Imagination or reality

23 July 2020

In the past weeks Alice, Liz, Richard, Richard Down, Sara, Frits, Fernando, Arno and Jan have told us their favorite memories on board of the OOSTERSCHELDE. Today we share the memories of Jacob Zwerver. Jacob was part of our crew from 2010 to 2014 and sailed the second aroud-the-world voyage with us. Read his story about his favorite memories here:

“It is almost 10 years ago that I started working on board of the OOSTERSCHELDE. The pictures give a nice impression about how we travelled the world and how we could enjoy something as small as a swallow 300 miles off the cost of the Azores.

We had to work hard to keep the ship in good condition, but it was definitely worth it. I still talk to old crew members once in a while as you’ve experienced something together. We became a kind of family.

The most special experience for me was seeing the Tristan da Cunha. After being at sea for weeks, the land was slowly rising on the horizon.

At first, I thought that it was an imagination, but it really was there! A little piece of land in a never-ending ocean. Unfortunately, we couldn’t land as the pilot could not pick us up because of the wild ocean. A volcano looks like a gulf, or wait, does the gulf look like land? The amazement and excitement took a hold of us.

After that we covered an endless distance to get to Cape Town in very bad weather. It shapes your character. Life on board and the no nonsense mentality. No TV and no internet. It isn’t needed when you live on the rhythm of the Ocean.

During my daily life, I still notice that I have learned a lot on board of the OOSTERSCHELDE. Hang in there. Sunshine comes after the storm. It is the Ying / Yang of a sailor. We do sail with both sun and storm ;).

I also like that almost everyone wore the t-shirt that I had designed for the Cape Horn trip. So funny! This was such a mighty trip. Luckily, I still have the DVD. A reminder of a time no one can ever steal from us.

For now, stay safe in these tough and strange times.

With kind regards from your former world trip mate (2013 – 2014).

Jacob Zwerver”