Barend did his best!! Cutting out round portholes with a plasma cutter, by hand calls for precision work! Over the past week 20 portholes where placed. Bid by bid she is turning into a lovely ship.

summer in Harlingen

Things is becominng more quite now that the ship yard is on vacation, but to take advantage of it the swan teem will do there best to keep the Wylde Swan building on schedual.

[DUTCH] [ENGLISH] [GERMAN]

Verschrikkelijk nieuws – Willem Sligting overleden

Beste familie, vrienden en relaties,

Gisteravond laat is Willem Sligting op weg van werk naar huis dodelijk verongelukt met zijn fiets. We zijn ontredderd en zeer verdrietig. Ook zijn we dankbaar voor zijn bestaan in ons leven, al was dat veel te kort.

Willem was volop bezig met het waarmaken van zijn nieuwe droom: de bouw van het Sail Training schip ‘Wylde Swan’. Wanneer we de eerste schok en het verdriet hebben geabsorbeerd, zullen we besluiten in hoeverre zijn dood impact heeft op deze plannen. Onze prioriteit ligt nu bij het ondersteunen van zijn gezin.

Er zal een herdenkingsbijeenkomst wo rden gehouden op maandag 30 maart in de Hervormde Kerk te Makkum. Deze begint om 11:30 uur, waarna Willem op de begraafplaats bij de kerk zal worden begraven. Gelegenheid tot condoleren is er vanaf 10:30 uur. Na afloop nodigen we u uit in Hotel De Prins.

Willem is bijna 52 jaar geworden.

Groet,
Familie en medewerkers

---

Awful news – Willem Sligting has passed away

Dear family, friends and relations,

Yesterday late in the evening, Willem Sligting died in an accident while riding his bicycle home from work. We are distraught and intensely sorrowful. We’re also thankful for his existence among us, even though it was much too short.

Willem was fully engaged with realising his dream: building the Sail Training ship ‘Wylde Swan’. Once we’ll have absorbed the first shock and our grief, we’ll determine the impact that h is death will have on our plans. For now, we’ll concentrate on supporting his family.

There will be a memorial service on Monday, March 30 in the Hervormde Kerk, Makkum. Service will start at 11:30 hrs, afterwards Willem will be buried at the cemetery near the church. Condoleances can be offered from 10:30 hrs. After the service, you are invited to join us in Hotel De Prins, also in Makkum.

Willem was about to turn 52.

Regards,
Family and associates

---

Wir haben leider eine traurige Nachricht zu übermitteln

Liebe Familie, Freunde und Bekannte,

Wir haben leider eine traurige Nachricht zu übermitteln: Willem Sligting ist tödlich verunglückt.
Gestern Abend ist Willem Sligting auf dem Weg von der Arbeit nach Hause mit dem Fahrrad gestürzt. Wir sind erschüttert und können den Verlust noch nicht fassen.

Wir kennen ihn als einen liebenswerten Menschen, mit dem wir viel schöne Zeit verbrachten und der unser Leben stets bereichert hat. Er hatte noch so viele Träume, an deren Verwirklichung er arbeitete, so auch an diesem Unglücksabend.
Willem war gerade dabei, den Bau des Segel-Schulschiffes “Wylde Swan” zu vollenden. Nachdem wir uns wieder gefasst haben, werden wir darüber befinden, wie es hiermit weitergeht. Vorerst wollen wir seiner Familie beistehen.

Mit fast 52 Jahren war sein Leben viel zu kurz.

Am Montag, den 30. März, um 11.30 Uhr, findet in der Reformierten Kirche in Makkum ein Gedenkgottesdienst statt. Anschließend wird Willem auf dem nahegelegenen Friedhof beigesetzt.

An diesem Tag besteht ab 10.30 Uhr die Möglichkeit, der Familie zu kondulieren. Nach der Beisetzung findet ein Beisammensein im Hotel "De Prins" in Makkum statt.

In stiller Trauer
Freunde und Mitarbeiter

der Firma "SWAN FAN MAKKUM"

NEWSLETTER 1

Building is no routine job
February 2007 'Swan fan Makkum' was handed over to her new Italian owners. Ever since, dull moments have not been our greatest problem. Creating a fine schooner out of an old hulk involves preciously few routine jobs. Even Lex Tichelaar, seasoned restorer of numerous old sailing vessels, needed a new approach to replacing worn out parts. The old hull was digitally scanned, so that new frames and hull plates could be made exactly to shape and size of the original. They virtually sucked themselves into place.

Under class, but no concrete please
It was quite difficult to find an internationally approved classification society willing to survey our rivetted hull of 1920 vintage. We were happy to learn that the Dutch Shipping Inspectorate had agreed to carry out the survey.
When the survey problem had at last been solved, the shipowner donned his overalls and proceeded to remove concrete from the hull's inside. Fortunately he was accompanied by Barend Bagger and his gang, otherwise Willem would still have been chipping away by March. View the workers at My Gallery film no. 3.

Blasted and pink primer pimped
The hull was subsequently sandblasted by a grumbler who abhorred the extra work generated by an ancient hull, rivets and corroded sections. Beautifully pimped in pink primer, however, the schooner has by now left Welsec's sandblasting plant. Alongside a quay, flogged by chilly Southwesterlies, she is awaiting her first IJselmeer passage to Urk (My Gallery film no.4.) Â She will then be hauled out again and get a box keel fitted at Metz shipyard of Urk, to augment windward performance.Â
Â
Character building
Apart from organising 'Wylde Swan's construction, our office is planning how the vessel will be run. 'Wylde Swan' will in fact be a new venture. Like the 'Swan fan Makkum' the schooner will compete in Tall Ships Races against the biggest windjammers, but the crews -and their accommodation- will differ significantly from the old brigantine's. Rather than luxuriously appointed double staterooms, the youngsters will find seamanlike hammocks.
Sail training vessels tend to be run by naval and merchant marine academies and used by their cadets exclusively. Youngsters who happen not to be a cadet will only rarely have the opportunity to enjoy the team spirit and personal fulfilment that sailing a windjammer can bring.
They can, on board 'Wylde Swan', however, through any college or youth care scheme that fathoms the value of sail training. During holidays, youngsters may also sign on individually to take part in STI Tall Ship Races, their 'bunk' sponsored from EU or local government subsidies or by companies.
Our office devotes much energy to convincing potential sponsors of sail training's value for developing leadership qualities and spotting talent. During events, sponsors will be welcome to entertain their clients on the ship -and spread the gospel of sponsorship in the process. Read more about the project on our website.

Wylde Swan transformation

Well it is amazing to see the difference . When she went into the massive hall to be sandblasted it really looked like a neglected hulk... now she have been sandblasted inside out and painted, it looks like a complete new hull. Painted grey inside and reddish brown the primers produce a striking contrast to the old battered green hull she was but a thew Weeks ago.

Soon the Wylde Swan will leave Harlingen for Urk where they will fit a new keel to improve her stability and sailing quality's even further.

Work on the Wylde Swan

The Jemo ore Wylde Swan as she will be known will be dry docked on Friday for the sandblasting session.
We hope to publish some photos of the bare hull as soon as she is dry.

New fotos of the Wylde Swan whill be publiched next week when she will be ready for sandblasting