Netherlands to UK Challenge 2022
On Monday 22nd August, Oceans of Hope Challenge Netherlands organised their third sailing activity for people with multiple sclerosis, on a 60 metre long three master Sailing Ship Eendracht. One of the crew, Minse de Bos Kuil, describes the experience:
“Thirty five participants boarded the ship in the heart of Rotterdam and after basic safety instructions and getting to know captain Martijn and his crew, we cast off. We sailed along the New Waterway to the North Sea to hoist the sails together and our journey took us all the way to Southend-on-Sea at the mouth of the River Thames in England. This was a journey of 250 km and took us a day and a half to complete.
For the participants, the adventure really began. There was a four hour on eight hour off schedule, so everyone was challenged to explore their limits. The tasks consisted of raising and lowering sails, keeping watch, standing at the helm and galley duties. The weather was great and the wind came from the southwest with limited force, force 3-4. We sailed a westerly course until close to the coast of England and then unfortunately we had to use the engine to go southwest to Southend-on-Sea. Along the way we saw many large container ships and wind farms. The North Sea is a busy place. At night the sky was clear and as darkness fell a fantastic starry sky unfolded, with the Milky Way clearly outlined. As a result, in the night it was great to be active.
On Wednesday, September 24, we arrived in the early afternoon in Southend-on-Sea. A mile and a half long pier separated us from the promenade, and for those who found that too far to walk, there was even a little train. We disembarked until the evening to enjoy ourselves in the English seaside resort and in the afternoon we were visited by Oceans of Hope CEO, Robert Munns who gave an inspiring speech and was impressed with what we had achieved. We had a nice party on the boat with him!
The next day the wind picked up, wind force 5. Time to hoist the sails and sail back to Rotterdam. With a speed of about 11 knots (20 km/hour) we flew over the water with half wind, so fast the captain decided to lower some of the sails because otherwise we would be back too early! On Friday we arrived in Rotterdam to be met by a large group of family and friends, for whom we performed a song that we wrote.
All crew members disembarked satisfied and perhaps a little tired. Full of great experiences that this trip brought. We are grateful to our sponsor Nationaal MS Fonds and the Sailing Ship Eendracht. Without their support this would not have been possible.”
All crew members disembarked satisfied and perhaps a little tired. Full of great experiences that this trip brought. We are grateful to our sponsor Nationaal MS Fonds and the Sailing Ship Eendracht. Without their support this would not have been possible.
Minse de Bos Kuil, Oceans of Hope Challenge Netherlands
More articles
‘Sail the Solent’ Challenge
FIND OUT MORE
Fabulous Fundraising from Peter, Liz, Sam and Ashbourne Golf Club
FIND OUT MORE