Positive News

10 November 2025

Positive News

On Saturday, November 8, we had the honor of receiving a very special award. The Dutch foundation Stichting Zeepost (zeepost.info) annually presents the Wouter van Dusseldorp Encouragement Award for Positive News. This award is intended for organizations or individuals in the traditional sailing charter industry who have contributed to inspiring and uplifting news that year. We feel deeply honored and are truly delighted.

The jury explained their decision as follows:

“When I (jury chair Marja Goud) spoke with Mattias Nab at this fair last year, he casually asked, ‘So, what would we have to do to win that award?’ I told him at the time that I didn’t think they needed any encouragement whatsoever. Reederij Oosterschelde has everything well organized and already receives plenty of attention.

And yet, here we are. The board and editorial team believe that the combination of projects and plans is remarkable. The threemasted schooner Oosterschelde has just completed a two year voyage, during which a collaboration was established with an organization giving young field researchers the opportunity to conduct hands-on research. The combination of preserving and operating a historic ship while involving young people in questions of nature research and biodiversity has drawn worldwide attention.

This same year, the stevenaak Helena, the company’s second vessel, celebrates its 150th anniversary. This milestone has been celebrated festively, including a tour of various ports. The Helena is also used for social projects alongside its regular commercial voyages.

These two projects are both wonderful and excellently executed, but, as mentioned last year,  they do not require any encouragement. The reason for granting the Encouragement Award is the intention of Stichting Het Rotterdamse Zeilschip and Reederij Oosterschelde to add a third ship to the fleet: the fishing smack Johanna Hendrika (MD10). She is the very last of her kind and currently in a sad state. A thorough restoration will be necessary before this vessel can return to service.”