I was fortunate to sail with the tall ship De Gallant as a part of the delivery team from Belfast to the start of the 50th Anniversary Tall Ships race in St. Malo. To say it was amazing would be an understatement; the whole experience was incredible. Not only because of the sailing experience, watching dolphins swimming at the bow, the stunning scenery – but because of the friendships!

Have you ever met people and you just know they are special; friends for life... well that is what the skipper Hendrik and his partner Mariette have become. Prior to the Tall Ships arriving in Belfast this year, they told me that a very special tall ship was heading to Belfast and that I must say hello!

Visual feast

The tall ships event in Belfast attracted more than 800,000 people over the four days, and Tecla was just one of 44 vessels from over 10 countries to arrive. Tecla is classified as a Class B Tall ship, which means she is less than 40m but has a waterline of at least 9.14m. She was built in 1915 as a herring boat then transported grain, stone and turf until she became a chartered sailing vessel in the 1980s. In 2006 she was bought by the current owners, the Bouwman and Sluik family from The Netherlands.

Tecla is believed to be the only tall ship in the world which is owned and sailed the whole year by the family! Dad-Jan; Mum-Janette, and son Gijs and daughter Jet and together they have 65 years of traditional charter sailing experience.

Instant attraction

When the family made the decision to buy and sail together on a tall ship, Janette told Inshore Ireland: “There was only one vessel we all wanted, Tecla. Her authenticity, her looks, her sailing abilities made us all fall in love.”

Each family member has a specific role: Jan is captain and mechanic; Janette is manager and looks after maintenance; Gijs is first mate, sometimes captain, also responsible for the woodwork and Jet is the second mate or first mate when her brother is captain, she also does all the website and online work and helps out with maintenance.

The family is normally on the water for at least six months of the year; for example next year they start in March with the Garibaldi race in Italy, followed by the Historical Sea Regattas, The tall ships races, the North Sea regatta, Sail Amsterdam and then they are hoping someone will charter them to sail around Ireland!

Family affair

It is evident when chatting to them that they are passionate about what they do. I asked did they envisage doing this for the rest of their lives, the unanimous response was yes. “It gets into the blood. Once you have experienced the feeling of being outside, sailing a vessel, working with the elements and working as a team to make something a success, you can’t imagine doing anything different”. When I arrived they were saying goodbye to Dr Charmaine Beer, a marine biologist with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, and sail trainee on board for the Trans Atlantic race, or one of the ‘Teclettes’ as they became known.

I asked her what her lasting memory of the voyage was: “The sense of scale. We spent 3½ weeks at sea crossing the Atlantic with no land in sight. It was incredible; there was so much to see: whales, flying fish, dolphins and the friendships you make. Working together as a team is amazing! I will never forget it.” Tecla won the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009; she was first in the class and first overall.

If you would like to find out more about Chartering or Sailing on Tecla, check out the website: www.tecla.nl; www. sailtraininginternational.com or www.tallshipsrace.org A trip on a tall ship is what memories are made for!