''Tradewind'' is a Dutch topsail schooner. She was built in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1911 as a herring

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...

named ''Sophie Theresia''. ''Sophie Theresia'' was built in 1911 by Van der Vuijk shipyard, Capelle aan de IJssel, Netherlands.Clarke & Iggulden, ''Sailing Home'', p. VIII She is in length overall, with a beam of , and a draught of .Clarke & Iggulden, ''Sailing Home'', p. 10 The hull was constructed from riveted steel plates, with wooden decking and

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...

rigging. The vessel originally operated out of

Katwijk Katwijk (), also spelled Katwyk, is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland, which is situated in the mid-western part of the Netherlands. The Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine") river flows through the town and into the North Se ...

, fishing the North Sea. An engine was fitted in the 1930s. The vessel was refitted for cargo carrying in 1957, with hold hatches widened and a new engine fitted. She was renamed ''Aaltje en Willem'', and carried cargo between the Netherlands and several small North Sea ports. In the 1970s, the ship was taken out of service. She was initially converted into a houseboat. In 1979, ownership changed hands, and ''Aaltje en Willem'' was refitted into a steel-decked schooner. She reentered service in 1984, but there was only occasional charter work over the next two years. In 1986, the ship was sold again, to New Zealander Mark Hammond. The ship was re-rigged as a gaff-rig square-topsail schooner. On completion, the ship had a mast height of , and a sail area of . Renamed ''Tradewind'', but retaining her Dutch registry, the ship sailed in early 1987 to England to join the First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage: a historical re-enactment for the Australian Bicentenary. She left England for Australia in May 1987, and sailed with the fleet via

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

, and Fremantle before arriving in Sydney on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

(26 January) 1988. ''Tradewind'' remained in the South Pacific during the late 1980s and early 1990s, based in New Zealand. She was used for charter cruises to the subantarctic islands south of New Zealand, the Antarctic Peninsula and around Fiji. During this period, she appeared in the romance adventure film ''

Return to the Blue Lagoon ''Return to the Blue Lagoon'' is a 1991 American South Seas romantic adventure film directed and produced by William A. Graham and starring Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause. The film is a sequel to '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1980). The screenplay b ...

''. Returning from one of the voyages to the subantarctic islands, ''Tradewind'' ran into a storm south of New Zealand and was struck by a

rogue wave Rogue waves (also known as freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are unusually large, unpredictable, and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous to ships, even to lar ...

.Conversation with the then captain of the ''Tradewind'', Mark Hammond, Dec 1991. The radar, situated above the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

, was carried away and the charthouse was flooded. The ship was knocked down, with the mastheads in the water, but righted itself. Only one crew member, the

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver) is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fishing vessels and yachts, the fu ...

, was on deck at the time the wave struck. He saved himself from being washed overboard by thrusting his arms through the spokes of the wheel, although he was injured. In late 1991, ''Tradewind'' left New Zealand to sail around Cape Horn to join the tall ship fleet sailing from Europe to America in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

's arrival in the Americas. During the voyage to join the tall ship fleet, she visited the Antarctic Peninsula and the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

. After the Columbus celebrations in 1992, ''Tradewind'' returned to England, where she was sold to a Finnish owner. She was used for charter cruises around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. In 1998, ''Tradewind'' was sold to a Dutch owner and renamed ''Sodade''. She was refitted and used for charter cruises in the

Cape Verde Islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

. By 2003, the condition of the ship had deteriorated and she was laid up in the island of Sal. In late 2003, she was taken over by another Dutch owner to save her from a horrible fate on the Cape Verde Islands. She was sailed to and refitted in the Canary Islands. After this refit, she was renamed ''Tradewind'' again. In early 2004, the ship made an Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean, and return via the Azores, the Baltic and eventually back to the Netherlands In 2006 under the care of Stichting Loggerbehoud Nederland a complete refit started again. She was going to be rebuilt under RH class for worldwide service, but the project was abandoned. In 2014 Dutch shipmaster Floris de Waard bought what remained of the ''Tradewind''.

Citations

References

* * * ;Websites
Schoonerman Tradewind pageStichting Loggerbehoud Nederland
- website in Dutch
Tradewind website
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) Individual sailing vessels Tall ships of the Netherlands Tall ships of New Zealand Tall ships of Finland Ships built in the Netherlands Fishing vessels Schooners 1911 ships Luggers

See also

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References