Exciting news from the Netherlands!
Back in April we were approached by Judith and Thea who had sailed with us before in Croatia, about potentially running an Oceans of Hope challenge event in the Netherlands. We were buoyed by their enthusiasm and really wanted to help them achieve this. For three months we planned, recruited and advertised for what we were hoping was to be a full weekend out on the water.
Of course, organising something like this during a pandemic turned into quite a challenge and due to covid restrictions we had to settle on a one day sail out of Harlingen. The boat we used was SV Poseidon, an old 40m Dutch sailing barge. A brilliant group of 33 people signed up and joined us on board for the trip. Everyone had the chance to pull on some rope, hoist some sails and meet others with MS. We at Oceans of Hope UK are so proud of what they achieved.
We are now delighted to announce this month we will again be returning to the Netherlands for another voyage! The dates have been set (22nd-26th August 2022) and Judith and Thea are currently hard at work organising and preparing for a North Sea passage from Rotterdam over to the UK on the wonderful tallship, De Eendracht! This vessel is a 55 meter three-masted schooner and was commissioned by H.M. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on August 29th 1989. Today, the Eendracht is a regular participant in the Tall Ships’ Races.
Unfortunately, due to current Dutch covid rules we can only invite Dutch residents at the moment but we hope it will still be a huge adventure for the lucky 35 participants. We also need to thank the CJ. Jaski Fund and the National MS Fund for their help and support to make the event possible.
Further details will be announced in January 2022 but if you would like to register your interest please email [email protected]
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