12 nationalities

31 July 2014

The first day after passing the starting line, the wind was weak, which made us have to drift for a while whereas other ships in the race had a more favourable wind, so we fell behind. With the wind as it was then, we would not have made the first waypoint, but luckily the wind picked up just before we reached it, allowing us to make it under sail, while other ships were disqualified from the race for using the motor. We continued sailing south towards the finish, passing the Norwegian coast. We have just passed the second waypoint and we will probably make it to the finishing line tonight, which means we’ll arrive in Esbjerg tomorrow (Aug 1rst). At this point in the race we are 11th in Class A. So far we have had both good weather and fits of rain, as well as gusts of wind and weaker wind. Due to these inconsistancies, the trainees have been able to get familiar with the ship and work with the sails by hoisting and taking down the jibs and topsails often. With a mix of 12 nationalities on board, the trainees are not only getting familiar with sailing and life on board, but also with life outside of their own country.

Mette, 21 years old, Denmark: “A memory for life! The captain is a born teacher on an amazing ship taken out of a movie. Great staff, fun moments spent and great people have been met. Best cook ever!”

Zoe, 18 years old, USA: “This sailing trip has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I can now say that I have friends in over 6 countries, that I can call myself a sailor and that I am addicted to hagelslag and stroopwafels. I’d call it a pretty good trip.”

Johan, 16 years old, Norway: “After the second waypoint the wind picked up and the sea got rougher. We finally got some real sailing and we reached speeds up to 7 knots. The wind was steady and came from the north-east.”

Sasha, 29 years old, Portugal: “I travelled to Bergen from the UK with two friends to take part in the Tall Ships’ Races 2014. We found out the ‘Oosterschelde’ was taking part and immediately fell in love with the ship. The crew are all friendly and confident sailors (the cook is amazing at catering to us vegetarians!) and we have had some brilliant sailing on this trip. Maarten is the best and most friendly captain I have met so far and the mostly teenaged trainees from 12 countries are all awesome people. I’ve even learned some Norwegen/Danish/Dutch along the way!”

Iselin, 17 years old, Norway: “I believe the first part of the trip has been amazing. I, as a first time trainee, have learnt a lot about sailing and different routines on a sailboat. I have gained a lot of new friends, and even though there are many different people in a little space, I think we get along very well. In the beginning of the race there wasn’t much wind, and the little of it was inconsistant, so us trainees got a lot of work and a good possibility to learn sailing. I think pretty much all trainee’s hands were sore after all the pulling and easing of the ropes, and I have been coiling many ropes. There have been some cases of seasickness, but I haven’t had that problem. Today the waves have been higher than before, so everybody paid good attention to the rule ‘one hand for yourself, one hand for the ship’, while trying to balance through the saloon or on the deck. For the last couple of days, everyone on the ship has been playing a game called ‘the murder game’, where each person gets three pieces of paper with a place, a person and an object. When you get those three together, you ‘kill’ the person and you get their pieces of paper. The one who kills the most wins. Well, I was killed before I even got to kill anyone. You could say we have become a ghost-ship with few living persons left. So far it’s been really fun and I’m looking forward to the last part of the trip!”