On September 1st 2018, we were featured in the magazine Waterkampioen by the ANWB. We’ve translated the article so everybody can enjoy the interview we’ve had. Thanks a lot, Erik van den Berg (interview) and Dirk Jansen (photos). See the Dutch article-photo down below!

When Suzanne and Jurre met 3 years ago, she was a kitesurfer and he a sailor. She taught him to surf, he taught her to sail. Together they bought their first boat: a 44ft Van de Stadt. The kiteboards will be joining them on board.

Jurre: “Suzanne windsurfed a lot and took on kitesurfing later on. I learned to sail in a Optimist and sailed with my parents from a very young age on several boats. Over the past few years, we got to use the Bavaria 38ft of my parents. We sailed on the Frisian lakes and to de Wadden (a set of beautiful islands in the North of the Netherlands). Suzanne taught me to kitesurf and we take our kitesurf gear with us wherever we go, resulting in just perfect holidays. We have been living together for over 2 years now and we work fulltime.

We wanted our own boat, so our search began. At first, we were looking for quite a young ship, nothing too big. But when we saw this Van de Stadt online, we both thought ‘this boat would be perfect, it checks all boxes’.

This boat was quite big, it had many features which would allow us to sail long distance, exactly what we were looking for. Before we can go on our long-dreamed-of adventures, there’s a lot of work to be done. The previous owner told us that the engine needed replacement, along with other repairs.

Before the deal was made official, the boat was towed to a nearby wharf to check the underwater ship. That was quite a scary first adventure, crossing the Westerschelde which is quite a busy shipping lane.

Once the deal was made and we had the boat on the wharf, the refit began. The waste tank was completely full, such a nice surprise, so I had to empty it with buckets… Well, this is how you get to know your ship!

We’re hoping to have a nice holiday aboard this summer. And we’ll take her out for longer journeys later on, but we’re still unsure about when we’ll be leaving…”