Windseeker logs

Today was the day that my adventure started: I would depart from Brest France to Langesund Norway on a 12 day long sailing voyage. I met different people from various nationalities, with whom we would create beautiful friendships.

We had perfect learning opportunities throughout the day since we had good winds with almost no waves, and the perfect weather to practice! We had a couple of tackings during the day so we learned quickly. Around 16.00 hours we arrived at the island of Samso. We decided to have some free time to wait […]

The seas were pretty rough. Quite a lot of people were feeling seasick, but the general atmosphere onboard was very positive. We saw a lot of dolphins. The Estonian Mentor Mihkel offered a class in navigation at the change of watch at 4 pm. The rest of the day and evening was spent doing watches, […]

Preliminary results of 2024 indicate an average particle count of 7226 particles per square kilometer, with a maximum of 24199 particles per square kilometer recorded. Notably, the highest sample revealed an alarming 58 particles within just 30 minutes of trawling. The highest concentrations were spread out over different parts of the North Sea, underscoring the […]

Climbing the mast was an experience. We got to know the boat from a different perspective. There was a lot of wind in the mast for example. We all stepped a bit our of our comfort zones. We also learned to make a half hitch. Then we changed the rigging to the starboard side and […]

While sailing isn’t immune to environmental impacts, we’re setting a course for eco-conscious practices on board. In this exploration, we dive into the reasons why sailing and sustainability are intricately intertwined. From harnessing the wind’s renewable energy to cultivating a deep respect for our oceans, join us as we unveil the myriad ways in which […]

The Ocean Movement Foundation We are on a mission to stop plastic pollution from ending up in our ocean. With the Manta trawl, we are gathering data on microplastic pollution in the waters that we sail in. Together with the trainees we learned about the plastic pollution problem by doing research, lectures and workshops. By […]

Day 1 – 17th of July Today we arrived at the boat. There was a small festival with a market and music so that was a lot of fun. I came with a few Dutch people and had a great time walking around and talking. Then we went on the ship and met everyone. In […]

Dear reader, Today is the first day on board the Valborg in the Helsinki Harbour! It was the start of our two-week sailing program, from the 16th of July until the 30th of July, 2022. Initially, we would be sailing from Helsinki to Tallinn, to Turku. But unfortunately, because of practical reasons, we will not […]

Today we all arrived in Gothenburg together. We got to meet all the participants from different countries. Ingo hadn’t arrived yet so we all went to a scouting club to spend the night. We did a lot of activities to get to know each other. We also prepared the country presentations and ate some Swedish […]

Sunday, 11th of July Once we arrived in Boulogne sûr Mer we had to wait until 9 o’clock before the embarkation on the Thalassa. So we walked a bit around the festival and the harbour. Then we met more people who were joining the trip. We grabbed some food, and more and more people joined. […]

  Aug 2nd 2017   Second Day at Sea Today we have started hauling a smaller vessel, Peter von Danzig – we are currently expecting to go on motor for 2 days before the race will resume. The evening was much calmer than yesterday because everyone have by now gotten over their seasickness – even […]

We present to you: the logbook for the Youth Exchange ‘Exploring Coastal Waters’. This is a written account by participants and mentors Sija & Meri, who were in charge of this matter. It tells the story of our time on board this summer. There are logbook entries by trainees and notes by mentors explaining a […]

Participating countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, UK and Italy.   The Logbook 27th of July 2019 Already on the bus on my way to The Hague I met another trainee with whom I found the Gulden Leeuw. We arrived quite early. On the ship there was a group of Italian trainees who had been […]

Being a trainee on board a tall ship is an experience you can’t compare with everyday life. This is my short article about how it is to sail with the Morgenster before and during the Tall Ships Races.   We all met in Esbjerg on Friday the 6th of July and boarded the ship Morgenster. […]

My name is Ola. I’m 15 years old and I come from Poland. It was a big pleasure for me to be a part of The Tall Ships Races 2018 on the Leg from Sunderland (England) to Esbjerg (Denmark). I was sailing on the Dutch vessel Gulden Leeuw. The first thing our Captain Robert taught […]

  14.07.18. by a Trainee Sailed on the Santa Maria Manuela at 15:00 hours. Bright sunshine and thousands of excited people lining the jetties, docks, hills, homes and piers, waving enthusiastically. On board, all the crew and trainees waved at the onlookers – it was very exciting. Once we ventured out to the open sea, […]

Date – 14/07/18 Watch / Trainees – 8-12 – Chris Dow and Cecilie Olsen We woke up at 8 am British time, then at 8:15 am we gathered in the galley as breakfast was served. Shortly after breakfast, during a minor briefing, we had a fire drill to test the pace (quickness) of everyone on […]

Robin Gatel (Mentor, 21 years old) I participated as a mentor to the Three Festivals Tall Ships Regatta 2018 from Dublin to Bordeaux on board the Morgenster. I was assigned to the red watch which was on deck from 8 to 12 – both in the morning and in the evening. The ship was at […]

After a night of playing with the anchor, it’s time to set sail again. Without any sleep, we’re preparing the Ship for strong backwinds and high waves. For Barry (the small sail) it’s the perfect time to show up. Carefully putting up other sails, and there she goes! 10 knots and flying through the water. […]

When I found out that you could still sail traditional ships I remember thinking: a) this is probably a joke, and b) why have I not done it yet? I had experience sailing on yachts and dinghies but with an interest in naval history in the late 18th and early 19th century, I literally thought […]

August 3rd Hannson Paul, Phil Truchon Second day ocean sailing in Rendez-Vous 2017, all is going well so far. Yesterday we had to take down all the sails and begin to use our engine towards the next checkpoint due to the lack of wind. Another vessel ran out of gas, Peter Von Danzig, so we […]

I was a youth volunteer on The Maybe for the month of June 2017. It was an experience that I will never forget. I loved every minute of it. One of the best things about sailing on The Maybe is that everyone works together. It teaches fantastic team building, as everyone is involved in cooking, […]

The moment right before I began my sailing adventure I had a lot of fears and doubts. I have saved money for so long and I have worked really hard for it. What if I did not like the meals? If my English wasn’t good enough? If the people I met on board were boring […]

RUNE Arriving in Scheveningen with mixed feelings, the yearning to set sail to this adventure and the painful goodbyes. I find my awkward self back at the dinner table (for the second time today) mixed up with the crew instead of the trainees. How typical! Almost as typical as the Dutch dish we get served, […]

Logbook trainees Vega Gamleby 2016 Gothenburg-Blyth-Gothenburg Part 3: 27-31 August   27-August-2016: Linda Today was one of the best days in my life. The whole crew played volleyball on the beach. Then be mice for the crew parade and we WON! Yeah! So now I will go to bed after a fun night on the […]

Logbook trainees Vega Gamleby 2016 Gothenburg-Blyth-Gothenburg Part 2: 25-26 August   25- August-2016 Today we have learned what all the sails and ropes are called, and what they do. We also saw dolphins again and a whale for the first time. We are getting closer to England and we started to see more birds, it’s […]

Logbook trainees Vega Gamleby 2016 Gothenburg-Blyth-Gothenburg Part 1: 23-24 August We sail together. We sweat together. We smile together. We are friends. We are family. We are the champion.   23-August-2016: Linda Today it was a wonderful day. We started with a climb lesson for the rig. Then we learned about the different ropes and […]

I wrote this before my ‘after-breakfast-nap’ on the last day of sailing: “It’s the last day of sailing at the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, The Tall Ships Races. We are coming closer to the finishing line and I am finally writing something. I’m not really into keeping diaries so… I hate that it’s almost over and I […]

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, breathing heavy and heart racing. Maybe it’s walking close to a sea elephant whose smelly […]

We had a great sail to Ushuaia, tacking all the way, Anne-Margaretha, well-heeled over and really showing off. Around the halfway point Heinz called the crew up and down came the fok and up went the storm fok. This added another knot to our speed and soon we were back in Ushuaia. Our adventure was […]

Right now the last cruise of this winter and also my last cruise as captain on board the Clipper Stad Amsterdam is well underway. The  British Virgin Islands is the sailing area, as  already mentioned in the former log article. The highlight of this cruise from a technical point of view definitely is the passage […]

In a way we’re having bad luck: the English Channel is an area with a lot of traffic. Unfortunately we cannot see it. On our last day at sea the temperature dropped till 7 degrees (above zero, fortunately) and the visibility is not more than one mile. It isn’t very pleasant to stay on deck […]

Sometimes you have afternoons which are exactly how you thought they would be on a sailing ship in the tropes: the sun just right above your head, a cool breeze in the front, lightly cracking sails and murmuring waves… You are steering a bit. And nothing else. Whoever is on deck is dreaming a bit, […]

Today was absolutely awesome. Waking from a good 7 hour sleep to breakfast, first time in 5 days as I had been sleeping right through it when on the dog watch. We had watch from 8 am till 12 midday. It was drizzling with rain so we had our wet weather gear on. I managed […]

We are finalizing our chores. Tomorrow we will get new stores on board and then we are ready for departure to Valencia. On Wednesday we will welcome our guests on board who will sail with us to Cape Verde. What’s special this time is that we will make a stop in Agadir at the Moroccan […]

The harbour of Soller is situated beautifully in a small natural bay at the northern side of the island Mallorca. Directly after departure we set the sails and with a southwestern wind 4-5 Bft we sailed to the east side of the island. There we tacked a few times before we dropped our anchor in […]

The Tecla is currently participating in the Race of the Classics for Young Professionals. This is a race that is organized every year in the autumn. Yesterday the 24 participating vessels left the Veerhaven in Rotterdam, sailing in parade they went down the river Maas. The race starts on the North Sea and every year […]

All the things to do: maintenance on board, going for a walk down town, having a beach day, taking a taxi around the island, exploring neighbouring islands by ferry, going out to eat and drink… A jolly good time it was and still so much left to see, but favourable winds and still many sea miles […]

Sailing is fun! But so can be sitting on your bum! The professional sailors of Europa have one thing in common, they can’t seem to sit still, probably because there is always something to do. From changing sheets to mending sails, from scrubbing floors to sanding spars. For 12 hours a day 7 days a […]

Finally, after two and a half days of motor sailing, we are able to carry on under sail alone. A bit later than expected, but still very welcome, the ESE-ly winds have filled our sails again. Progress has been good and it looks like we are going to beat the coming gale to Falmouth. So […]

“There were dolphins!”, my watch mate told me when I emerged from my cabin. “Hundreds of them! Jumping and blowing! You missed them!” I thought he was pulling my leg, but apparently he wasn’t. When seasickness claims you, you miss a lot. Actually, I would have gotten up if my watch mates hadn’t chosen not […]

Charlotte (26), UK We were lucky as a watch this morning and didn’t go on sail watch until 8 a.m. Some people had to get up to make breakfast but the rest of us enjoyed our lie-in and were bright-eyed and eager. The previous watch had set a good course for us, so our primary […]

Jeroen After being the most seasick person on the whole boat, today I felt better again! So happy with this, had a lot of fun in my watch. This watch we got the chance to climb in the mast. First I did not quite feel like doing that, as I am afraid of heights. I […]