SSB Nordwind was laid down as an armed fishing vessel in 1945 and completed as a Bermuda rigged ketch by the British Occupying Forces in 1948. She served as a coastal patrol vessel, before being transferred to sail training activities for the West German Bundesmarine, a role she has fulfilled from 1956 to 2006. The Deutsches Marinemuseum in Wilhelmshaven acquired her in 2008, and since then she has provided daysails for up to 35 guests, as well as taking up to 10 guests on longer trips. She has also participated in various events such as Kieler Woche and Jade Cup.
Arriving at Hvide Sande Shipyard in late 2021, Nordwind has been the subject of considerable renovation. Her stem has been replaced and large amounts of her oak planking renewed as well as surface treatment of her steel frames, beam shelves deck beams and stringers. She has been fitted with a new watertight bulkhead, an electric bow thruster, hydraulic steering equipment and new generator unit. Furthermore, her weather deck (previously a patchwork of larch, oak, plywood, fiberglass and teak) has been replaced with one of traditionally laid pine. She has also been sheathed in copper plating below the waterline to minimize marine growth.