Header trainee

Join a sailing adventure on a Tall Ship and set course for new horizons!

Brest (FR) - Den Helder (NL)

15 July - 25 July 2027

10 days, Wylde Swan

From € 1125,-

Book this journey

International Exchange@sea Sail Training

15-25: € 1125,-

Book this journey

No commitment yet – your booking becomes binding only after payment. Cancellation terms apply.

Wylde Swan:
Brest (FR) - Den Helder (NL)

15 July - 25 July 2027

Open for pre-bookings! Sign up to reserve your spot and help us design your dream journey so that we can make the programme into an unforgettable experience together. We’ll keep a spot for you and get in touch in October with the final details and confirmation.

WIND: Windseeker Intercultural Navigation & Discovery: Exchange at Sea with a mini-regatta. Join the Wylde Swan for a journey alongside two other tall ships, sailing from Brest in France to Den Helder in the Netherlands. Sail together with young people from other countries, learning to steer and navigate, climb the masts, and make knots. Live together with people from other cultures, try different cuisines, listen to international music. Along the way, you will also join a friendly competition, racing the other two vessels for honor and glory! And then have a bbq together on shore to celebrate and make even more new friends! This unique journey combines the best of two worlds: an international youth exchange and a mini-race with other tall ships. What are you wating for?
Open to all Windseekers aged 15-25.

Ports

Brest is a major French port on the Atlantic coast, historically of strategic importance. Much of the town was destroyed during World War II, but some historic landmarks remain. Today Brest is an important navy port, so expect to see war ships berthed in the harbor. Every four years, Brest hosts the international festival of the sea, boats and sailors, with many Tall Ships attending. South of Brest you will find national park d’Armorique, a tranquil reserve where you can escape from the city.

Den Helder is a beautiful town in the Netherlands, situated at the very tip of the North Holland province, regularly hosting the Tall Ships events. Discover the town’s sea connections by visiting the Marinemuseum and Nationaal Reddingmuseum Dorus Rijkers. Take a break and go for a walk in the botanical gardens Oranjerie De Groene Parel Den Helder or admire sea life in the Fort Kijkduin Museum and Aquarium.

  • Brest (FR)

  • Den Helder (NL)

Key points

  • Dates: 15 July 2027 - 25 July 2027
  • Embarkation: 20:00 / Disembarkation: 10:00
  • For Windseekers age 15-25 years
  • Windseekers joining: maximum 34
  • No sailing experience required!
  • Official language on board: English
  • Price includes: accommodation and meals, excludes drinks at the bar
  • Price excludes transportation costs to-and from the ports. Our travel counselor can advise you and book your transfers
  • Available diets: regular (meat), vegetarian, lactose-free, gluten-free, some (mild) allergies.
  • Windseekers need to have a health insurance and a travel insurance. Cancellation insurance recommended.
  • Need to take with you on board: towels
  • You will sleep in a bunk or a hammock

  • "I have met new people, been up in the mast, seen indescribable sunsets and laughed a lot. Learning how to sail a ship has been the coolest thing I have done so far and I have confidence in what I do now."

    Annette (18), Denmark

You sail on the Wylde Swan

Pictured: Tall Ship Wylde Swan sailing
Shipping type: 2-masted topsail schooner
Homeport: Makkum (NL)
Date built: 1920
Trainees: 36
Length: 62 m
Height of mast: 43 m
Sail: 1130 m2

As a topsail schooner, Wylde Swan has impressive fore-and-aft sails, with a couple of additional square sails on the foremast. That makes the ship both fast and great for Sail Training activities! The crew are well-trained professional sailors and volunteers, whose …

Read more

Windseeker logs

  • We are all Adventurers

    Bark Europa

    Antartica

    – by Windseeker Robin

    We are all adventurers... each of us in our own way. For some... it's facing the sea-sickness of rolling swells and books that move across the table on their own. Or climbing the mast all the way to the top, …

    Read log

  • The difference we made

    – by

    While I was collecting garbage near the seashore and in the nearby forest, I felt something I had never experienced before. It was a deep sense of moral satisfaction, a feeling that I was doing something truly meaningful. I realized …

    Read log

Photos

  • Trainee
  • Sørlandet
  • Sørlandet

OTHER JOURNEYS YOU MIGHT LIKE

STO Garant

This Journey is covered by the STO Garant guarantee. You can find the conditions for this guarantee scheme on STO Garant’s website (www.sto-garant.nl/en/downloads).

This process is automatic and you do not need to do anything else. After receiving your booking, Windseeker will send you detailed information on how and when to pay for your journey – together with all the other important details.

 

What does it mean?

In short: you do not pay the booking amount to Windseeker but instead into an escrow account. This trust account holds your payment in reserve until your journey’s end. The booking amount is then released to Windseeker on the day after your trip ends. If Windseeker or the Ship should become financially insolvent before the end of your trip, STO Garant will implement the guarantee. The Guarantee Scheme details how you can make a claim under the guarantee in such cases. You can read more about this here.