Liberty Tall Ships Regatta

21 June 2019

After spending a week in Rouen, it was wonderful to go out to open sea again. We had sailed the Parade of Sail from Rouen to Radicatel with 112 guests on deck. A big spectacle with an estimated number of spectators along the banks of the Seine of 1 million! In Radicatel on a 6-meter-high industrial quay, the 112 men on board left, and 24 new passengers joined us on board. Partly French, partly Dutch, but also English, Canadians, Americans and “kiwi” from New Zealand.

I did the introduction on the river with the pilot at the helm. At 1:45 am the pilot disembarked and we anchored 3 miles from the start line of the race. On the morning of the race the wind did not take long, so the start was postponed to 14 am. This gave the guest crew a little more time to get to know the ship. Everyone was immediately enthusiastic! The start was between 14 pm and 17 pm, but because there was still no wind, all ships bobbed with 0.2 to 0.5 knots towards the starting line. Fortunately a little sigh came and at 8 pm the last ship was over. It was a night of crossing, good sailing, bobbing, being pushed back and suddenly heading in the right direction again with 6 knots. Very exciting, because the ships remained very close together. Immediately, the ship proved itself to be excellent in measuring with the “big ones” when it comes to “light” weather: we were in the lead for a long time. On Tuesday at 10:00 am, the race management indicated that the race would be shortened to give everyone the chance to reach Scheveningen in time. The most tactical move at that moment was tacking immediately which almost all ships did. With 8 knots heading in the right direction, the last hours were still very exciting. We finished just behind the Wylde Swan and quite a bit behind the MIR, but we left the rest of the field far behind us!

Butttt, due to the relatively favorable rating of the OOSTERSCHELDE, we have come out as the winner! Big party with champagne! Now unfortunately the engine had to be added because the wind went back to the East. The rest of the trip was a lot of engine with no wind, and good weather and then very heavy thunderstorms alternate eachother. We are currently sailing under sail with some motor support into the Maas and we hope to reach Scheveningen before midnight.