News archive 2002

31 December 2002

Dec 31, 2002 15:45 GMT
54°16.10′ S, 036°29.74′ W. Compass 058.
Yesterday we arrived at Grytviken, the ‘capital’ of South Georgia, 12 British scientist being the only inhabitants. We are moored at the quay of King Edward Point. Grytviken was an whaling station for 60 years. They could process some 25 fin whales per day, rather unbelievable when you see the rusty pots and cranes. 300 workers must have produced a lot of slaughter. Now the beach is covered with sea elephants. They are so lazy that they don’t even lift their head when we pass them. In the harbour there are some big wrecks from the old days. On the cemetery we find Ernest Shackleton’s grave. What a history!
Tonight we will celebrate the New Year too. From the galley comes the smell of Dutch ‘oliebollen’. Together with the British we will make a big party. Tomorrow we will continue our voyage.
From this very special place all of us wish you a very Happy New Year.

Dec 29, 2002 17:55 GMT
54°03.86′ S, 037°09.01′ W. Compass 080.
High alpine mountains and heavy glaciers, low green islands, icebergs, and in the midst of all this the ‘Oosterschelde’. Our first anchorage at South Georgia was Elsehul, a great and sheltered bay, with numerous inquisitive fur seals. When you arrive from the ocean, it is a lot of noise with all these animals: a beach full of fur and elephant seals, and slopes with scores of macaroni and gentoo penguins. On another slope there are many grey-headed albatrosses, breeding between the tussock grass. And then we had the snowy sheathbills; they preferred to land on the ship and eat our jibs. Pieter tried to chase them away but he did not succeed. After a walk, we listened sitting around the woodstove to the stories of all that happened today and the dangers the fur seals presented on the beach. Bill stated that they are not really dangerous.
The next landing spot was Salisbury Plain in the Bay of Islands, the weather still great and the temperature a 2 degrees. Between two glaciers we saw some 10,000 king penguins. The elders like dignified business men, stately with their yellow brests and cheeks. The chicken like old ladies in brown fur coats. Today a group went ashore to walk to Prince Olav Harbour, crossing a mountain-pass. In the meantime we brought the ‘Oosterschelde’ there too, and there we are right now, next to an old whaling station, taken over by fur seals, and next to the wreck of the ‘Brutus’, an whaler. It is all very impressive.

Dec 27, 2002 14:59 GMT
We sail in a bright sun and we see high white mountains in front of us. ETA at Elsehul (near the west end of South Georgia) is 16:00.
Download a map of South Georgia (zipped JPG, 296Kb).

Dec 26, 2002 13:57 GMT
53°08.61′ S, 043°09.50′ W. Compass108.
It is cold, around freezing point. Everywhere many-coloured clothing with people stuck inside, sometimes only their noses show. At 52°42 S we met our first table iceberg, as big as 10 big soccer stadiums, at the same latitude as Amsterdam in the north. The waves brake on it, the spray lighting up in the clear sunlight. The wind is variable and E-ly, while it is supposed to be a strong S. We don’t mind because now the ship does not roll so much, and so last night all of us were able to enjoy the 5 course Christmas dinner that Taco and Rob had prepared for us. Around us many royal albatrosses, Cape petrels and Antarctic prions, and they all come rather close. We also saw humpback, sei and minky whales. At the end of the afternoon we will pass Shag Rocks, the first sign of South Georgia. Just a 130 miles to go.

Dec 24, 2002 12:59 GMT
51 48.49 S, 051 10.81 W. Compass 101.
After a stormy start, we now have a moderate and cold wind from N. Around us very many albatrosses and petrels. Yesterday an incoming wave landed a Cape petrel on the deck. The bird was confused for a while and many took the opportunity of taking a picture. The bird needed some help to to get to sea again, because of all the nets that we put in place on top of the bulwarks in case of foul weather. This afternoon Bill Davis, our expedition leader, will introduce South-Georgia to us. It is one big nature reserve, with many historical relics. We have to take care when visiting. Right now we are decorating the ship for Christmas. Weird lights from Brasil, balls from last year for the tree that we got in the Falklands. And in the meantime the galley produces the nicest smells. People fight for the chance to be the reader of the Christmas story tonight.
All of us on board of the ‘Oosterschelde’ wish all who read this a merry Christmas. And thank you for the lots of mail.

Dec 23, 2002 08:58 GMT
Dec 22, 23:42 GMT 51°36.86′ S, 057°30.42′ W. Compass 069.
We left Stanley on Sunday, at 18:00. The horn of the ‘Europa’ sounded a goodbye. The ‘Europa’ came back from South Georgia on Saturday night, with lots of stories, which makes it more of an adventure to us to go there ourselves. Some former ‘Oosterschelde’ crew members were on board: Connie, Bas and Eef.
Before we left, we had open ship for the islanders. We took many children up in the foremast. The local butcher provided us with meat and we had a coffee with the post mistress. On Saturday we changed some of our crew. The plane to Chili, that had flown in some new crew members and the passengers, took some of us back home. It always takes a while to get used to these changes, while we still linger in the voyage we just completed. Now we know: the new voyage has started. We sail in a SW 7 Bft, favourable waves and we do 8 knots in the direction of this magic island. We long to see it all.

Dec 20, 2002 00:12 GMT
We arrived at Port William, Stanley’s bay, on the 18th at 09:00, doing 7 knots. We were welcomed by Peale dolphins before the bow, their usual big kelp fields all over the bay, a rocky bare coast and strong winds. A beautiful and desxolate landscape. The harbour is full with wrecks from the old days, behind them the roofs of the houses of Stanley, 2000 inhabitants. It is more English than England, white skins, red telephone booth and real bobbies. Our arrival was celebrated in the pub, where we were recognised as being crew members of “that big ship”. Today some of us went to a penguin rookery with a jeep. We found king, gentoo and Magellanic penguins, sitting in an empty landscape. Many remains from the war with
Argentina: mines, bullets, boots, sleeping bags and helicopter wrecks. The weather is spectacular: much wind, hail, rain, sun and great clouds, that have beautiful colours in the slow sunsets, that announce the few hours of darkness.
The new passengers are expected tomorrow at 14:40 at the airport and about 1 hour later on the ship. We plan to leave on Sunday.

Dec 18, 2002 00:10 GMT
50°32.84′ S, 057°34.90′ W. Compass 186.
The last bit is before the wind again. The sun is high above the horizon (21:30) and there are many petrels and albatrosses. A beautiful last evening at sea. This morning we saw our first penguins (Magellanic penguins); they jumped out of the water. Yesterday we met the Roaring 40s in a very sudden depression, quick and dirty, lots of wind and then it was gone. We saw it approacing on the Chilean weather faxes that we recieved, and on the barograph it showed its bend. Cook Taco took the last vegetables out of the greenery cabin, fruit out of the paradise cabin and potatoes out of the boat. We still eat Brasilian pine-apple.
All the necessary paperwork has been prepared, the ship is tidy and everyone is preparing for land. Still 60 miles to go.

Dec 15, 2002 14:47 GMT
45°36.92′ S, 057°40.60′ W. Compass 199.
After days of sun, we now enjoy a real English drizzle: we are nearing the Falklands, 350 miles to go. Still we sail before the wind. Yesterdays we saw another ship, the first in 12 days. For the first time the binoculars were not trained on birds. Thank to the favourable weather we could finish painting the ship and making the bowsprit net.
Crew member Pieter: “After 10 years of service and seeing the world, the old bowsprit net had to be remade. Els made the first one during the restoration, at the wharf in Leeuwarden. This one was made in the leg from Las Palmas to Rio de Janeiro, by Bertus, myself and Giljon (a member of the Villa Lobos youth). We use the same principles building it. We made 190 splices and 760 seizings, we used 330 meters of 14 mm rope and 2000 meters of seizing string, it took us 700 hours in 7 weeks. On December 12 the net was finished, and we had champagne on the poop.”

From the shipping company (Dec 15, 2002)
New details have been added and some changes have been made to our Summer 2003 programme. Individuals are offered some new voyages.

Dec 13, 2002 05:23 GMT
41°36.85′ S, 055°01.95′ W. Compass 215.
An area of high pressure stays along and we benefit from it, still going before the wind. 600 miles to go to Stanley and that is rather close. No one longs for land yet, enjoying the great zoo we sail in: yesterday we saw some 10 moon fish, several whales like sei whales and Sowerby’s beaked whales, we saw common dolphins, several kinds of albatrosses which are curious and fly close to us, sometimes landing along this strange huge black bird with white wings. Today the colour of the seawater changed from blue to turquoise and its temperature dropped suddenly from 18 to 15 degrees. A South-American fur seal came to visit us, doing acrobatics for half a day. Because of the weather we still do a lot of paintwork: the deck, the deckhouse and the rigging. Even cook Taco can be seen holding a brush. Annemiek and Rob prepared a barbecue, we ate white tuna in a great sunset.

Dec 11, 2002 00:33 GMT
38°12.86′ S, 052°23.89′ W. Compass 215.
Sailing before the wind, not too fast but steady in the right direction. Every day brings more sunlight. In the tropics we had sunrise at 06:00 and sunset at 18:00, now we have sunlight from 05:00 till 21:00. The weather is agreeable, so we can paint and we can work in the bowsprit net without getting soaking wet. Every morning first mate Jip tells captain Eliane: “We are making water”, to announce that we started up our watermaker, 2 liters of fresh water out of sea water. We prepare everything with it: yoghurt, bread and soup-of-the-day of yesterday. During daytime Jurren en Hans are on the look-out for the animals and so we are able to tell you that we saw our first wandering albatross, with its span of 3.3 meters.

Dec 8, 2002 18:08 GMT
33°42.14′ S, 049°39.83′ W. Compass: 204.
After a calm and a period of foul wind, we now sail comfortably with the wind in the stern and at full sails. Through waves with crests that light up green when sunlight shines through them, a green that has always awed the marine painters. Temperature changes fast now. In the night we have to wear socks and sweaters, we really have to get used to it. We caught 3 dorados, they were prepared by Rob and cook Taco. During the calm we met a group of sperm whales, 13 of them and they showed themselves to us. Later we met Atlantic spotted dolphins, in front of us they jumped high out of the water. We had some orcas next to the ship. Our birdwatchers watch the sky and the sea, and they have spotted many greater shearwaters and the (bespectacled) white-chinned petrel. And even the first Cape petrel, which really shows how much south we are getting. Surely the animal life comes up to our expectations.

Dec 6, 2002 01:23 GMT
28°19.90′ S, 045°58.03′ W.
First we sailed a 10 knots for a time, now we do 4 knots with the wind in the back. It is still very warm, a 33 degrees today. The rhythm of watches has been picked up quickly. We use the nice weather to do more painting and to finish the new bowsprit net, all accompanied by fresh fruit from the ‘fruit cabin’ and by guitar playing; we have a very musical group. Thanks to the many binoculars, we saw a turtle of 1.5 meters, a shark and a yellownosed albatross. After dinner last night we were visited by Sinterklaas and Piet (who bore a startling resemblance to Neptune); they found us in the middle of the ocean, in tropical outfit, and with all the usual presents: pepernoten (kind of ginger nuts), chocolate letters and many others presents. Pieter had to convince Sinterklaas that he acquired some humor, by having him telling jokes, Annemiek and Floor each received minuscule Brazilian underwear, which brought out many laughs.
In the meantime we sail under a very clear sky with myriads of stars, south bound.

Dec 4, 2002 05:01 GMT
23°37.95′ S, 044°35.28′ W. Compass 208.
After we picked up our new guests and the fresh meat and after customs in Angra dos Reis, we anchored in Saco de Ceu (Ilha Grande) on Monday. A beautiful bay with lots of green. After a tropical dinner with much pineapple, we took a swim amidst jumping fish and bats, which were not appreciated by everyone. On Tuesday we tried to find some wood for the stove. In the village they were making a canoo out of a tree, so we found enough. 8 of us took loads to the ship, in their rucksacks, over a foothpath between banana and papaya trees. At sunset we left rainy Brasil, to go to the Falklands.
Jan Hoekstra during his anchorwatch at 04:00: “Ilha Grande is a true paradise. During daytime some 40 degrees and in the evening about 30. I make my rounds over the deck, and check on the people sleeping in hammocks: Bertus, with a satisfied smile on his face, our new Danish Sune, 1.95 meter long, and cook Taco, who seems to go through recipees even in his sleep. A smashing sunrise, the jungle waking up, and now I wait for the crew to do the same.”

Dec 1, 2002 21:10 GMT
Last stores came on Friday. We transformed one cabin into a fruit store: rows of pineapple, melon, apples, papayas and other exotic fruits hung on the ceiling, lay in nets, stood against the walls, and everywhere the smell of fresh fruit. In the evening, after the guests had left and after securing the ship, we left Rio to sail to Abraão on Ilha Grande, some 50 miles away. At sunrise the island cane in sight, high green walls, and frigatebirds and brown boobys. We dropped anchor in a beautiful bay with white beaches and deep blue water, with a temperature of 27 degrees. Within 10 minut
es we had all jumped in. We wait here for the new guests to arrive. We have some time to paint the prow and the stern, and to finish some jobs they started on the leg to Rio. And of course take a hike in this nature reserve.

From the shipping company (Dec 1, 2002)
All’s well that ends well?! Last night all our young globetrotters arrived back from Rio in Amsterdam. All but one: Melvin.
Melvin was arrested at the French airport ‘Charles de Gaulle’ for not having a proper transit visa. Because of his Surinam passport he was regarded a illegal immigrant. And the French police said to have understood Melvin applied for asylum. So, a problem.
Copies of legal documents were faxed to France from the Netherlands that same night. But the officials had gone home. The next morning they demanded for each faxed document a certificate of authenticity. It was Sunday morning! But in the end we succeeded in having those send to France that same day. Mate Els stayed with Melvin those 24 hours, but they wouldn’t let her talk to him. The French police officers even started being impolite towards her. This afternoon, there seemed to be happening nothing at all, so we contacted the Dutch embassy in Paris. For some reason, things started to get going again. Right now Els and Melvin are flying to Amsterdam, and our Gerben Nab and Villa Lobos projectmanager Jan Franssen will pick them up very soon (it is 19:00 right now) at Schiphol Amsterdam. Everyone safely home!

Nov 29, 2002 19:44 GMT
Cook Taco is very busy storing all the food, beverages, cleaning stuff and all sorts of other materials. After a cockroach inspection, it all gets a place in one of these many hidden places that we call ‘stores’. It all is so cheap, he can’t get rid of the money. Fuel has been stored too, thanks to the help of Tocorime. The water from the hose doens’t seem fit for human consumption. But we still have some 12 tons, and there is always the watermaker; that should be sufficient for the relatively small crew on the next leg to the Falkland Islands. Captain Hank Mijnlieff handed the command to Eliane de Vilder.
Supervisor Jan Franssen says: “It is our last day in very hot Rio. Everyone looks forward to going home after a long time at sea. Last night we had a barbecue on deck, at 32 degrees. We spent the afternoon in a favela. The kids presented us with a musical show and we had a tour. We all experienced the danger these areas present, when all of a sudden we were surrounded by some 20 cops with machine guns. They were looking for someone. We were impressed and hurried to safer places. See you all on Saturday.”
Melvin says: “Today is our last day in Rio de Janeiro. We take a plane to Paris, and from there we fly to Amsterdam Schiphol. I expect to see my uncle there, with the car. I had two great months, and now I will pick up where I left it. Ok people, Melvin is coming home.. See you. Home sweet home. Peace.”

Nov 28, 2002 12:39 GMT
Arriving at Rio is always spectacular. The famous statue of Christ can be seen from afar, as is the case with the Sugar mountain. Making radio contact with port control was difficult, so we just sailed in. We were welcomed by our former crew members Sep and Eliane, and we moored at the same place as we did three years ago. After spending so much time at sea, no one was used to the noise and all those new impressions; our first sight-seeing day ended very soon, before 16:00. In the eveneing we went to Lapa, where local contact Kit arranged for an African drum band of 14.
In the meantime Captain Hank went to see the authorities. Long waits, many forms to fill. The days are hot, some 38 to 40 degrees, in the night we still have 32 degrees. Maybe you all are jealous, but it really is a bit too much.
Yesterday we made a trip through the bay with children from the slums. Three years ago we did the same during Villa Lobos-I. The children brought drums and other musical instruments. Our youngsters introduced them to the ship as if they had been crew for years. From the dinghy people could make a picture of the ship under full sail, with the Christ statue in the background. Tomorrow we will tell you about our visit to the slums, to the favelas.

Nov 25, 2002 18:15 GMT
22°55.02′ S, 043°10.11′ W. Compass 239.
Since half an hour we are anchored in Marina del Gloria in Rio de Janeiro. We did 3805 miles simce Las Palmas, with an average speed of 6.3 knots. All is well.

From the shipping company (Nov 25, 2002)
The youngsters of Villa Lobos-II will arrive at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Nov 30, with Air France 1940 G. Their last stop is Paris, where they leave at 14:50. Arrival at Schiphol airport is at 16:05.

Nov 24, 2002 19:50 GMT
23°01.37′ S, 041°29.59′ W. Compass 264.
Doing 8 knots, we sail to Rio de Janeiro. Still 100 miles to go. Yesterday brought us the first sign of mankind: an oil spill. Our watermaker has been shut off in time. This morning we sailed through the Pampa Oilfield, full of rigs, drill platforms and ships. Since a couple of days, the weather is less stable, due to the influences of the Vitoria Trinidade seamount chain, which is also responsible for disturbances in the Brasil current. We caught 5 blackfinned tuna, and also a sheath fish that normally can be found in much deeper water.
We crossed the sun’s way going south: on Friday the sun was perpendicular. Everyone longs for a harbour, some of the youth went into the foremast to check for land. Tomorrow we will enter Rio, during daytime.
Justy before sending this text, there is excitement on deck: land in sight!

Nov 20, 2002 18:57 GMT
17°12.28′ S 034°30.71′ W. Compass 192.
For some days we do 200 miles on average. ETA Rio de Janeiro is the 25th.
Yesterday we saw a whale breaching spectacularly. And just now we caught a yellowfinned.
We tuna, big enough (80 cm) for our lunch. The athmosphere on board still is fine. The new bowsprit net is almost finished. The participants went through most of the exams. Working safely, social hygiene, English, driving license, they were tested at the same level that they will be they tested later, back home.
Supervisor Jan Franssen draws some conclusions: “It is a pity that the group is not so very interested in a job at sea. 4 of them will probably go back to school, one wants to combine study and work, and one wants to go into the hospitality industry, maybe on a passenger ship. From the other projects I learned that it is very difficult to know this soon what the effects of the project will be.”
Jilali says: “Hello everybody. I hope to be in Brasil in 6 days, and then we go back to the cold. Bah! We are working hard because the ship will go on to the South pole after Rio and she has to be in fine shape. The weather is fine and we all get a nice tan. If the captain would ask me to stay on as a crew member, I would say yes immediately; I will miss this all when I am back home. Bye to you all.”

Nov 17, 2002 19:47 GMT
08°31.07′ S, 031°33.08′ W. Compass 196.
Equator on Nov 14 at 08:45 LT on 027°22′ W.
Finally some fish, we caught two dolphins fish, about 1 meter long. We also caught the (SE going) Brasil current. After a few days close to the wind, we could give the sheets some slack. Beautiful weather. Amazing numbers of stars in the night. We had to tighten the reigns on the youngsters a bit, concerning their waking up. Now everyone is up in time every morning. The maintenance on deck and in the rigging has been picked up again; during the last days it was a bit difficult to do this kind of work because of the dip and because of the spray. Yesterday we put the clocks back for another hour, the third one since we left Rotterdam.
Passage worker Jan says: “The days have their lucky stars. Cleaning and polishing, scraping and painting, hoisting and lowering sails. Tonight cook Taco served us a delicious dolphin fish dinner. After which one watch went on duty and the
others went to sleep.”

Nov 13, 2002 20:45 GMT
00°49.02′ N, 027°00.93′ W. Compass 212.
We almost passed the doldrums. Today we could sail a bit. On Monday the calm weather permitted us to take a swim; we were joined by some curious and friendly whales. Still a couple of miles to go to the equator. Neptune visited us yesterday and gave everyone permission to cross.

Nov 10, 2002 17:40 GMT
06°10.05′ N, 024°30.54′ W. Compass 166.
After a couple of days of beautiful sailing with all sails set, we got the first doldrum rains last night. It coincided with the Caribbean dance party that the crew had set up. Although the music didn’t stop, the party more or less fell into the water. During the night we made some attempts to sail, but it is a lot of effort for less and less miles. So, this morning we started the main engine. We miss the cooling wind, it is very muggy below deck. We hope to leave the doldrums behind very soon. Everything is fine.
We just saw 5 whales, probably humpbacks.

Nov 8, 2002 18:44 GMT
10°08.05′ N, 024°12.76′ W. Compass 168.
Today we exercised man-over-board with the new dinghy. Work on the new bowsprit net and the painting is steady. Some of the youngsters start to like the work on deck. 600 miles to go till the equator. Fishing is not very successful. We saw a sail-fish today. The athmosphere is fine and agreeably stable.
Supervisor Jan Franssen says: “More than a week since Las Palmas. The group has picked up the rhythm of studying and work again very well. Different youngsters do different studies. Some exams will have to be passed in the Netherlands after arrival back home. Some of them consider going back to school, which we promote. So, new chances and new impulses. Some study playing the piano and some capture scenes on video. The heat on board is heavy. Many greetings to you all in the cold Netherland.”
Rasta Hunswijk says: “Crazy, I studied a piece by Bach on the piano. I’ll let you listen to it when I come home. The heat is rising. Today I made pictures of the ship with all sails, out of the dinghy. Hello to the gents, kisses for the ladies.”

Nov 5, 2002 20:41 GMT
Land in sight, all cell phones appear on deck. We pass Ilha do Sal on our W, it is the most northerly island of Cabo Verde. Yesterday it was African desert dust all over the ship. We do a lot of maintenance, painting and repairing sails. Today the boys had some exams to pass. They do a good job studying.
One of the boys says: “Today I had a special experience. I was studying in my cabin when the fire alarm went off. I ran through the saloon. Passing the galley, I saw the cook on the floor, blood on his head. I ran upstairs to the main deck and saw 1rst mate Els with a fire extinguisher. Everyone was grabbing life-jackets. It appeared to be an exercise, and the blood was ketchup.”

Nov 3, 2002 16:23 GMT
21°41.53′ N, 020°41.33′ W. Compass 209.
3 days at sea and the rhythm is back. Watches are 6 hours in the day and 4 in the night. We are busy renewing the bowsprit net, a big operation. Mainly wind in the back and we are doing some 7 knots in the right direction. Sun, sea, dolphins, flying fish and good winds. Everything one could wish for.
Rata Hunswijk says: “I saw flying fish for the first time, very funny. We are a bit ahead of schedule, which might give us some extra time in Rio. The temperature is warm, we wear shorts all day. I miss you all a bit but I am not homesick. Life on board is tiring, I go to sleep at 9 o’clock. See you, ate breve.”

From the shipping company (Nov 1, 2002)
One of the Maatwerk participants of the Villa Lobos project disembarked on Las Palmas. By now, he’s back in Amsterdam. Ahmed didn’t like it at sea and on the ship. Because of this, he didn’t function well, which could lead to tension in the group; overmore, he isn’t helped by staying. For these reasons the coordinators decided to grant his wish to go home.
Today (Oct 31) the ‘Oosterschelde’ departed on the second leg of the trip to Rio de Janeiro. In Las Palmas we bought fresh food, bunkered fuel and changed captain. Peter Borsboom was replaced by Hank Meinlieff, who’ll sail the ship across the Atlantic. The mood aboard is good and we are not bothered by technical problems, so we expect a pleasant second leg of the trip.

Oct 31, 2002 18:10 GMT
Oct 28 at 17:30 we dropped anchor in the puerta interior of Las Palmas after a trip of turmoil spanning just over 2500 miles. By now we are under way again. An hour ago we left Las Palmas under sunny circumstances and with a weak NE wind.
The past few days were used for a stroll and recon of the island. The boys and crew enjoyed the evening and night life in the many nice bars in the centrum of Las Palmas (temeperature 25 degrees C average). Captain Peter Borsboom handed over command to Hank Mijnlieff. In 1999 Hank was aboard during the first Villa Lobos project.
Our cook bought fresh vegetables, fruit and dairy products ashore. To celebrate our goodbye from Spain we’re having paella for dinner tonight. Just before leaving we bunkered water and oil. Again it was quite a hassle to get the it done. Authorities of the yachting marina and the container port send us up and down. We’re sailing with a weak NE wind southward along the east coast of Gran Canaria. About 3500 sea miles are between us and our next stop: Rio de Janeiro.
Jilali says: “I really enjoyed Las Palmas. I’ll always remember the trip with the ‘Oosterschelde’. Especially the weather was great. I’d like to stay and live on Las Palmas. Today we are finally back at sea and I have to get used again to not be able to go for walk. Also, classes started today, I hope we’ll learn a lot before we reach Rio. Greetings to everybody, my mom and sisters, and a pet for Gizmo.”

Oct 27, 2002 18:49 GMT
30°45.69′ N, 014°50.69’W.
Compared to our stormy adventure last week the difference couldn’t be bigger. At 25 degrees C and the wind from behind we race fully rigged towards Las Palmas, doing 7-8 knots. After passing the center of that enormous low pressure zone (968 mb!) it indeed turned out to be ‘down hill, all the way’.
Often damage from a storm appears afterwards. Under quite normal circumstances our topsail suddenly got torn in two, while the night before the saltwater hydrophore broke loose. All has been repaired.
The boys are enjoying the improved weather and the calm sea. During the day all work or study and all are looking forward to Las Palmas. Only 160 miles to go.

Oct 25, 2002 18:51 GMT
43°55.23′ N, 017°58.24′ W. Compass 168.
By now we are near Cabo Finisterre. The last day and a half we sailed approximately 300 miles. The storm died quite suddenly when the center of the depression was close to us. The sea isn’t calm though. Rolling from side to side and nearly no one got a decent rest. Since a few hours we are sailing fully rigged again, which has been a long time ago. The sea sickness left the ship. Nienke remained bothered by it. The most horrible illnesses and pains hit the boys anytime something had to be done, but luckely most didn’t require a doctor.
A remarkable phenomenon is the beverage consumption, which went down to just 2 sodas today since administration is taken care of by Jan Franssen. This measurement was due to the fact we had an empty fridge and somehow no consumptions registered at all. We all agreed at least one of the two should change. Slowly we’re looking forward to Las Palmas even though it’s still a small 900 miles away.
Reactons to the storm
Jilali: “I woke up because I fell out of bed, and forgot where I was. An hour later I fell out of bed again. Afterwards it went well, but it did scare me.”
Seaman Pieter, on his first trip at sea: “In the beginning I was a bit scared, at a certain point in time the water on the aft deck reached to my knees. I didn’t know the elements could be that viol
ent, but the ship gave me confidence.”
1rst mate Els: “I wasn’t completely new to this. As a crewmember, there is room for improvement, but to me it is absolutely clear time and time again they did build a fantastic ship over there in Zwartsluis.”

Oct 20, 2002 18:56 GMT
49°26.94′ N, 018°37.43′ W. Compass 240.
A huge depression rules the eastern part of the northern Atlantic Ocean. It started yesterday morning with a SE-ly breeze. In the afternoon it grew to a ESE storm with gusts up to 11 Bft. We tried to go W to stay N of the centre, and that was a successful strategy. At the moment we are in the eye, the barograph almost walks off of its paper. We saw it coming from far away in the weather reports; we were prepared very well and stayed safe. On jib and topsail the ‘Oosterschelde’ carried us through. The force of the depression so far has been impressive. We hope the wind will turn NW pretty soon, so we can really start making our way towards Las Palmas.
Jilali says: “Everything fine with me. There is a storm, but we’ll get through allright. Say hello to everyone.”
Melvin says: “Fawaka, mama and Derrel, say hello to grandma; I’ll be home soon. I’ll phone on arrival in Las Palmas. Bye. Say hello to the others.”

From the shipping company (Oct 19, 2002)
Many new details of our 2003 programme have been placed on the page Programme.

From the shipping company (Oct 16, 2002)
Via the page Programme a new voyage description can be reached, of the voyage to South Georgia in December.

Oct 16, 2002 19:42 GMT
49°46.52′ N, 003°27.04′ W. Compass 264.
Yesterday a storm raged through the English Channel, a SW 9-10 Bft. We took shelter in Cherbourg and we left this morning. We now sail due W with our standard set of sails, in a NE-ly breeze. Everyone has been ashore for a while. The youngsters came back on board with lots of stories to tell. This morning we had some practical sailing lessons on deck and this afternoon we went through some theory needed for a driving license. Routine is growing.
Melvin says: “This morning we left with a promise of some wind. We ended up with a easy 3- Bft and we are now really on our way to Las Palmas. I guess we will arrive there around the 26th. Many greetings to you all over there in Amsterdam. Peace.”
Frans says: “As a passenger I am able to watch this group and their supervisors. They are very enthousiastic. At first there was the seasickness, but they are learning to work and learn as a group, like they have known each other for years. We enjoy it and we are glad to be able to travel along with them.”

Oct 15, 2002 15:00 GMT
We are in Cherbourg right now, waiting for the wind to decrease.

Oct 13, 2002 19:22 GMT
50°44.78′ N, 001°21.56′ W. Compass 243.
Sailing from Rotterdam with 18 people. We sailed a lot since departure and everyone was satisfied. On the 2nd day the studies started. Yesterday, Saturday, the wind increased to 6-7 Bft, and some of the singing heroes went below decks, a bit pale. The two supervisors, Jan en Nienke, and the crew members too, we are all very content with the athmosphere in the group and the motivation of the youngsters.
Jilali says: “I am allright. Sometimes a bit dizzy but that has gone now. So, I am allright. Bye”.

Oct 10, 2002 16:40 GMT
We left at 14:45. Sails set, sunny and a strong E-ly. Perfect conditions to sail to the SW, to Dover Strait. At 18:15 we arrived at sea.

Oct 8, 2002 17:56 GMT
This afternoon the ‘Oosterschelde’ went into the water again. Right now we are arriving in Amsterdam, where we will load the stores tomorrow morning. When this is done, we will sail back to Rotterdam, on a favourable E-ly. Departure for the big voyage will be as announced: Oct 10 at 14:00. The crew during the first leg to Las Palmas consists of: Peter, Jip, Els, Bertus, Maarten, Taco, Pieter and Arno.
We will also have 7 youth and their 2 supervisors on board, another youth project, something like the ‘Villa Lobos’ project we did some years ago. They will stay until Rio de Janeiro.

Oct 2, 2002 22:00 GMT
This afternoon the ‘Oosterschelde’ was docked in Urk. It took a bit longer than planned because some of the docking blocks were not positioned in the right way, but all went well in the end. The yearly survey by Register Holland took place. Some things have to be done: compensating the compass and some small stuff. Survey of the hull below the water-line took about 15 minutes. Also, the fitting of the bow thruster has to be checked. The rudder appeared to have to much tolerance in its hinges. Olivier van Meer, who once made the drawings of Oosterschelde’s rigging, was invited for that reason; he took all the measurements and he will make the design for a new rudder. This will be made and fit during the next docking. Of course we will try to preserve the original casted and riveted parts as much as we can.
Tomorrow we will check the tolerance of the propeller-shaft and we will start painting the hull. We hope to leave the dock on Tuesday. Then we will sail back to Rotterdam. We plan to leave for South-America on Thursday Oct 10, around 14:00.

Sep 29, 2002 15:35 GMT
Earl tomorrow morning we will leave for Amsterdam. Tuesday we will continue for Urk, where the ship will be docked for the yearly inspections and for maintenance.

Sep 22, 2002 13:02 GMT
Last weekend we noticed that the bow thruster did not thrust. Engine and hydraulics pump worked properly, so the problem seemed to be under water. Captain Eliane, who replaced the propeller in Portugal 3 years ago after some repairs, was invited to jump into her diving suit and make a check. When she came up, she carried the propeller, which she had found unconnected in its tunnel. In the beginning of October the ‘Oosterschelde’ will be docked for maintenance, and we will put the propeller back in its place. In the meantime we make the difficult entry into our Veerhaven harbour with the help of anchor and lines.

Sep 17, 2002 20:00 GMT
After the repairs of railing and wheelhouse (s. Sep 6 news item), we continued our preparations for the big voyage to the south. General maintenance, complete overhaul of the blocks, all sails to the sailmaker for maintenance and repairs, taking in supplies. The Antarctica expedition is almost fully booked.

Sep 6, 2002 12:00 GMT
Yesterday we sailed to Willemstad to make a daytrip. Before we left, an entering British vessel, a former 1910 Dutch logger, collided with us and bumped into our poop, damaging the railing and part of the wheelhouse.
Tomorrow we will sail back to Rotterdam. On Sunday we will have open ship for some hours, in the framework of the Rotterdam World Harbour Days.

From the shipping company (Aug 30, 2002)
Due to a date change in the shooting of the film ‘Savage’, the ‘Oosterschelde’ will return home from the south earlier. Immediately after completion of the expedition to the Antarctic we will go back to Rotterdam, where we expect to arrive around May 1, 2003. Our schedule on the page Programme has been adjusted. We will also publish the new schedule in the October edition of Oosterschelde News.
The open air film last night was a success; some 300 watched and the weather could not have been better.

Aug 26.8.2002 21:00 GMT
51°54.4′ N, 004°28.7′ E.
Since 20:00 we are home again. We hope to see many of you at the open air movie on Thursday night Aug 29 (see top of page).

Aug 25, 2002 16:36 GMT
51°20.7′ N, 003°11.8′ E.
We arrived at Oostende on the 20th. 10 guests disembarked there. The next day we sailed to Zeebrugge, to take pa
rt in a sail event that lasted until today. Very nice weather, big crowds, but also rather unsociable due to the distance between the tall ships. Today we sailed the parade out, 35 guests and perfect conditions with a light N-ly. We continued to sail all day and have now returned to Zeebrugge. Tomorrow morning we will leave for Rotterdam. We will be home tomorrow evening.

Aug 19, 2002 11:35 GMT
51°23.0′ N, 003°0.1′ E. Compass 220.
We left Flushing this morning at 09:00, 19 guests and no wind. It was a busy and hot weekend. Last night during the parade we had tropical temperatures and a light SE.

Aug 16, 2002 20:00 GMT
51°26.5′ N, 003°35.6′ E. Compass 299.
No wind, so we had to do most on the engine again. We entered Flushing’s locks at 17:00. They have organised a Minisail here. Tomorrow the ship will be open to the public during the morning and afternoon. Tomorrow night and Sunday we will sail some short trips in charter, out of Flushing. Sunday evening all the participating ships will parade and on Monday we will leave for Oostende.

Aug 15, 2002 17:28 GMT
50°40.3′ N, 000°1.0′ W. Compass 087.
After a very busy day in Portsmouth, with lots of people wanting to talk to the captain and the crew, we are at sea again. All British and Spanish guests have left, and with our Dutch guests we left this afternoon at 14:00. The weather is nice, although there hardly is any wind. We make some progress by using the engine. We expect to arrive at Flushing tomorrow evening.

Aug 13, 2002 18:34 GMT
50°24.3 N, 003°30.9 W. Compass 112.
After a beautiful afternoon and evening, the wind disappeared totally, as well as the high swell. So we started the main engine again. The wind did not come back and the morning brought us a heavy fog. We decided to visit Brixham, where we dropped anchor at 13:40. We spent the whole day ashore. At this very moment we have finished our dinner and we are leaving for the final leg, to Portsmouth. ETA tomorrow afternoon.

Aug 12, 2002 15:20 GMT
48°34.5′ N, 005°11.6′ W. Compass 032.
The favourable wind was shortlived. Although we did 10 knots for hours, it was not enough to bring us to the race waypoint. First the waterstay was damaged, which forced us to lessen sail. After repairs were done, the wind changed to NW. We had to go very high to the wind and finally, this morning, we arrived close to Île d’Ouessant at the entrance of the Channel. Because of the wind direction and speed we decided not to go the waypoint and to abandon the race. We used the engine for a while to round Ouessant with its strong currents, and now we slowly enter the Channel, for the first time with a comforting sun. We are not the only ones abandoning the race and certainly not the first, but it certainly is a pity. The athmosphere is very good and everyone enjoys the afternoon sunshine. Far away the first signs of a new depression are visible.

Aug 9, 2002 20:25 GMT
46°10.7′ N, 003°43.5′ W . Compass 228.
It is all or nothing around here. Yesterday and today we had a lot of wind. But then it all came from the direction we want to go. So we had to tack, but even with a lot of wind the ‘Oosterschelde’ doesn’t do very well in tacking. High waves and some seasick. There is a romantic touch in going out in the bowsprit in a very dark night (new moon) to secure an outer jib, with lots of seawater coming over

to knock us off our feet. Lots of dolphins around the ship. Today Gerben and Martin spent some time up in the masts because the buntlines of the topsail had broken, and they had to do the repairs. Cook Taco does his very best, the athmosphere is fine, and we all hope for a wind from the right direction. But the weather reports are not very promising…….

Aug 8, 2002 11:38 GMT
44°35′ N, 003°16′ W. Compass 035. Noon position: 44°28′ N, 003°24′ W.
After two days of drifting about, we finally have some wind. Some way or other we didn’t do very well. A number of ships had some wind, but the ‘Oosterschelde’ and some other ships hardly had enough to hold course. So we have some wind now, but the direction is not what we hoped for. We steer a NE-ly course, towards the French coast, and we hoped to do NW. Let’s hope for a change for the good. We do hope to get the price of the best fishing vessel, uptil now we caught two tunnies.

Aug 6, 2002 23:01 GMT
43°42′ N, 003°26′ W. Compass 047.
After a long wait, first to have all the ships disengaged from the quays, then the setting up of the Parade, then the waiting for the saluting vessel etc. etc., we have finally started the STA tall ships’ race. Our start was not very successful because of an evasive manoeuvre we had to make. Shortly after the start the wind disappeared altogether and now the ‘Oosterscheld’ is free floating. By pulling the mizzen to the other side and by lowering the jibs, we try to hold on to the course. The lighter ships have an advantage now. Starting tomorrow, all ships’ positions will be shown at the ISTA’s website.

From the shipping company (Aug 8, 2002)
We have placed many new details of our winter voyages on the page Programme, some prices too.

Aug 3, 2002 12:38 GMT
43°27′ N, 003°49′ W.
We left Castro Urdiales on Friday at 15:30 and in the evening we reached Santander, after 33 miles of sailing. Finally the weather is fine. Many people on the quays till late in the evening, many complimented us with our ship. Today our guests will disembark. The crew is painting the deck and cleaning the ship. Tomorrow we will have open ship, and later that day our guests for the STA Race will arrive.

Aug 2, 2002 07:18 GMT
43°23′ N, 003°13′ W. Compass 295.
A short while ago we arrived in Castro Urdiales in the north of Spain. The crossing was rather rough, with gusty winds and rain. Castro Urdiales is very beautiful, with a castle at the harbour entrance. A big swell keeps coming into the harbour. In the evening or night we will go on.

Aug 1, 2002 19:07 GMT
43°54′ N, 003°02′ W. Compass 181.
After we left Douarnenez on Tuesday, we sailed to Belle-Île where we dropped anchor on Wednesday. That same day, at 14:30, anchor was weighed, NW 5-6 Bft and sunny. After some hours the wind increased and we had some squally showers. This kept us busy during the night and the greater part of today. Now the wind has decreased but the sea is still rather rough. We expect to reach the Spanish coast during the night.

From the shipping company (July 30, 2002)
ANNIVERSARY
On August 26 1992, almost 10 years ago, restoration of the ‘Oosterschelde’ was completed and she was re-commissioned by HRH Princess Margriet. On the evening of Thursday, August 29 2002, we will celebrate this in a special way, in our home harbour Veerhaven in Rotterdam. That evening the Veerhaven will be the background of a special open air movie event. On a big screen in the masts of the ‘Oosterschelde’ the film ‘Windjammer’ (Germany, 1930) will be shown. The film is about the last voyage of one of the greatest sailing ships ever, the fourmasted barque ‘Pamir’, a.o. in stormy weather when rounding Cape Horn. This (silent) movie has been made available to us by the Amsterdam Film Museum. The images will be accompanied by Charles Janko on a grand piano. You are cordially invited to join us that evening. Projection starts at 21:30 hrs and will take some 70 minutes. You are invited to have a drink with us on board afterwards. This public presentation of the film is also offered to the people of Rotterdam; after all, the ‘Oosterschelde’ is the Rotterdam sailing ship.

WINTER PROGRAMME
The shipping company has concluded an important contract: the ship is chartered to be used in the shooting of a film in March 2003 in the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, near Cape Horn); the film is about a French expedition in the 19th century.
This way we are able to plan some special trips to the Antarctic area. In October we will leave Rotterdam to go to the south. From the Falklands we will make a voyage to the subantarctic paradise South-Georgia in January 2003; boarding as well as disembarking will take place in the Falklands. From Ushuaia (Argentina, Beagle Channel) we will make an expedition of some weeks to the Antarctic in February 2003. In March 2003 the film shooting takes place, in the Chilean part of the Beagle Channel. When that is finished, we will sail back to the Netherlands.
On our web site you will be able to find more details as soon as we have them. At this moment there are no exact dates and prices yet.
If you would like to make a reservation for one of these voyages, or if you would like us to send you the details later on, please contact us.

July 28, 2002 13:55 GMT
Very busy and lively here in Douarnenez. Tomorrow we will welcome our new passengers and Tuesday morning we will leave for Santander, in the north of Spain.

July 24, 2002 05:24 GMT
On Monday we arrived at the Isles of Scilly, we anchor in front of Hugh Town at 10:00. We stretch our legs in a tour of the town. We leave the same day because we have a lot of miles to do to Brittany. The current is favouring us and the wind too, a W-NW 4-5 Bft. 17 hours later, on Tuesday morning, we arrive at Douarnenez in France. Today our guests will leave and we will prepare for the upcoming festival, the Fêtes Maritime de Douarnenez.

July 21, 2002 00:04 GMT
We left Oban on the 19th, all places taken by 8 crew and 24 passengers. A slight wind, a bit of rain, and the engine carries us through the Kerrera Sound and the Firth of Lorn. Later we have a light W-ly and the current going with us, we sail a 6 knots through the Sound of Islay. Then we enjoy a N-NW 4-6 Bft. We leave the Isle of Man where it is because of the great sailing conditions.
Now we are on a flat Irish Sea, on our way to the Scilly’s. A 4-5 Bft in the back, all sails set, a quiet going in the moonlight, doing 10-11 knots. Life’s a bitch.

July 18, 2002 08:46 GMT
We left Fetlar on July 13 at 16:30. At first we had a SE 5-6 Bft which gave us a good speed of 9 knots in the right direction. Later the wind turned to S and SW and we had the main engine assisting us. Rain. We arrived in the Minch on July 15, where we had a comfortable W-NW 4 Bft, permitting us to sail into the Little Minch on all sails. A pity we saw no whales at all. We arrived at Rum, where we anchored in Loch Scresort, on the east side, at 08:25. Many of us took a long walk into the mountains. We left Rum on July 17 at 09:00 and we made an unforgettable sailing trip through the Sound of Mull on a NW 3-4 Bft, arriving in Oban at 21:30. This morning we will say goodbye to our guests and we will prepare for the next voyage, to the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man and Douarnenez (Brittany), again fully booked.

July 13, 2002 18:33 GMT
At noon on Thursday we arrived at Lerwick; we toured the city and we visited the fortress that the Hollanders burnt down a long time ago. The next morning brought a surprise: the arrival of the tall ship ‘Statsraad Lehmkuhl’ from Bergen, Norway. Our guests were able to visit the ship. In the afternoon we left for the island of Fetlar, to the north of Lerwick, a nice sailing trip. We anchored there at 20:30, in the bay Wick of Gruting. Many of us made an evening walk, in the nicest weather sofar. On Saturday we again toured this beautiful island, until 16:00. We cancelled our visit to Papa Stour on the west side of the mainland, because of an expected SW 7 Bft. Instead we will sail to the Hebrides directly. It is a pity that all expected winds are SW.

July 11, 2002 08:44 GMT
On Monday evening we arrived at Fair Isle, without wind. We anchored near North Haven, on a breathtaking spot. We left for Mousa (Shetland Islands) on Wednesday, still no wind. Right now we are anchored at Mousa’s west side, in a bay called Burgi Ayre and in front of the Pict’s Broch of Mousa. During the dark hours, the broch is a resting place for thousands of petrels. We will leave for Lerwick soon, some 10 miles north. Still no wind, but the area is great.

July 8, 2002 11:28 GMT
We are anchored in Otterswick Bay (Sanday, Orkney) since this morning. E 6-7 Bft with rain; 12 degrees C and dreary. We expect the sky to clear later today and then we will leave for Fair Isle.

July 7, 2002 00:21 GMT
After a short stop in Stonehaven, we arrived in Aberdeen on Friday. The next morning our guests left and we cleaned the ship. Our 24 new guests arrived in the afternoon. We left that evening and made a beautiful start of the voyage to Orkney, in a SW 3-4 Bft. We already saw some bottlenose dolphins.

July 3, 2002 08:40 GMT
The German Bight welcomed us with a SW 7 Bft, enough to make us leave the area as soon as possible. For some it was a baptism of fire, with seasickness as a result. Untill last night we sailed high to the SW-ly wind, with 1 reef in the sails. Right now we are in the Great Fisher Bank area, no wind, going on engine, 200 miles to go to Aberdeen. This afternoon a NW 5-6 Bft is expected.

July 1, 2002 11:50 GMT
The Kieler Regatta Week is over. We sailed many daytrips; during the last days we had much wind and rain. The last daytrip, yesterday, was not very successfull for our German guests: Germany lost the finals in the football world cup, the big screens did not work properly, and there was much rain. Last night though we had the usual spectacular fireworks.
We left Kiel this morning, on our way to Aberdeen with the new passengers. Right now we are in the Kiel Canal.

June 28, 2002 07:27 GMT
The Kieler Regatta Week is in full swing. 4 daytrips done and 6 to go. The crew is working hard in a good athmosphere. Weather up till now has been fair; today we have some rain. On Sunday are the final festivities, and after that we will leave for Aberdeen.

June 22, 2002 19:28 GMT
We leave Brünsbüttel the next morning at 05:30;it is cloudy with some rain. We stop halfway the Kiel Canal to do some shopping in Rendsburg. At 14:10 we leave the canal at the eastern locks at Holtenau. We decide to spend the night in Eckernforde, a bit to the north. The next morning, Friday, we have a W-ly which brings us on sail to Kiel. We say goodbye to our passengers and prepare for the Kieler Woche (Kiel Regatta Week). On Saturday we make the first daytrip, with 108 passengers we go out to the Baltic to watch some 1000 and more boats doing their races.
Crew and ship are doing fine.

June 19, 2002 21:35 GMT
The new captain Peter Borsboom is very proud with this assignment, a challenge.
When we left Rotterdam on Sunday evening, we had to use the engine; no wind. In the morning however we came in the Texel roads doing some 10 knots, thanks to a light S and the incoming current. Other ships present were the replica ‘Duyfken’ and the ‘Stad Amsterdam, the ‘Eendracht’ and the ‘Astrid’. Flat-bottom ships paraded around us.
When we left on Tuesday morning, we had to use the engine again, but once at sea we had a light SE. Changing winds and some thunderstorms made us work a lot. At 20:30 this evening we arrived at the entry locks of the Kiel Canal at Brünsbüttel.

June 16, 2002 19:54 GMT
We arrived back home early this morning. And at 20:45 we left again, on our way to Kiel in Germany, where we will arrive on Friday. Tomorrow we will visit the island of Texel, they have a festival in commemoration
of the East-India Company. The VOC-replica ‘Duyfken’, that came sailing all the way from the other end of the globe, will be there too.
All the berths are taken. Many of the passengers will stay at Texel, some 8 will accompany us to Kiel.
Eliane has disembarked, Peter Borsboom is the new captain.

June 15, 2002 15:16 GMT
On Thursday we arrived in Lowestoft at 13:00. In the afternoon, the 200 participants had some drinks together on board of the ‘Oosterschelde’, and that evening they all enjoyed the usual party, on a splendid English estate. Today we had the starts for the leg home at noon. A blue sky with beautiful little clouds and a very agreeable SW 4-5 Bft. Everything a man can wish for. Or a woman, because this is captain Eliane de Vilder’s last voyage, after many years of being a crew member on the ‘Oosterschelde’.

June 12, 2002 12:27 GMT
Early this morning we left Rotterdam. We will function as Race Control for the ships in the ABN Amro Race. Starts were around 11:30. We are now close to the Goeree platform, sailing towards a strong SW. We expect to reach Lowestoft in the night. The sky is gray.

June 4, 2002 18:38 GMT
We’re back home for a couple of days, after making three daytrips at sea out of Scheveningen. In Rotterdam our shareholders welcomed us after having held their annual meeting. And at 17:45 the ‘Helena’ arrived under full sail, her maiden sailing trip after the start of the restoration. What a beautiful ship!
In the coming days we will do some daytrips out of here, and then we’re out to sea again, functioning as race control for the annual ABN Amro Race.

May 31, 2002 11:39 GMT
We visited Dover on Thursday, anchored from 08:45 – 13:30. From Dover we sailed along the Belgian coast, with favourable winds and in nice weather. Right now we sail in front of Scheveningen close to the ‘Stad Amsterdam’; on board there is our master and managing director Gerben Nab, making photographs of the ‘Oosterschelde’ with all sails set. We will conclude our voyage around 15:00, in Scheveningen.

May 29, 2002 10:30 GMT
From Belle-Île we had to use the engine as well, due to wind and tide being mainly against. We reached Bénedot, a beautiful place with many green colours. After the tide and the wind became more favourable (Monday 20:00), we left, passing some spectacular rocks and also the light houses of Point de Penmarc. In the Raz de Sein, the going were much more wild than a couple of days before. We raced to the isle of Wight with all sails, doing 10 knots in a SW 7 Bft. This morning at 09:00 we anchored at Bembridge on the isle of Wight.
Tonight we will leave for Scheveningen at 17:00. On coming Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the ‘Oosterschelde’ will make daytrips at sea , sailing each trip from Scheveningen; there is still some room for interested people. Check our Programme.

May 26, 2002 19:09 GMT
We enjoyed the Saturday. After having seen those racing yachts moored behind us for a week, we were impressed to see them sail, amazingly fast and very high to the wind. More than 1000 little yachts watched the start of the race. For a while we followed the racers’ course to be able to see some more.
We changed passengers at La Pallice and left right away, in a SWtW 7/8 Bft, in beautiful but rather high waves. Many Wilson’s storm petrels.
After arrival at the island of Belle-Île, we have anchored at Le Palais at 18:00.

May 25, 2002 12:16 GMT
Many, many French came to visit and admire the ‘Oosterschelde’ every day. Right now we are sailing out to witness the start of the first of the two last legs

of the Volvo Ocean Race, at 17:00. At 19:00 the new passengers will board and we will leave tonight for the voyage to Scheveningen, where we are expected May 31. The weather is beautiful and there is a favourable SW.

May 20, 2002 18:13 GMT
From the richly blossoming Belle-Île we sailed past Île d’Yeu to La Rochelle, where we entered the festivities of the Volvo Ocean Race with all sails set. Our berth is in the basin, together with the ‘Stad Amsterdam’ and 6 of the 8 participating racing yachts, a very good spot to be. Tomorrow we will open the ship for the public.

May 19, 2002 09:22 GMT
With much rain we sailed to Chenal du Four, on a long ocean swell. The sun shone on the French coast with its many beautiful lighthouses, that are so famous for the huge waves that break on them. In a SW Bft 4-5 we did 9 knots going through the Raz de Sein, and at mignight on Saturday evening we anchored at Le Palais on the island of Belle Île. Today, Sunday, we will leave to sail to La Rochelle at 15:00.

May 17, 2002 11:30 GMT
We went to Veere through the inner waterways, visited the little town for a couple of hours and arrived in Flushing. After we left the next morning, we tacked between the Belgian banks.
7 miles from Calais we had a little party with champagne, because the ‘Oosterschelde’ reached 100000 nautical miles, at least since we started counting on Oct 10, 1996. It happened on May 15 at 18:45 GMT, at position 51 01,8 N; 001 58,7 E. We passed Cap Griz Nez without wind. Later on May 16 we had a nice SE-ly and we had all sails up. We raced through the Alderney Races with 12,7 knots and arrived at the Channel island of Guernsey at 07:30. We left for Brittany half an hour ago.

May 14, 2002 16:21 GMT
This morning we visited Veere and we arrived at Flushing at 15:30. The strong SW is now decreasing and tomorrow morning at 06:30 we will put to sea.

May 13, 2002 16:19 GMT
Tonight we will leave Rotterdam at 19:00, starting the voyage to La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast. Because of the strong wind against (SW 7 Bft), and also for the sake of the new passengers, we will sail the inner waterways to Flushing, where we will go to sea.

May 11, 2002 12:15 GMT
We left Rotterdam Wednesday evening. On Thursday May 9 we anchored on the river Blackwater, next to Osea Island. We used the boats to get to Maldon becasue the rest of the river is too shallow for the ‘Oosterschelde’.
On Friday May 10 we left for Ipswich where we arrived at 22:15. We met a person there who has a photograph of our ship in Ipswich in 1930.
Right now we are leaving Ipswich for the trip home to Rotterdam.

May 6, 2002 13:30 GMT
We are back in Rotterdam for a couple of days. Wednesday evening we will leave for the Ascension weekend voyage to England. We will try to reach Maldon at the river Blackwater; they have many Thames barges over there and they also enjoy a beautiful scenery.

Apr 30, 2002 13:30 GMT
We went back to Beverwijk, near the sea locks of IJmuiden on that same Sunday evening, but since then the wind (SW 7-8 Bft) prevents our sailing out. We expect to leave here tomorrow, our next stop being Willemstad.

Apr 28, 2002 13:00 GMT
The start in Oostende had to be postponed until Thursday, due to this fog. The leg went to Lowestoft instead of Ramsgate, and we succeeded in finishing first, on Friday. That night there was a big party in the Royal Yacht Club.
Saturday morning at 09:00 we took off for the last leg, to IJmuiden. A strong SW-ly Bft 6 and all the sails up, we raced towards IJmuiden where we again finished first.
This morning all the ships went to Amsterdam together; we arrived at the Javakade quay a minute ago.

Apr 24, 2002 12:25 GMT
Mostly light winds. We had to use the engine for 3 hours last night.
The stay in Oostende was nice. Our passengers are a group of friendly students from Amsterdam.
We were supposed to start the next leg to Ramsgate some 25 minutes ago, but because of the fog the start is postponed until 15:00.

April 22, 2002 13:15 GMT
The Seaport Classics Show was a success. Nice weather, many visitors.
Just now (14:00) we had the start of the Race of the Classics, the cannon was fired by cabinet minister ms. Netelenbos. The 19 participating classic ships are all sailing towards the sea. The first leg will end in Oostende tomorrow. On Wednesday the next leg will start in front of Oostende at 13:00.
End of race: coming Sunday in Amsterdam.

Apr 16, 2002 12:14 GMT
We enjoy our last days before the summer season starts. Time is very short to prepare everything for the coming voyages. Last week we took advantage of the sunny weather and painted the wood on deck and the deck itself. The radar scanner has been moved to a place high up in the mizzen mast; the metal mast that used to carry the scanner, has been removed. In between day trips, we finish the work on the interior and we update the maps.

From the shipping company (Apr 2, 2002)
On Sunday April 21 our Veerhaven harbour is host to the annual Seaport Classics Show, from 10:00 until 17:00. A number of ships will be there, open to the public, the ‘Oosterschelde’ being one of them. But, the Marathon of Rotterdam is taking place at the same day, so there may be some difficulty in reaching the ship. Use of public transport is advised.

Mar 29, 2002 15:05 GMT
Some minutes ago (16:00) we moored in the Veerhaven harbour in Rotterdam. Back home again. During the night and morning we sailed beautifully. At sunrise we had the moon and the sun at the horizon (full moon yesterday), which was a spectacular sight. With the sky being very clear, we did a lot of sun and star shooting, practising the taking of altitudes using a sextant.

Mar 28, 2002 18:32 GMT
We left Woolverstone that night and went to Oostende (Belgium) where we arrived Wednesday evening. We enjoyed going to some pubs, and this morning we went to sea again.
Some 5 minutes ago we had to anchor because of the tide change, and there is not much wind to sail. At midnight we will leave again, at the next turn of the tide. We plan to arrive in Rotterdam at 16:00 tomorrow.

Mar 26, 2002 14:20 GMT
The wind was very light during the crossing. We entered the river Orwell, and this morning at 09:00 we moored in Woolverstone, near Ipswich. Probably because of the flat sea, no one has been seasick. The students are doing fine, they are very busy with navigation, setting sails and other stuff they are learning.
We plan to leave for France tonight, at around 23:00.

Mar 24, 2002 21:05 GMT
We left Rotterdam at 20:15 and set sail immediately. There is a light E-ly in the sails and the outgoing tide helps us to go to sea. We might go to Chatham, or maybe to another river on the English east coast.
It feels good to be on the move again.

From the shipping company (Mar 13, 2002)
In the last week of March, the ‘Oosterschelde’ will be home to a group of students from the Enkhuizen Nautical College. Part of their training as professional sailors has to take place on a sea-going sailing ship.
They will board on Sunday afternoon March 24 and early next morning the ship will leave, outward bound. Friday afternoon March 29 the ‘Oosterschelde’ will be back in Rotterdam.

From the shipping company (Feb 11, 2002)
We added details to our Programme, details like itineraries, dates and prices.

From the shipping company (Feb 8, 2002)
Due to a cancellation, our Programme is changed. From today the ‘Oosterschelde’ is available for day and time charter from her homeport Rotterdam.

Jan 29, 2002
15:27 GMT
Our original schedule meant leaving for the Mediterranean Sea tomorrow. Some technical problems have kept us busy and the departure has been delayed, probably until the second week of February.

Jan 8, 2002 21:47 GMT
We are still in the Veerhaven harbour. It was quiet on board during the last couple of weeks, but now most of the crew members are back on the ship and we try to do some of the jobs that were left over last year. One disappointment is the radar; the screen goes black once in a while, and after many repairs, it is still the same. Now, our dealer is dismantling the machine in his workshop to try and find the cause of the deficiency.
Also, we have replaced our oldest sail, the stay foresail. It took 10 years and two times around the world for this sail to wear down. Ab Schulp, the sailmaker who made the original, now made a replacement for us and we hope it will be as strong.