Mea Culpa

6 August 2025

Mea Culpa

The past period has been so incredibly busy that we unfortunately failed to keep you all updated. We’re truly sorry for that! Fortunately, there was plenty to see, hear, and read about the Oosterschelde and the world voyage we have now officially completed — through other channels. Here’s a recap, in chronological order:

From Falmouth, we sailed to London. This leg was no longer officially part of the Darwin200 Global Voyage, but rather an additional stretch — a “Victory Lap,” as we called it. And it truly felt like a victory. Right in the heart of London, we received a very special guest on board: His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh — the brother of King Charles — honored our crew with a visit. The Prince stayed for lunch and was eager to hear all about the extraordinary journey we had undertaken and the results we had achieved. A short video of his visit was later shared on the official Instagram account of the British Royal Family — and it has already been viewed over 1.3 million times.

We then set sail for Rotterdam, where the reception in our home port exceeded all expectations. As early as the ‘low light’ (outer harbor), two fireboats from the port authority welcomed us with water salutes. At Maassluis, a large fleet of historic ships — both large and small — was waiting to greet us. In a magnificent Parade of Heritage, the entire fleet sailed together up the Nieuwe Maas. To every participating vessel — from the largest ocean tug to the smallest sailing yacht, from former fishing boats to cargo ships, from steamships to sailboats to motor vessels — thank you so much for the warm welcome! And a special thanks as well to the hundreds of people lining the shores from Hoek van Holland to Rotterdam. We hope that together, we were able to remind the whole of the Netherlands of the immense value of our maritime heritage.

On the terrace and in the halls of the clubhouse of the Royal Rowing and Sailing Society De Maas, around 350 people gathered to celebrate the safe return of the Oosterschelde. Old friends — the 4 Tuoze Matroze — performed, and the highlight of the event was a video summarizing our world voyage.

Now, the Oosterschelde is once again moored in the Leuvehaven, and we’re preparing for the rest of our season — as if nothing ever happened.