herr Kapitän, the latest weather report from Roter Löwe.” The yeoman handed off the message.
The inspection ship Roter Löwe was on station in these waters, monitoring the weather, providing general assistance to the array of fishing vessels in the area, and, most importantly, tracking the movements of icebergs.
At their current speed Rollman expected to reach their destination in about thirty-six hours; a message the previous day had advised the consulate in St. Johan of their needs and he hoped that the Etappendienst had made suitable arrangements.