Specification
- Name: OOSTERSCHELDE
- Class: A
- Nationality: The Netherlands
- Year built: 1918
- Home port: Rotterdam
- Rig: Topsail Schooner 3
- Height: 36.00 m
- Length of hull: 40.12 m
- Entered by: Shipping Company Oosterschelde
About
- Areas of operation: Northern Europe, Baltic, Skagerrak/Kattegat, North Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic/Caribbean, North America East Coast, North America West Coast, Canada, Arctic, Pacific, Australasia, Indian Ocean, Antarctica
- Number of trainees: 24
- Number of permanent crew: 7
- Berth types: Cabins
- Showers: Yes
- Operational language(s) on board: English
- Other language(s) spoken on board: Dutch, German
- Special diets catered for: Yes
- Blue Flag Member: Yes
Tall ship races and regattas
Blue flag scheme member
Biography
The ‘Oosterschelde’ is one of the very few truly historical ships left in the world. She was built in the Netherlands in 1917 at the order of the Rotterdam shipping company HAAS and is the last remaining representative of the large fleet of schooners that sailed under the Dutch flag at the beginning of the 20th century.
Her name is derived from the eastern part of the Schelde river that flows from France through Belgium and the Netherlands to the sea. As the largest restored Dutch sailing ship the ‘Oosterschelde’ is a monument for Dutch shipbuilding and maritime navigation under sail, she is unique in her kind.
As a freighter ‘Oosterschelde’ carried some hundred tons of cargo including bricks, herring and bananas. In 1921, the ship was sold, changing hands three times and converted to a motor-sailor before being bought in 1988 and restored to her former glory.
The Rotterdam Sailing Ship Foundation was founded to support restoration through fund raising and began work in 1990. The ship was officially launched in 1992 by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet.
The ship is known and registered as a monument by the Dutch Government. Since the restoration the ‘Oosterschelde’ made several impressive voyages, sailed around the world twice, made expeditions to Spitsbergen and Antarctica and visited over 50 countries.
Last year ‘Oosterschelde’ won the Tall Ships Race from Bermuda to Boston and the trans-Atlantic race from Halifax to Le Havre. Not bad for this 100-year old lady.