Feeling sick at first, but Mirjam (23) and Erik (24) have gained a unique sailing experience

“It was super cool,” begins 23-year-old Mirjam Boucherie. Like Erik Bobeldijk (24), she is a volunteer at the Clean2Anywhere foundation, which makes boats from recycled materials. From their volunteer work they were invited to sail a bit on a sailing ship. However, they were both on a different ship: Mirjam on the Morgenster, Erik on the Gulden Leeuw.

They both had no sailing experience. “It was one for me first“, says Mirjam. “But the first day I was very sick. I hung over a bucket all day. At the time I thought: is this going to be like this for the entire trip? Fortunately, I felt better the second day and recovered.”

Not tense

She was not tense beforehand. “I was surprised myself, how calm I was.” Normally she has that, and not now, while she had never even sailed on a sailing ship. “I had only ever sailed on the ferry between England and France.”

Erik was also quite seasick in the beginning. “Just like everyone else,” he says. “Fortunately, it eventually went away.” He has fond memories of the trip. “It was quite intense, but I also experienced it as very good. There were 38 trainees with mixed nationalities on board. About twelve men were at the helm.” The group at the Morgenster was also diverse. “People from Estonia, France, Belgium”, Mirjam sums up. “The working language on board was English.”

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Everyone on board had a job. For example, they often had to stand guard to make sure everything was still going well. And if their help was needed, they had to come. “I thought it was quite luxurious on board. We didn’t have much space, but there was a chef and we had a shower and a toilet,” says Mirjam. “Actually, I didn’t want to go home. We didn’t know each other beforehand, but it went so naturally. You just belonged very quickly.”

They also encountered Storm Poly, which had caused so much damage in the Netherlands. The ships took part in a tall ship race destined for Hartlepool, but the Gulden Leeuw had to drop out of the race. “On the way we had to rescue a ship that had engine problems,” says Erik. “We got an emergency call and went looking.” The ship eventually had to be towed, and the race was over for them.

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De Morgenster also had to stop the race. “Because of the storm, we sailed a completely different course,” says Mirjam. “We went much further south, past south-east England. As a result, we arrived in Hartlepool much earlier than the rest.” Because they were there so much earlier, they were not allowed to dock yet. They therefore made a stopover at Scarborough. She didn’t mind: “I’m just glad we did this. We were able to explore the village for a while and left the roughest sea behind us.”

Although Mirjam and Erik disembarked in England on July 6, their ships went on to the north. The tall ship race started in Den Helder and went via Hartlepool and Norway (Fredrikstad) to the Shetland Islands, before ending in another town in Norway (Arendal). New people get on board at every stage.

Again?

After Hartlepool, Erik and Mirjam went back to the Netherlands by bus. It was an experience for life. Was this once and never again, or would they sign up for it again if given the chance? Erik doesn’t have to think about it for long: “I want to experience this again.” Mirjam is less sure. “In itself I would like it, but as it was now you will never experience it again. It may therefore be disappointing a second time.”