News archive 2001

31 December 2001

Dec 3, 2001 19:00 GMT
The ‘Oosterschelde’ did many day trips during the last weeks. In December no daytrips are planned so far. We will use the coming weeks to prepare for the January voyage to the south.

Nov 23, 2001 11:34 GMT
The coupling performed well yesterday. In the meantime our winter maintenance programme goes on, the saloon, the main engine room and the crew’s quarters get their share. Next week we sail two more daytrips.
Again we made some changes in our 2002 Programme.

Nov 19, 2001 11:17 GMT
Today the coupling was hoisted back into the ship. One of the teeth appeared to be damaged, the rest was ok. Everything has been repaired. In the meantime we degreased and painted the space under and to the sides of the coupling. Tomorrow we will try out. And on Thursday we have to make a daytrip.

Nov, 2001 14:47 GMT
We started the repairs of the reversing gear coupling. First we planned to do the repairs inside the engine room, but yesterday we decided to get it out of the ship. It took three of us a whole day to free the part, and this morning a big crane came to hoist the coupling ashore. In the coming days we hope to find out what is wrong exactly.
The other repairs go well. The main sail is back from the sailmaker and we do some small painting jobs. We expect to be ready to sail next week.

Nov 5, 2001 21:00 GMT
For some time now we are in our homeport Rotterdam. Although the ‘Oosterschelde’ looks nice and well painted, there are always things to do. It nevers ends.
Sometimes the luck is a bit of bad luck: in a routine check we found some iron particles in an oil filter. A piece of toothed wheel had broken off of the inside of the reversing gear coupling. Maybe it would have lasted for a while, but we decided to repair. The model though is rather old, and it’s a very heavy and very big one. It is going to be a lengthy and expensive job, needing all the hours of three of us for a week. Fortunately it happens in a week without any trips planned.

Oct 19, 2001 17:00 GMT
We did some daytrips out of Amsterdam, where we still are. ‘Oosterschelde’ will return to Rotterdam in the beginning of next week.

From the shipping company (Oct 19, 2001)
Nov 2, 3 and 4 bring the yearly Vakbeurs Klassieke Schepen (Classic Ships Exhibition for Professionals) to Enkhuizen. Together with our colleagues of the Shipping Company Helena, we man one of the stands. Also they will show Dick van Andel’s Antarctica film.

Oct 13, 2001 15:00 GMT
The ‘Oosterschelde’ is floating again, with a freshly painted hull. We expect to arrive in Amsterdam at 19:00.

From the shipping company (Oct 10, 2001)
We made some changes in the 2002 Programme.

Oct 8, 2001 12:00 GMT
The ‘Oosterschelde’ is high and dry on the slip since this afternoon. If all goes as expected, she will be in the water again on Friday and we will sail her home to Rotterdam in the weekend, via Amsterdam and IJmuiden.

From the shipping company (Oct 3, 2001)
This week we do some short trips, on Thursday Oct 4 for instance we will make a one day sea trip. When you don’t have to go anywhere, there is always a possibility of sailing and that is a promising perspective.
On Saturday we will sail to Amsterdam, stay there for the night, and on the next day we will continue to Urk, where she will go on the slip for the yearly inspections. She’ll probably be ready to sail again on Oct 13.

Our site has a new page, Projects. The menu on the left has a new button that links you to it. The page has general information about the special projects of the ‘Oosterschelde’ and their possibilities. Examples are our special youth projects ‘Villa Lobos’ (Spring 2000) and ‘Hora di bai‘ (Spring 2001).

Sep 25, 2001 18:50 GMT
Last Thursday we sailed in the harbour area with elderly people of the Liduina Home in Rotterdam, some 40 inhabitants and some 20 volunteers. The trip was paid out of the supporter’s fund (thank you, supporters!). It was a quiet and very agreeable autumn day with lovely sunshine. The deck was full of wheelchairs. It took the crew and the volunteers 30 minutes to get everyone below deck, where Pieter Blussé van Oud Alblas told them about the history of the ship and where they had a meal served, prepared by our cook Jan. Then everyone on deck again, we took out some chairs and when they were all seated, we hoisted the sails. Great! And they loved it.
On Saturday we had a supporter’s day, with a trip in the Rotterdam harbour area. Again a lovely day. 75 guests took part.
In the coming days we will visit Willemstad and Middelharnis.

From the shipping company (Sep 15, 2001)
Proudly we announce that the second ship of our foundation, the 1875 Rhine cargo sailer ‘Helena’, made her first trial trip, to test the engines. 6 pictures of this happening can be downloaded here (ZIP of 180 Kb).

Sep 10, 2001 16:10 GMT
After a nice daytrip on the Hollands Diep on Friday, we quickly sailed back to Rotterdam, because Rotterdam last weekend had the World Harbour Days. Although the rough weather did not favour some events, the ship was crowded with visitors. Many were impressed by The Rotterdam Sailing Ship.

From the shipping company (Sep 9, 2001)
We have published our (provisional) 2002 programme on the site. Check our page Programme.

From the shipping company (Sep 7, 2001)
The shipping company invites the shareholders for a daytrip. Two trips have been planned; on one of the two, everyone interested may join.
Saturday September 22 is for shareholding private persons. 10:00 till 17:00, out of the Veerhaven harbour. Our supporters are invited too (cost per person Hfl 65). Other people interested are welcome too (cost per person Hfl 120). Lunch, coffee and tea are included.
Friday September 28 is an evening trip for shareholding companies. 17:00 till 21:00, out of the Veerhaven harbour. This trip is only for those invited.
For both trips: please enrol by calling our office.

Sep 1, 2001 14:40 GMT
We ended up in the Thames estuary, anchored in front of Westgate-on-Sea. The stories of the Dutch admiral De Ruijter who broke the blocking chain at Chatham (end 17th century) were again told. The Friday was beautiful. We went sailing without using the anchor at 11:00 and for the rest of the day we could sail with a lot of slack in the sheets. During the day huge cumulus built up and in the evening and night we had a lot of rain and wind going to 6 Bft. The old lady raced through the waves. Early this morning we entered the Nieuwe Waterweg to Rotterdam and we sailed halfwind all the way to the city center and our berth in the Veerhaven harbour. We met the ‘Eendracht’, she was going out, more or less as usual on engine and us sailing.
Another beautiful voyage ended. For the coming days we will stay around in and around Rotterdam.

Aug 27, 2001 16:15 GMT
Today is the last day of the festival. Compared to previous Portsmouth festivals, the Royal Navy seems to have taken over. Crowdy and sunny. Tomorrow morning the passengers for the trip home will arrive, then we will have a Parade Out. ETA Rotterdam September 1, at the end of the morning.

Aug 22, 2001 13:53 GMT
Yesterday a short trip to the races. Start near Cowes, wind a S 4 Bft, sunny. We were close. We saw the J-class ships ‘Endeavour’, ‘Velsheda’ and ‘Shamrock’ and many other big names. Very crowded on the water. The Italian ‘Stealth’, a black racer of the 12-meter class, first rounded the Isle of Wight, doing an average of 15 knots. Now painting the masts and then on our way for Portsmouth to participate in the International Festival of the Sea.

Aug 19, 2001 13:13 GMT
Anchorage on the Solent near Yarmouth since Saturday morning. A lot of painting, we are making the ship pretty for the coming week. Today lots of races, we have got a nice position near the upwind race boye. Giant yachts of the J-class in honour of the America’s Cup Jubilee, many 12-meter racers. Sunny, up to 4 knots current going into a NW 7 Bft and white crests on the water. Great. Tomorrow we’ll continue towards Southampton.

Aug 17, 2001 15:30 GMT
This morning we passed the Scilly Isles, and at 06:30 Land’s End and at 09:45 Lizard Point. Great names. Now near Start Point, we do 8 knots. The wind was fine but now backs to SE. But we do not have to hurry. We are with 10 persons, representing 5 nationalities. During the night we will reach the Needles, the western entrance of the Solent.

Aug 15, 2001 12:49 GMT
“Rain, drizzle and fog”, as they say in the weather forecasts, and indeed, it was typical Irish weather the last few days. On Saturday we stayed on Valentia Island. Some went for a walk, the rest stayed in for a ‘Sunday afternoon’, reading and writing. Departure Sunday at 04:00 in the fog, which beautifully flowed over the mountains into the sea during sunrise. Sunny and nice sailing, rounding several capes towards Castletownshend. Near the bay again drizzle followed by rain. Visited the oldest pub in Ireland: Mary Ann’s. Next day, Sunday, we sailed to Glandore, again foggy weather. We visited a stone circle. Monday after breakfast we headed for Cobh. Great sailing, fully rigged and a speed of 10 knots, which almost proved fatal for a sleeping pilot whale. Near the entrance we also spotted a harbour porpoise. Farewell dinner, speeches and lots and lots of rain. At this moment we’re sailing on the river Lee towards Cork where the passengers will disembark. After storage we’ll depart towards Southampton today.

Aug 12, 2001 15:48 GMT
Some special sightings at sea on this voyage, by our nature guides Jurren and Annemiek: Cory’s shearwater, greater shearwater, sooty shearwater, common delphin and minke whale.
We expect to arrive at Cobh on Tuesday evening.

Aug 11, 2001 10:05 GMT
On Wednesday we sailed to Adrigole, the sunset shinig nicely on Bantry Bay. On Thursday we left very early and went to Dunboy Castle, just south of Bearhaven. Beautifully ghostly, trees growing through the windows, marble pillars and densely forested surroundings. Next we sailed between the islands of Bull, Cow and Calf to Derrynane, which has the house of Daniel O’Connell, a famous Irish smuggler. We made a walk in the park and around the tidal creek.
On Friday we left at lunchtime and went to the Skellig Islands. We dropped 10 of us on Great Skellig, and they walked to the top at 217 meters, where there is a monastery of the 6th century. The rest of us went around the 500 meter long island; anchoring was not possible because the sea is to deep an all sides. The island is way out in the ocean, with big waves, so it was quite an experience to get them aboard again with the dinghy. After that we passed Little Skellig, which has some 40000 breeding gannets, lots of noise and stench, the rocks rising out of the sea like needles. In the evening we dropped anchor at Knight’s Town on Valentia Island, in the company of Irsih rain.

Aug 8, 2001 16:55 GMT
We made another nice walk on Clear Island. Lots of flowers,
rasp berries and steep cliffs. In the afternoon we sailed to Skull, all sails set. We went through the narrow Long Island Sound (again one of those names), passed Mizen Head and went into Bantry Bay, to arrive at Glengarriff, where the seals were waiting for us, spread over tens of rocks. A clear night, the moon rose beautifully over the mountains, like a fairy tale. On Wednesday we went walking, sailing with the boat, visiting an Italian garden, watching seals and having a look around in the village. Tonight we will set off to Bear Island.

Aug 6, 2001 08:18 GMT
We left Cork on Friday Aug 3 for the first leg to Kinsale. Impressive skies and a lot of sun; a bit of sailing and a bit of motoring. We made a walk in the village. On Saturday one of the passengers had a shoulderbone out of its socket, we had to go to the hospital, but all is fine now. We left late because of this incident but we could sail nicely, passing the rough Head of Kinsale, going to Seven Heads Bay, where we had some time to make an evening-walk. On Sunday we left very early, at 06:30. Blazing sun but not so much wind. Therefore we were able to spot the fin whales that passed us; three of them came very close. In the afternoon we took a walk on Sherkin Island and in the evening we sailed the wooden boat to the pub in Baltimore (there is a very small island in front of the village, with the name Coney island; many names made it to the other side of the ocean) and the ‘Oosterschelde’ followed a bit later.
This morning we have a drizzle but the wind is fine. We will leave after breakfast and plan to go to Clear Island.

Aug 2, 2001 09:11 GMT
On July 30 we first go for a walk in the environment. Fog and drizzle. Departure at 12:15. The sky clears and we set for Clear Island where we drop acnhor at South Harbour, a really beautiful place but a bit dangerous too if the wind should be a stiff S or SW because the small bay is like a funnel. The weather is fine now and we make a walk. Maybe this is the most beautiful place of this whole voyage. We meet a nice American writer named Chuck Kruger; he lives and works on the island and he presents us with some of his books. We leave for Castletownshend, to spend the night there. We sail into the night; on the way to the bay we catch our meal of mackerel. We drop anchor at 21:45. On the next day we make another walk. The bay is great and apparently some rich Irish had the same thought when they built their houses here. We leave at 12:30. At first we have a moderate wind but soon there is none at all. During our voyage we have seen a lot of animals. On the first day we saw orca’s, and later minke whales, porpoises and dolphins. Also many kinds of sea- and landbirds, seals, fishes, little sharks, jelly-fishes, and also all the flowers etc. The most nice encounter is saved for this day: we sail right into a group of fin-whales and we can have a very good look at them. We estimate the biggest to be some 23 meters. They stay around for a while. Whow. At 20:30 we drop anchor at Oysterhaven. There is a lot of fish in this bay, we even see them jumping. Again we catch mackerels. Just before midnight we have to shift position a bit because we come to close to our neighbour. The next morning gives us the opportunity to go by zodiac to some of the many caves. There is no village here; again there is a castle on top of the rocks. At 11:30 we hoist the anchor and leave. The very light breeze and the current give us a speed of some 3 to 4 knots. Our destination is Cobh but all the berths are taken, so we sail on to our final destination Cork, where we berth at Penrose Quay at 20:00 on Aug 1. Tomorrow a new group will arrive for another voyage along the Irish coast and we hope and expect this next trip to be as great as the one we just finished.

July 29, 2001 20:09 GMT
On July 27 we make long walks on the island, we sail the wooden boat a.o. The captain of the local lifeboat comes to visit us, he presents us with a load of fish and also invites us to have a look at his ship, a very modern and heavy duty life-saving vessel. On average they have to sail 30 times a year to answer to a distress call.
The next morning we leave Valentia Island very early, we sail at 06:00. The morning is beautiful, there is no wind at all, the sea’s surface is shiny like oil. We have to use the engine. We pass close to Puffin Island, and there are many puffins indeed. We go between small islands, to the entrance of Kenmare river. We drop anchor near Sneem, the village is nice but also rather touristical.
The next morning (July 29) we leave after breakfast. The wind is against and there is a drizzle. After a while the sky clears and we are able to sail with all sails set and with some sunshine. Close to Crookhaven we make a small detour in Barley Cove, a small bay where a lot of people enjoy the beach. We drop anchor at Crookhaven at 19:15.

July 26, 2001 20:55 GMT
We have arrived at Valentia Island. We had a lot of very nice sailing today and we have anchored – using just the sails – at Knight’s Town.

July 26, 2001 14:24 GMT
Yesterday we made a long walk in the environment. In the afternoon we paid a visit to the many seals, with zodiac and sloop. There were many newborns. And a visit to Garinish island, the former owner made an gorgeous Italian garden. At 16:30 we left for Bearhaven, where we spent the night. A group of us visited the local pub. This morning we left at 08:30 for a long leg to Valentia Island. We sailed into the bay for a while, it had a marvelous castle, but then most of these rocks and capes have a castle or a monastery, usually in ruins. First we sailed to Bull, a smoll rock in the entrance of Kenmare river, then we gybed and right now we sail with the ‘breefok’ and the wind from behind. Lots of gannets, guillemots, auks and puffins around the ship.

July 24, 2001 22:45 GMT
The Glandore classics’ race was a success for the participants. Everyone in the village was glad to have us, and for the rest it was as a party in a 1000 inhabitants village is supposed to be.
Next day we left for Baltimore, just some 15 miles to the west. We anchored in the west side of the bay, at Sherkin Island Harbour. The weather was excellent and we made walks. In the evening we took the wooden sloop and sailed to Baltimore, where we enjoyed a concert by a famous Irish singer. When we left for the ship, the Seagull outboard refused to start, so we had to call for the zodiac to tug us in. In the night we had some fierce showers, but in the morning everything was fine again. We left at 06:30, and we hoped for favourable wind after going around the Fastnet Rock, but just at that moment the wind changed in to NW. The sky cleared though and later on we were able to sail into Bantry Bay. At 16:30 we anchored at Glengarriff. It is beautiful and there are seals all around us.

July 22, 2001 08:03 GMT
We left Cork on Saturday at 09:30, we had to use the engine at first, wind and current against us. Some became seasick. We arrived at Kinsale where we were received by a friendly harbourmaster, who gave us a prominent berth. In the evening almost the whole village came to have a look. This morning we left at 07:30, beautiful weather and just a little wind. Right now we go with all sails and the Old Head of Kinsale about a mile to starboard. We plan to go to Glandore; last time we were there , on July 18, we were invited to witness the arrival of the classic boats.

July 20, 2001 18:00 GMT
Last night we moored in Cobh. We had to wait for the departing cruise-ship ‘Amsterdam’ of the Holland-Amerika Line, before we could take its place. This morning we sailed to Cork, just a couple of miles. Cork will be the starting point of our two Ireland nature-voyages. The new passengers arrived this afternoon safely at the ship, at about 17:00. The captain spoke some introducing words a couple of minutes ago. This morning there was a lot of rain; clouds have broken since then and the sun is c
oming through.
We’ll leave tomorrow morning at about 09:30.

July 19, 2001 09:38 GMT
We arrived at St. Mary’s Road (Scilly Isles) on July 16 at 15:00 GMT. Beautiful islands with a subtropical flora and rough rocky coasts. But we had bad weather coming and at 19:00 we left, guided by the local lifeboat (rocks but no buoys). In the night we raced to Ireland on a SE 9 Bft, with lots of water on the deck. In the morning the wind subsided because we were in the eye of the low. Before the N 9 Bft could hit us, we enterend into Castletownshend Bay, very green, castles and the oldest Irish pub, Mary Ann’s. The ship was here before, in July 1996.
We left on July 18. 10 of us decided to walk to the next bay. A NNE 7 Bft brought us to Glandore Harbour, where we found ourselves in a classic boat festival. We were well received and got invited for the local barbecue.
We just left Glandore Harbour, will watch the start of their race to Fastnet in a couple of minutes and then we are off to Cobh, near Cork.
It is a great area.

July 16, 2001 10:30 GMT
We arrived at Cowes on the Isle of Wight on July 13. After some sight-seeing, we left the next afternoon through the West-Solent, the Needles shining in the sunlight. The WSW wind forced us to tack slowly to the west for one day and a half, untill this morning the wind changed to SE 2-3 Bft. Now we sail near Wolf Rock with a nice backstay wind. We expect to throw anchor in the Scilly’s this afternoon, probably in the New Grimsby Sound between the isles of Tresco and Bryher. Our original plan to stay there till Wednesday probably has te be changed: a huge low with a lot of wind is coming this way and we might have to leave tomorrow.

July 12, 2001 11:44 GMT
Because of the westerly winds, we could not use the sails going out on the Westerschelde. Once at sea, the wind was southerly and we could sail to Ramsgate, where we arrived Tuesday evening at 17:30. The next morning brought us a WSW 8-9 Bft and we crept along the coast to Dover, using the engine. A bright sun shone on the white cliffs and the green waves. We had to stop at Dover because the waves became to high to go on. During the whole day there was a SW 9 Bft.
We left Dover this morning at 07:30. Sails and engine bring us slowly to the west in a SW 5-6 Bft. Right now we are off Rye Bay. If the weather stays like this, we will reach the Isle of Wight tomorrow.

July 9, 2001 08:44 GMT
The passengers are boarding right now. We will wait for the high tide in the beginning of the afternoon and then we will leave with the strong current in the back.

July 5, 2001 12:00 GMT
Another day of nice sailing brought us to a place just south of Knokke, where we anchored at sea and enjoyed a barbecue. Wednesday morning at 08:00 we continued our voyage. On the Westerschelde river to Antwerp we were in the company of many other tall ships. In Antwerp we have a berth in the Kattedijke-dock. At the end of the festivities, on Monday morning, we will leave again, to begin our voyage to Ireland.

July 2, 2001 21:40 GMT
Fair winds brought us quickly to Lowestoft, where we arrived early Saturday morning. On Sunday we sailed to Pin Mill (river Orwell), a nice village with huge old trees, a nice pub and many occasions for a walk. This morning we left for the Belgian coast. We have been in the roads of Oostende since 21:00, waiting for permission to go in. They keep us waiting for hours now because of some in- and outgoing ferry traffic. A minute ago we got permission and we are going in right now.
Tomorrow we will leave Oostende and slowly we will go to Antwerp where we have to arrive on Wednesday afternoon to take part in the events of Sail Antwerp.

June 28, 2001 11:30 GMT
Because of the nice easterly winds, we decided to sail on, not going to Terschelling. We ended anchored near Texel island at 03:00 on early Wednesday morning. We left there last night at around 21:00 and this morning we entered Scheveningen. Tonight or tomorrow morning we will leave for England, with a new group of passengers,

June 26, 2001 15:45 GMT
After a busy week in Kiel, we departed Monday morning, with a number of passengers. In the evening we sailed out of the locks at the western entrance of the Kieler Canal. In the night the wind left us, but we have been able to sail since the morning in this very comfortable easterly wind. Right now we are a bit to the north of Ameland island and we expect to be anchored near West-Terschelling (on Terschelling island) around mignight. We’ll do some sightseeing ashore tomorrow and we will leave at the end of the day. We will arrive in Scheveningen on Thursday around 12:00.

June 18, 2001 11:42 GMT
Wednesday night we arrived in Rendsburg, halfway the Kieler Canal. Thursday brought us hours of nice sailing in the Kieler Fjord, We spent the night in Eckenförde, a bit to the north of Kiel. We arrived in Kiel on Friday at 13:30. The weekend was busy, every day some 120 guests. Today is for maintenance and servicing. Tomorrow and all the other days of the Kieler Regatta Week it will be very busy for us.
At the moment we have a beautiful blue sky.

June 13, 2001 08:09 GMT
We made a beautiful trip to Helgoland island in the German Bight, with westerly winds of about 4 to 5 Bft and some sunshine. We sailed almost all the way from Rotterdam. We arrived Tuesday evening at 20:00, so we did 234 miles in 32 hours. This morning at 11:00 we left for Brünsbüttel (at the entrance of the Kieler Canal). We went with the incoming tide.

June 11, 2001 10:00 GMT
We did more daytrips in the weekend. In a few minutes we will leave Rotterdam to go to Kiel (Germany) to participate in the Kieler Regatta Week. The nice westerly winds we have right now will bring us there in time; we have to arrive on Friday afternoon at the latest.

June 7, 2001 11:05 GMT
We are on the Oude Maas river, on our way to Hellevoetsluis with a group for the day. Tomorrow we will sail back to Rotterdam with another group.

June 3, 2001 15:30 GMT
We now sail from Hoek of Holland to the city, just on a foresail, doing 8,5 knots in a strong NW 8 Bft. Tomorrow we will leave for a 3-days trip on the North Sea, returning in Rotterdam on Thursday morning. Next we have 4 days of daytrips. On June 11 we’ll leave Rotterdam and go to Kiel for the Kieler Regatta Week.

May 30, 2001 22:50 GMT
We left on Monday. First we sailed north to the island of Texel, the wind a SW 5-6 Bft and with a nice speed. We arrived in the evening, at 21:00, time enough left for a drink in one of the local pubs. Tuesday we had a W 7 Bft and we continued our trip to the NE, north of the string of islands. Once we entered the shallow Wadden Sea, it was very peaceful and quiet, with dry banks everywhere. We anchored in the roads of West-Terschelling. Some of the passengers went on a bicycle tour, others took a walk and some enjoyed the sun on a terrace. We left Wednesday evening; right now we sail on a mirror-like North Sea in the direction of Scheveningen.

From the shipping company (May 27, 2001)
Today at 16:00 the ‘Oosterschelde’ was back in the Veerhaven, ending a beautiful and very sunny trip, and almost all the miles could be sailed. In the coming days the ship will host a group of passengers from one and the same company, destination as wide as the whole North Sea and they have to be back in Rotterdam on Friday afternoon.

May 26, 2001 17:42 GMT
All sails set raced us in 22 hours to Ramsgate, the weather was beautiful and we had a NE 3-4 Bft. We arrived at low tide, everything dry because of spring-tide (6 meters low). In the afternoon we set sail again and we went to Pinmill at the river Orwell. We anchored with many small sailing boats lying ‘dry’ around us. Everyone went ashore to enjoy the abundant green and the quiet and the birds
and the old village. And then we hove anchor and set sail again, many spectators watching us from the shores. We sailed down the river and now we enjoy a S 4 Bft and we do an nice 8 knots towards Rotterdam. No complaints to be heard from us.
ETA Rotterdam: May 27 at 16:00.

May 23, 2001 21:30 GMT
ETD Scheveningen: May 24 at 07:00. In view of the weather reports, we’ll probably go to Chatham (UK).

May 22, 2001 12:55 GMT
Last week we did some main repairs: the damper of the small generator was renewed, the anchor winch had to be dismantled one more time because there was too much friction on the main ax. Small repairs were done to the main engine, the radar and the automatic pilot, and inside to the oven, the frying installation and the bar cooling machine. The mizzen got its new beam. In between we had 4 parties on the ship. And right now we are on the North Sea with 32 passengers, doing our second daytrip for individuals and supporters, we are somewhere to the west of Scheveningen, under a very bright sun, all sails set and a NNE 3-4 Bft. We will arrive at Scheveningen at the end of the afternoon. Tomorrow the third and last daytrip and then we’re off to England for our first summer voyage, again fully booked.

From the shipping company (May 18, 2001)
Last night we made a short trip with members of the board of the Rotterdam Sailing Ship Foundation and a number of people they had invited. After a couple of months on the seas, the crew and the ship had to get used again to making a daytrip. It was a very agreeable trip. Everyone was very interested and our cook had done his very best. The very strong winds made it quite an experience.
Tomorrow we will sail the first of three daytrips with supporters and other interested persons.

From the shipping company (May 16, 2001)
We have made some adjustments in the 2001 summer Programme, in the period between Aug 16 till Sep 9. We would especially like to mention our participation in the America’s Cup Jubilee festivities, in Portsmouth.

May 13, 2001 20:10 GMT
We arrived first in Lowestoft. Our relative position in the fleet of 18 was 6 by then. Yesterday we finished in the roads of IJmuiden. Our relative position at the end of the race is 7. Today we sailed to Amsterdam with all the ships.

From the shipping company (May 12, 2001)
The shipping company is looking for a ship’s cook, for a volunteer who wants to be an assistant to the cook during some of the voyages in the summer (board, lodging and travelling-tickets payed for) and for someone who wants to help us in the office on a parttime basis. If you are interested, please contact us.
We also would like to draw your attention to our upcoming daytrips for individuals (in May), well suited to try and experience sailing on the ‘Oosterschelde’. Some of these daytrips are fully booked.

The ‘Oosterschelde’ is expected to arrive in Amsterdam on May 13.

May 10, 2001 09:33 GMT
Barely home, and off we are again. As a participant in the Race of the Classics with a fleet of 18 ships, groups of students and all of them. We don’t mind, we did this race before and the athmosphere has always been right. On Monday we sailed from the Veerhaven harbour to Scheveningen, with the main sponsors of the race. Nice weather, although we had to use the engine for a while to get there in time. In the evening a group of students of the student’s club Unitas boarded. On Tuesday (May 8) the race started in the roads of Scheveningen at 13:00 hrs. Because of the NE wind, Race Control decided to go to Lowestoft instead of Ramsgate. We started last and – almost embarrassing – we sailed through the whole fleet and finished first, after 12 hours. But our ship is very fast on this course. In Lowestoft there are many spectators. The students are having a big party.
Tomorrow we’ll start the second leg, to Amsterdam.

From the shipping company (May 7, 2001)
Contrary to our earlier messages, the ‘Oosterschelde’ will leave today at 14:00. She will go to Scheveningen, where tomorrow morning the Race of the Classics will start, to England (Lowestoft or Ramsgate) and next to Amsterdam, where she will arrive on Saturday or Sunday. From Amsterdam she will sail back to Rotterdam.

From the shipping company (May 5, 2001)
The ‘Oosterschelde’ is back home. A little bit earlier than expected but now she can play a role in a classic boat show in the Veerhaven harbour on May 5 and 6.
The crew will rest for a while. On Monday we are going to have a meeting to decide on the work that has to been done in the coming days. The ship looks fine but there are some technical problems that have to be fixed. An exhaustpipe damper is rusted through, the topsail has to go to the sailmaker, the temporary steel mizzen boom has to be replaced by the new wooden boom, etcetera.
We will keep you posted on the site as usual.
The first departure will be on May 17, when we will make a daytrip with potential sponsors and customers.

From the shipping company (May 4, 2001)
At exactly 14:00 hrs captain Eliane de Vilder turned the ‘Oosterschelde’ into the Veerhaven harbour: the ship and all the people on it came safely home. This ended the Oosterschelde part of the ‘Hora di bai’-project.

May 2, 2001 18:32 GMT
This will be the last message sent during the Hora di bai-voyage. We sailed along the English coast with N-ly winds untill it became NE 8 Bft. We decided to wait for more favourable circumstances and anchored at Rye Bay on May 1 at 09:15. In the afternoon the wind became calm, enough for us to heave anchor and sail to the other side to the Westerschelde. There we entered the canal that brought us to the northern side of the former island of Walcheren. We made a stop at Veere on May 2 at 16:00; this enabled us to stretch the legs and to buy rolling tabaco and ice-cream. We love the spring in the Netherlands. It’s so green, so very very green. And all the little lambs, and so many birds. Right now we are sailing quietly on the lake of Veere. One by one all the exercises are done by the boys: setting sail without the crew helping, starting the main engine, maintenance etc. Sometimes crew members take the role of one of the boys in such an exercise and that leads to a lot of laughs. Tomorrow we will continue sailing through Zeeland. The last part surely will be more easy.

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Willem (May 1)
“Hello to you all, we’re almost there. Today we will arrive on the Westerschelde and we will go to Rotterdam through the inner waterways. It will be fun. Things are going better and better with us because the finish is in sight. Say hello to Veenendaal.

From ‘Hora di bai’-coach Jan Franssen (May 2)
“After a speedy crossing we are now on the lake of Veere. Almost there. For every participant we made an action plan for the next phase of the Hora di bai-project. Participants have learned (with more or less success) to work, study and live together on a ship. Now the next phase will follow ashore, with Andries de Weert and myself as coaches, and where we will try to open up the road to a better future for them. Many will go for a job on a ship, others will find work ashore. We are very optimistic. From the ‘Oosterschelde’ with het excellent crew, we want to thank everyone who helped make this project a success. Hora di bai, the hour of departure, is on Friday May 4 at 14:00. We hope to welcome you all in the Veerhaven harbour in Rotterdam at that moment.”

Apr 28, 2001 20:36 GMT
We reached the English Channel. We sail before the wind, accompanied by petrels and gannets. More and more ships. Almost home. During the last days we have been propelled by low pressure areas. Most of the boys are impressed to see the ship go through the waves like this, they themselves hardly being able to stand upright. We plan to visit the river Blackwater before coming home on May 4. Their stories on girls and beer are getting more frequent, they hardly can wait, so we are going to find ourselves a nice and quiet place to anchor.

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Paul (Apr 26)
“5 days ago we left the Açores. If I compare the weather here with the weather on the islands, I’d prefer to be on the islands, but alas. We all want to go home and this (sailing) is the only way now. While I write this, I am being thrown to and fro by the movenement of the ship. The waves are very high and we do some 9 knots and that is very fast. If we go on like this, we will be home on May 4. When the weather is fine, no one minds the sailing, but if the weather is as f*cking bad as it is now, it can’t be over soon enough. If one of you wants to know how it feels to get hit by a cold wave in the early morning, go sail on the ocean! It surely will wake you up in a second. I am going to leave you now because I have to take Daan’s place at the helm in a few minutes. I am fine.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Pieter (Apr 28)
“Hi there. We are near England now, 4 and a half weeks on the ship. I am able to do all my work now without any help from the crew. As you know, we had a leak in the engine room; I was at the helm for 5 hours then. No questions were asked, everyone knew exactly what he or she had to do. I admire the crew, being so at ease in all circumstances.”

From VTL-teacher (and crew member) Els (Apr 28)
As crew members, we have a lot of experience in keeping our ship cosy and comfortable in all circumstances. This voyage is different. Taking care of one’s environment is something most of them are not familiar with. Some things get damaged by careless use. One of the boys kicked a fridge closed with the steel-reinforced toe of his shoe. I asked him to close that door the normal way. “As you can see, I carry stuff in my hands”, he answered. We all have our little courses. A couple of days ago, when we had winds of 8 Bft, all the boys were lying in bed; no shouting and yelling, no loud music; that was very quiet.”

Apr 25, 2001 21:24 GMT
We sail in a low pressure area, with squalls, heavy hail and lots of wind, up to 10 Bft. The wind is variable in strength, the direction is between NW and SW. We tore the topsail but it has been repaired and we have set it back. Last night we had water in the engine room. A recoil valve in the conduct of the bilge-pump had leaked.
We miss the warm weather, but we sail nicely. Some of us start to have the channel-fever (almost home). 400 miles to go to the English Channel.

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Willem (Apr 25)
“A lot happened with the ship. I had a heavy night. My watch was from midnight till 04:00 but I stayed till 07:00. I’ll tell you about it when I come home. I am fine and I love you.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Daan (Apr 23)
“This is not funny any more. The waves are higher than the ship and there is a constant flow of water on the deck. Last night was also very heavy. Paul almost went over the side twice. On the first time the captain grabbed hold of him, on the second occasion the safety lines held him inside. Hoessein had the same, but only once. We may have some nice video shots of this sea-violence. We are not allowed to go outside without our safety belt. When one looks around, one gets a bit scared. But the crew smiles all the time and that is a boost for our confidence. I respect the crew very much. What these people do in those circumstances, is amazing. They are not afraid of anything. I say hello to pa, Joost, ma and Riska.”

From the shipping company (Apr 25, 2001)
Due to the favourable weather conditions in the last couple of weeks, the ‘Oosterschelde’ is expected home in Rotterdam a few days earlier.
She will arrive in the Veerhaven harbour of Rotterdam on Friday May 4 at 14:00. We cordially invite the parents and the coaches and other interested persons to come to the Veerhaven harbour and give them all a very nice welcome.

Apr 24, 2001 21:53 GMT
Squalls with hail and lots of wind. This is the first precipitation since we started this journey 4 weeks ago. The ship sails through it nicely, as usual. Still 500 miles to go to the English Channel.

Apr 21, 2001 15:52 GMT
On Apr 20 we left Ponta Delgada at 11:15. The participants sailed the ship themselves during the whole day, making some 10 tacks. We liked it and they too. At 17:00 we anchored near Villa Franca do Campo on the south side of São Miguel. The island is beautiful. We hired a minibus and made a tour to a crater, with amazing views all over the island. Everything is so green. We walked in the woods and played soccer on the beach. We left the Açores on Apr 21 at 12:30. With a SW 2 Bft we sailed along the last piece of this green island, and now we are on our way to Rotterdam.

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Willem (Apr 18)
“We are on the Açores right now, everybody is happy. The white watch cleaned the whole ship. Everyone left with a bus to tour the island. Willem and Danny missed the bus because they waited at the wrong place. The bus went to a lake. The return trip was bad (3,5 hours), we thought Els had lost directions but she said she planned it this way. We went to a pizzeria and ordered pizzas, almost no one finished his, we took all the leftovers and brought them to the ship. The next morning all was eaten.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-coach Cynthia (Apr 21)
“Yesterday we practised tacking all day but I still have not got the feeling for sailing. It is very difficult to get to know the names of all these ropes, although I am not the only one. Some of the boys though pick it up very easily. I have the impression that everyone has found his place in the group and that the boys deal with each other in a better way now, apart from some arguments.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Daan (Apr 21)
“We are going to Rotterdam now. We just left the Açores and we hope to arrive in 14 days. The Açores are very beautiful and the women too, although their asses are rather fat but the boys and me, we don’t mind. Beer is very cheap here, they even have Heineken. I bought some presents, I know you all would like it very much here, everything is so green, like the jungle. The weather is fine. See you all in Rotterdam.”

Apr 19, 2001 16:31 GMT
From the ‘Hora di bai’-coaching team (Apr 19)
“Since Cabo Verde a lot has happened. Shortly after our departure the was a lot of tension among the participants. During the first leg (Spain-Cabo Verde) everything was new and exciting. But during the second leg one after the other exploded and some of them demanded that a flight home was arranged for them immediately. “I am getting crazy on this f*cking ship”. “I can’t even leave my stuff in my cabin unguarded”. “I’ve had it. I’m going home”. The food, personal belongings, music, video, all of them led to arguments.
Most of the participants lived in a world of “everyone for himself”. Now they have to learn to take care of the other and the other’s belongings. In the beginning that was very difficult for them, but gradually more is possible.
During the last leg (Açores-Rotterdam) we will focus on the basic attitude that is needed for the jobs they are aiming for.”

Apr 18, 2001 22:38 GMT
Today we arrived at Ponta Delgada at 09:00, accompanied by dolphins and without any wind. No wind; it happened to us quite often during the last days. It made us drift about in daytime; in the night we used the engine to make some progress. Swimming in the Atlantic made an impression, especially after seeing a huge jelly-fish of 1 meter in diameter and a show by a Minke whale that breached several times, close to us. Lots of life in the water: turtles, Portugese men-of-war, sperm whales. The swimming pool on deck has been fitted with a fountain for cooling down. Most of the participants are used to the ship now; they are able to set and lower sail independently, and even do the dish washing. Of course there are some quarrels now and then but that’s part of the game. Yesterday we had new exams. 4 persons scored more than 8 (on a scale of 10) and were rewarded with a ships’ t-shirt.

From cook Taco (Apr 16)
“Hora di bai, the Atlantic and cooking, that’s a complex combination. I am more of a culinary manager, seeing to it that cooking point is reached in the food but not in the group. The first days were easy because they were all seasick. More and more people are helping out in the galley, sometimes because they want to evade the watch duties. My helping hand Martin appears to be quite a pastry-cook and it makes us feast. Sometimes I long for my mother’s kitchen, for someone cooking a meal for me.”

From the shipping company (Apr 18, 2001)
This afternoon we spoke by telephone with captain Eliane. This morning at 09:00 the ‘Oosterschelde’ arrived at Ponta Delgada on the island São Miguel (Açores). Abdul will have to leave the ship and go home because his sister has died in the Netherlands. The rest is doing fine. Some irritations, but the nicer moments are determining the athmosphere. Some crew members are having difficulty with their heavy jobs. Tonight the Hora di bai-group is dining out ashore and the crew will have a talk.
The progress of the voyage is according to schedule. The ship might arrive in Rotterdam as soon as May 5 or 6. We will keep you posted on all developments.

Apr 14, 2001 17:12 GMT
500 miles to go to the Açores. We had to motor during one windless day, right now we are sailing again, not fast but under a beautiful blue sky. Many Portugese men-o-war but only a few fishes. Quiet on the ship, people play games, make knots, are painting the steering house.
(Everyone sends his or her love to home and sweetheart.)

From ‘Hora di bai’-coach Cynthia (Apr 13)
“4 days since we left Cabo Verde. I forget day and date, on the ship only the hours of the watch count. For most of us this was not easy in the beginning because one has to sleep in the daytime to be fit in the night. The weather still is great and we walk in t-shirts. The climate has changed a bit. The sea is beautiful, especially when the sun is shining and when dolphins swim alongside. No dolphins during the last days though. It is an exciting and very fascinating voyage.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-coach Hendrik (Apr 14)
“Nothing is as it seems. One day is not like the other. One day everything is fine, everybody satisfied, nice sailing, some maintenance work etc., the other day the fuses are too short and we quickly reach the boiling point. I am used to it now, but it still is difficult to predict what will happen between participants. The local groque was too strong for many, so we needed a lot of time to get everyone back on the tracks. Now all is fine again. Taco baked us some white bread and it is delicious.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Martin Verwoert (Apr 14)
“Hello to you all, I miss you. And Dana, I love you, you’re my number 1. Pa and ma and the others, I’ll see you in 20 days or I’ll call you in a week. See you.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Raily (Apr 14)
“Hello there. 1 day before we arrived at Cabo Verde I was sick, crazy and muzzy; I wanted to go home immediately, the nice captain changed course to the international airport of Cabo Verde, half an hour later I changed my mind and I wanted to keep on sailing with the group. 1 day later we arrived at São Vicente and I went into town with the group.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Pablo (Apr 12)
“Mama i vilma bosnan drecha hopi koi kumi bandi kuminsamentu di mei nai, pasombra mi ta kumi koi pendew so aki, hopi hamber mi tin. Drecha sopi galinga, funchi piska, aros brua ku ko pami, bandi 5 mei nai mi ta jega Rotterdam.”

Apr 11, 2001 20:51 GMT
For those of you who did not know: our voyage to Cabo Verde had an other goal too: to bring computers, printers and monitors to medical and welfare organisations on the archipelago. Sponsoring was The Body Shop Benelux. The Red Cross on Santo Antão gladly received the machines and will take care of distribution. The local hospital did not have one computer and they were grateful. We are glad to have been able to make a small contribution to the welfare of the islands.

Apr 11, 2001 12:28 GMT
On the move again, we left Porto Novo on Monday at 12:30. Beautiful E 4 Bft and we sail straight to the Açores. We expect to be there in a week and a half.
Everyone is used to the ships’ rhythmes again. The tour on the islands was nice. First Mindelo (São Vicente) en then, after crossing the strait, we visited Porto Novo (Santo Antão) where Paul’s family came from. And we swam and had barbecues, strolled through the villages, bought some souvenirs, and of course there was the family.

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Pieter (Apr 9)
“Been ashore today, took some time to get used to it but it was alright, I had a sunburn though. I called home, my father answered the phone and bang there went my money in the phone’s slot.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Paul (Apr 10)
“We rented a car and went cruising in Porto because my grandma was not home. After that we went to the beach to see the girls. Back in Porto we went for a drink and some food at the house of my uncle and my nephew. The boys were lost for a while because of all the punch and groque (national drink) but we all had laughs. You would have had laughs if you could have seen them.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Willem (Apr 11)
“I want to state that I might be going home in about a week because it is not what we thought it would be. It is just too much for me. And nobody can stand criticism. A few crew members think it is a pity me going home, and Danny thinks the same. But I have lost my motivation. I would like to work on ships though.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Pablo (Peter) (Apr 11)
“The weather on Cabo Verde was great and the women were beautiful. I met several beautiful girls in Porto Novo, almost all of them are beautiful, really, I can’t forget it, the way they walk – homba part keta – I have them on video so I’ll show you all later. Life on the ship really is tough, almost no leisure time, one needs all the spare time for sleeping. I am very tired right now like many others, but I have to make it to Rotterdam. Some of us want to go home and they are intensively being talked to. Last week we had kind of an exam. Daan and me, we had the highest results; those moments are a boost to motivation.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-coach Jan Franssen (Apr 11)
“Yesterday the foreign boys took over the galley and made an exotic meal for all of us. Today we have a nice athmosphere on our multi-cultural ship, a small sample of our Dutch society. It’s ups and downs but we will make it.”

Apr 7, 2001 22:12 GMT
We arrived at Mindelo (São Vicente, Cabo Verde) Friday night at 23:15. We sailed in nice trade winds. The mountains on the islands of the archipelago showed themselves in the sunset. Everyone excited. On Saturday we toured the island São Vicente in vans. A dry moon-like landscape, friendly people, beautiful beaches and a blazing sun. Impressed by all this, also by the poverty, we went back to the ship. Tomorrow we will go to the school in Porto Novo that we visited in October 1999 with the participants of the Villa Lobos-project; we will bring them computers. And we will visit participant Paul’s family.

From VTL-teacher Els de Jager (Apr 6) (Els is also a crew member)
Thursday Apr 5 we had the first exams (probably the first ever on the ‘Oosterschelde’) knowledge of the ship, sailing, navigation, maintenance, geography. 8 out of the 10 participants scored sufficiently. Every day there is class for a couple of hours. Some of the participants hate learning from a book, but once they are used to it, they get very curious and like to do their very best.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-coach Jan Franssen (Apr 6)
“After 11 busy days we are nearing Cabo Verde. First we will visit the island São Vicente to buy some stuff for the ship, some souvenirs, to have a swim and to stretch our legs. On Sunday we will visit Santo Antao to bring the computers (sponsored by The Body Shop) to the school that we visited in 1999 during the Villa Lobos project. So far the voyage goes fine. Some details still need improvement (watches, studying, living together harmoniously). I hope that the rest of this Hora di bai-project will continue in this way. The experiences of the Villa Lobos-project certainly improved the way we (crew and coaches) handle things now.”

Apr 4, 2001 13:52 GMT
Still going fast, NNE 5 to 6 Bft, high swell, sometimes water on the deck. 350 miles to go to Cabo Verde, ETA Friday evening. We built a swimming pool on deck, seawater is 20 degrees Celsius. We have lessons in kickboxing, sailing and ropes & knots on deck. A group of homer-pigeons visited us, one decided to stay in the forecastle. We caught 2 bonito’s, Raily made us fish soup. Lots of dolphins. A sail tore and we have made a sawing group. The steering house has been painted from the wood. So we have a good time. Although not everyone agrees as one can read below.

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Daan (Apr 1)
“Today Abdoul learned us how to kickbox. But I forgot about my baldness and now I got a sunburn on my head. Maybe I got a sun-stroke because my head is empty.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Paul (3.4)
“A week on the move and already many are frustrated, they all get crazy here. One moment friendliness, the next moment annoyance. For example, we went to play Monopoly and in the end everyone was angry because some were cheating and others couldn’t stand to loose. Some food falls from the table because of a wave. People make a lot of fuzz of events they wouldn’t mind at home.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Raily (3.4)
“Hi there my beloved sister, I miss you and your delicious food. I miss my nieces and my brave nephew. I have a lot of stress since I boarded this f*ing ship. I could kill someone but every night I pray to God to help me to control myself. I feel weaker and weaker because I don’t like the food. Don’t worry, sister. I love you.”

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Hoessein (4.4)
“Midnight watch? I was sick, I did not work because I was sick, stomach. I was in bed all evening, talked to Jan and now I am fine again. I like it here, no more problems.”

Mar 31, 2001 09:46 GMT
Today we will get Lanzarote (Canary Islands) in sight, it really goes fast with a continuous N-ly 5 to 6 Bft and the ship rolls with the wind in the sails. Slowly everyone gets used to the sea and the movement, one a bit faster than the other. It is a friendly group.

From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Willem den Heeten:
“We are doing fine. We have almost all been seasick, with throwing up etc. I wanted to go home but not any more now. Daan and I are a bit anxious because the ship rolls heavily, it is scary.
Greetings.”

Mar 28, 2001 19:18 GMT
From ‘Hora di bai’-participant Pieter Dreef:
“This morning we left Cadiz. I have been put to work immediately, which I don’t mind at all. I try to do as much as I can; it seems like they can read my thoughts because I had to go on deck in the first watch. Handling the helm is what I like most, because of the power. Although, one can never have total control of the ship because the wind and the sea also determine what happens.
I would like to thank my family, Jan Franssen, VTL and shipping company Oosterschelde and all others that made this voyage possible.”

Mar 28, 2001 12:34 GMT
We arrived in Cadiz om March 26, at 17:00. It is a beautiful old town, with narrow streets and impressive buildings. We have prepared the ship for our youth project ‘Hora di bai’; the participants of this special project arrived on the ship on Tuesday.
Today was departure day. We left Cadiz at 09:00 and we now sail with a strong NW 5 Bft, all sails up and a nice speed of 9 knots in the direction of the Cabo Verde Islands. Some are a bit seasick but that shouldn’t last long in this beautiful weather.

From the shipping company (Mar 26, 2001)
The day trips on the North Sea on May 22 and 23 are fully booked. We have arranged for an extra day trip on May 19; we then will sail out of Rotterdam and we will stay on inland waters.
Some of the voyages of the summer of 2001 are fully booked. Check our page Programme.

Mar 24, 2001 13:25 GMT
After the strong winds, we had two days with no wind at all. Hot, much sunshine, much sea life like turtles, moonfish and a hundred dolphins. Accompanied by beautiful sunsets. We are still working in the rigging and we painted the ‘kotje’, the cabin on the poop. This morning at 10:00 we anchored at Castell de Ferro because of an upcoming W 9 Bft. The mothers and aunts have been put ashore at the beach, they went into town like young girls would.

Mar 21, 2001 17:31 GMT
With a lot of wind we left Île St. Honorat at 01:00 Local Time. The wind was WSW, from the direction wanted to go. With some sails and with the engine helping, we are now some 80 miles NW of the island of Menorca in the Balearics. On board we have 3 mothers, 1 father and 2 aunts of crew members. After the crowd in Cannes, the sea is very calming. Dolphins, birds, whales. Right now we are busy with weatherfaxes, the sextant, fishing gear and the rigging.

Mar 19, 2001 10:34 GMT
The stay in Cannes was a success. The ship looked bright with all her fresh paint. The weather was fine enough to make all you readers jealous. The customers were more than satisfied. There was a huge real estate bourse and the ‘Oosterschelde’ was hired by a group of architects from Wales, very friendly people. Every morning there was a breakfast, they had organized presentations of their work on a big screen during each day, every afternoon there was a cocktail party and every night an extensive dinner for them and their guests.
The ‘Oosterschelde’ was the only tall sailing ship in the harbour and for that reason she attracted a lot of attention. Now we have anchored at the island ële St. Honorat in front of Cannes. We are waiting for some guests and then we will leave for Cadiz.

Mar 10, 2001 9:42 GMT
Friday, around noon we entered the port of Cannes. It is packed and a lot of ships had to be moved before there is a little space for us. A temporarily end of the journey. Apart from the job that we have here, we will use our time to refill our water and fuel bunkers and store the ship again for the continuation of our trip. Our ETD (estimated time of departure) is Monday, March 19.
Sunday, March 11, the ship will be open for the public in the afternoon. In the evening we organise a little reception.

Mar 9 , 2001 19:22 GMT
Wednesday at 1 o’clock in the morning we anchored outside Île Honorat (just off the coast near Cannes). We enjoy the beautiful bay, with scents of eucalipt and pine-trees. After a month long journey with the 12 of us, we regret to (almost) have finished it.
The coming days we will finish the painting work on deck and Friday we will go to Cannes for the Mipim Festival.

Mar 3 , 2001 17:39 GMT
Sailing between two storms, we reached Menorca. We took in fresh water and are painting the last details on deck. The ship is bright and shiny. The hills around the bay in which we are anchored are beautiful and on the coast there are many old buildings. Despite these nice surroundings we plan to leave on Monday for the last part of our voyage.

Feb 28, 2001 11:16 GMT
At this moment we are at Ibiza, waiting for the wind to cease. Saturday we were at Roquetas for the same reason. In stead of storm in Biscay, we get it here on the Mediterranean Sea. Another 370 miles to go to Cannes.

Feb 24, 2001 10:13 GMT
Some of us took this year’s first dive in the seawater, here at Arrifana. After that we walked through the portugese nature in warm and sunny weather (21 degrees). The wind backed soon and we left the next day with a gentle westerly breeze. Friday at 17:00 GMT we passed Gibraltar, the southernmost point of this trip. We already saw a big turtle and we caught a yellowfin-tuna for dinner. At this moment we are south of Malaga. With topsails, course, mainsail and a fair westerly, we are doing 8 knots towards our destination.

Feb 21, 2001 16:44 GMT
Tuesday at 18:00 hrs we arrived in Arrifana (southern Portugal). We had a favourable wind until now and we sailed with a speed of 9 knots along the rough coastline. We dropped our anchor and are waiting for the weather to improve, there is now an easterly storm in the Gibraltar Strait. Because we had a fast trip, we now have time to kill. We started painting and working on the rigging, which is a nice job in these temperatures.
Between the steep cliffs, where the waves are breaking with raw violence, fishermen in small wooden boats are doing their jobs. Tonight we will enjoy a meal of fresh caught fish. Everyone has found the rhythm again after the long winter break. Our new chef Taco is making yoghurt and bread, everything is going swell. Just one minor problem: our weatherfax has broken down; we hope that we will be able to fix it.

Feb 18, 2001 13:46 GMT
Finally under sail again. The ship is in a perfect state and we have a very pleasant group on board. We are enjoying the beautiful weather. With a strong north-easterly we are speeding up to Cape Finisterre. The nights are cold, but offer us a good look at Venus, Saturn and Jupiter. At daytime we practise all the security procedures.

Feb 16, 2001 17:35 GMT
The ‘Oosterschelde’ has left Rotterdam Feb 14 at 12:00, right on schedule. She will be back in her homeport on May 15.
Thanks to the nice weather she now is north of the island Alderney in the English Channel.

From the shipping company (Feb 16, 2001)
On the page Programme we changed some items and we added some, especially in the coming months.

Feb 10, 2001 13:24 GMT
A few days before leaving, we discovered that the boom of the mizzen mast got soaked, the inside has rotten. At first the damage seemed small but when we cleared away some of the wood, we saw that the problem was too big. We tried to find a suitable trunk to make a new one out of but we did not succeed. A temporary solution has been found: the steel boom of Gerben’s own ship will be
fitted and when the ‘Oosterschelde’ returns in May, there will find a new wooden boom for her mizzen waiting for her.
The anchor winch has been restored, a very nice job they did. But for some inscrutable reason, the winch does not fit any more on the original foundation. The company that did the restoration for us, does not have enough time to solve this before Wednesday. It’s just a minimal difference and we now will solve it by making some ferrules on a lathe.
The ship will leave for Cannes on Wednesday.

Feb 7, 2001 21:00 GMT
Although most of the work is done, the ‘Oosterschelde’ does not seem to be at the brink of leaving. Rubbish everywhere and lots of work all around. Tomorrow we will load the stores for the upcoming voyage to the Mediterranean. After that we will clean up after of all the work we did this winter. And we hope for a nice easterly wind on the day we will go to sea .
Estimated departure from Rotterdam to Cannes: Feb 14.

Jan 24, 2001 08:52 GMT
We have started one of the last parts of the restoration. Ton Vreeken, who made the wooden roof on the captain’s cabin, makes a wooden floor on the fore-deck. We want to be ready with all the winter’s work at the end of this month.

From the shipping company (Jan 18, 2001)
The May 23 daytrip is fully booked. In the coming weeks there are just a few possibilities left to book a daytrip.
The ‘Oosterschelde’ will leave Rotterdam on February 14 for her first voyage of 2001. She will go to the Mediterranean Sea, to Cannes; in March the ‘Oosterschelde’ will be host to an international group of real estate agents during their annual Cannes Mipim-festival.
From Cannes the ship will go to Las Palmas, where our project ‘Hora di bai’ will start. The goal is to help youngsters with certain social problems to a job. Our first experience with a project like that is ‘Villa Lobos’, in 1999 when the ‘Oosterschelde’ carried some 20 youngsters.

Jan 13, 2001 22:31 GMT
Tonight all the crews of the ships in our Veerhaven harbour were invited for the traditional New Year’s reception on board of the ‘Oosterschelde’. (She is back home.) A nice opportunity for everyone to see everyone again. We were presented with the new flag of the harbour; it will be hoisted on Monday morning.
The new generator is working fine, the saloon is very neat now, the galley has been painted, many blocks have been sanded and painted, some new cleats have been riveted to the deck. Very steadily we finish everything on our to-do list.

Jan 8, 2001 19:38 GMT
The ‘Oosterschelde’ is still in the Leuvehaven Harbour, much longer than we planned to stay there. The new generator has been installed and finally we found a firm that will overhaul the anchor chains. The galley got a repaint and we are finishing the new floor in the saloon. Tomorrow we’ll sail back to our home, the Veerhaven Harbour.

From the shipping company (Jan 3, 2001)
From now on the page News will offer a photograph. We will put up a new one once in a while. You can download a high res as a StuffIt file (for Mac) or as a Zip file (for PC) by clicking on a button below the photograph. Instructions and the conditions for usage are on the page Photos.