Did you know that the world’s largest free nautical event takes place every five years in the capital of Holland? It’s called Sail Amsterdam and the latest edition drew a record crowd of 2.5 million spectators to the banks of the IJ waterway to see six hundred vessels of all shapes and sizes, including fifty Tall Ships, giant naval cruisers and many historical yachts. The Feadship Heritage Fleet also played its part over four sunny days and nights in July 2015, giving PILOT the ideal opportunity to talk to members onboard their beloved boats.
Amsterdam has always been a city with close connections to the water. The famous canals are an obvious example, as are the stately houses that line them, built by the city’s merchants with the proceeds from Holland’s seafaring trade expeditions. What is less well known is Amsterdam’s pivotal role in the history of leisure sailing, with the world’s first yacht marina opening there in 1604.
Admiring glances
What the sailors of the early seventeenth century would have made of the vast crowds and amazing spectacle of SAIL Amsterdam which filled the same location half a millennium later we can only imagine. But the event certainly made an impression on the nine members of the Feadship Heritage Fleet who joined the traditional SAIL-In Parade. As the hundreds of vessels navigated the North Sea canal before mooring in and around the IJ harbour behind Amsterdam’s central station, countless more launches took to the water to guide them in.
Once the parade was over, most Feadships berthed in a dedicated part of the Amsterdam Marina. Many visitors stood on the quay to admire these beautifully kept yachts and the owners had the chance to take friends and family out on a tour of SAIL. A special day was organised for the Feadship Heritage Fleet sponsors and the rest of the time was spent socialising and enjoying the incredible atmosphere in Amsterdam.
Exceeding expectations
The Feadship Heritage Fleet consists of Feadships which are over thirty years of age. Among the members present at SAIL was chairman Victor Muller, who expressed his pleasure with how the association has grown since its inauguration in April 2013.
“The developments have been beyond our expectations. We now have almost sixty members, with new ones joining every month. This is a tremendous response to our initiative to unite owners of classic Feadships and offer related services. We’ve attracted some great partners to the table too, such as Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, Sevenstar Yacht Transport, Awlgrip and Studio Stomp. They make it even more beneficial to join the Feadship Heritage Fleet.”
SAIL Amsterdam is just one of the events on the agenda for members. Others include an annual rendezvous at one of the Feadship yards, the Monaco Classic Week (La Belle Classe) and the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco. With an American chapter of the Feadship Heritage Fleet now being set up, there are likely to be further gatherings during the regattas in Newport Beach and along the East Coast.
“Coming together at an event like SAIL is very special and truly captures the essence of Feadship,” adds Muller. “You see the nine bows all together and, regardless of size, it is clear that all nine were designed and built by people with a very special eye. The Feadship Heritage Fleet is the classic car club of the classic yachts.”
The mighty Thor
Among the classics present at SAIL was the 10.30-metre Thor, launched as Maracas Bay in 1961. Her current owner Hans Zijdenbos admits he was no sailor when he bought Thor back in 1995. “I’m not really interested in boats and I bought Thor because she was old and beautiful. I live in a house from 1630 and I owned a number of classic cars. My wife said that by buying this boat I could want for nothing more and she was right. For the first ten years we used her extensively often in the Netherlands but then my wife developed arthritis which made it too difficult for her to sail.
“Six years later I was contacted by the Feadship Heritage Fleet. I knew Thor was built by Van Lent but had not realised the importance of the whole Feadship story. After the first meeting I felt encouraged to work on the boat and complete the renovation of the engine. Thor soon stole my heart again and it feels very good to spend time onboard. Life truly is what you make it yourself and I love relaxing in the harbour with a glass of wine and a good book. I am grateful to the Feadship Heritage Fleet for reawakening my desire to sail!”
An amazing coincidence
Our next classic owner, Kees de Keizer, knew everything about the Feadship story having worked at both the Van Lent and De Vries yards. In fact, at the time he found one of the smallest members of the Feadship Heritage Fleet – the 7.75-metre Robert Jan when launched in 1933, now named after her owner – Kees was working on the largest Feadship to date, the 101.50-metre Symphony.
“This small boat was moored up in Amsterdam opposite my office with grass growing out of it,” he recalls. “Although she was falling apart, the shaping caught my eye and I often thought ‘one day I’ll buy her.’ That day came in May 2012 when I saw a ‘For Sale’ sign and a week later I owned a Feadship!
“Not that I knew this at the time. Despite taking the boat apart and realising she’d been built with a great sense for detail, I could not find out where she came from. One day I was looking for something related to my work in the Feadship archives and noticed the design of the transom on one of the boats. It was exactly the same as De Keizer and we managed to find enough information to verify that by size, hull plating and frame. It was the first steel ‘Feadship’ and the first time De Vries and De Voogt worked together.
“She was also displayed at the first boat show ever held in Holland in 1933, arranged by Henri de Voogt – and to cap it all I live just across from the Apollo Hall where that show took place. The photos of ‘my’ boat being horse drawn from the yard in Aalsmeer to Amsterdam are amazing: seven were built but only one in this size.”
Kees rebuilt De Keizer in a small shipyard and 99 percent of the steel is still in place, as is the steering. “Now I love to take her out with family and friends,” says Kees, who still berths the boat in front of his office in Amsterdam. “You can even camp in her with the kids as there are two beds, a toilet, a shower and a fridge. Who would have thought I would ever own a Feadship!”
A beauty in disguise
Coming in at a significantly longer 19.80 metres, Katja was launched in 1966. Her owner Paul Hoffman had never heard of Feadship when he discovered the motoryacht in the Friesland countryside in 2010. “Katja had been converted into a house boat and, not being a sailor, I had no idea of her importance,” explains Paul. “But I do have a penchant for renovating beautifully designed things such as country houses in Ireland and Spain, and town houses in Amsterdam. After I purchased Katja my dad said, ‘I know you can turn this into a fine yacht – make sure she’ll be safe for another 50 years’. The adventure had begun!”
The former owner had explained to Paul that Katja had serious pedigree because she was ‘a De Vries’. This meant very little to Paul, as he explains. “De Vries is like Smith or Jones, one of the most common names in the Netherlands. So I rang the nearest De Vries yard in Makkum and was passed through to refit manager Ico Vergouwe. When I told him the hull number he said ‘that can’t be right, Katja’s been missing for decades.’ ‘She’s sitting in a swamp 30 kilometres south of you’ I replied, and Ico jumped into his car to see for himself. It was then that I realised the relevance of this boat and decided to give her the best possible treatment.”
The rebuild took four years as Paul brought in and supervised a team of traditional boat builders, welders and carpenters. “I poured all my experience into the project. It was a personal challenge to contribute as much quality as I could deliver from my own background, including the highest degree of carpentry imaginable. Everything else I have refurbished I have sold after completion… But not Katja, as my wife and kids have fallen in love with her. And so too have I…”
The first Feadship?
The last couple we spoke to, Jeannette and Ad Spek, certainly recognised the historical value of their Feadship as they run their own marina and repair yard. There is a good argument to be made that the 12.50-metre Torno (launched as Joma in 1934) is the very first Feadship. Although the De Vries and Van Lent yards and De Voogt Naval Architects design officially joined forces in 1949, this boat was the first to bear the stamp of all three. Designed by De Voogt, she was built in 1934 by De Vries. Five years later Van Lent placed a new diesel engine onboard because the second owner had an aversion to petrol engines.
“We bought Torno 25 years ago from someone who hoped we would be able to do justice to her past and restore Torno to her rightful condition. The owners really loved the boat but had just started a new Apple computer business and did not have the time. Nor did we really, as it took us around fifteen years to complete the task in stages when work permitted, starting on the outside, then moving on to the interior.
“From the outset the intention was to use her ourselves. We gave the project our all as we don’t get to go out boating very often because the sailing season is the most hectic time business-wise. It helps therefore to have such a very special Feadship, one of the very few built with windows which you can wind down. All this original wood is so beautiful and the sound Torno makes underway is so comforting. In fact, you can place a coin on its side on the engine and it won’t topple over when you start the engine. We don’t know a better definition of long-lasting quality than that!”