Departures under Sail: Yndeleau

Did you know that our sailmaker De Vries Maritime was founded by a world sailor? Marten Pietersz De Vries settled in Lemmer in 1823, after he had spent years as a sailmaker on board a windjammer sailing around the world. We still have a great passion for world sailors, and love to help them with the best material and good advice. So it's not surprising that we are known as the sailmaker for sailors! And that's why we regularly put sailors in the spotlight. For this blog, we spoke with the crew of sailing boat Yndeleau, a 44-foot Van de Stadt.

Sailing boat Yndeleau and her crew Jurre Witte and Suzanne Legtenberg have been on their world trip for 1.5 years now. The pandemic is causing the necessary challenges, but they are still underway. We spoke to them about their trip and of course wanted to know: how do they like the sails and materials that they had made at our sailmaker's before they left?

Introducing: marketing consultants who changed course

Jurre and Suzanne both lived and worked in Amsterdam. They were engaged and saving for their wedding. When that saving went well, they wondered if they couldn't use that money to make their dream come true: sailing around the world. The search for their dream boat began, and on Marktplaats they found their Yndeleau, then called Fair Dinkum, in May 2018. An intensive refit period followed, which included renewing the entire sail lining including new rigging and roller reefing systems.

Why choose Zeilmakerij De Vries Maritiem?

"The Frisian sobriety, the proactive thinking along with years of experience with sailors, that convinced us to order our sails at De Vries Maritiem," says Jurre. Suzanne and Jurre got into their car and drove to Lemmer for a number of conversations about sail materials and sail handling. Which sails would be indispensable, which materials are suitable for such a long trip, which cut is best, which furling systems fit this ship. Johan shares his knowledge for optimal sailing speed, combined with his years of experience with materials: what has the least wear, what is the most dimensionally stable.

Which sails did you choose?

Yndeleau's sail design is simple and solid: a large, well-reefed mainsail with 3 reefs. A large genoa, and a small cutter jib, both on a roller reefing system. Jurre and Suzanne chose not to bring a storm sail. "If the wind is really strong, we sail the cutter jib with possibly the mainsail with a third reef in it. And if we can't hold that any longer, we remove the mainsail altogether and sail on the cutter jib which we can then reef as well," Jurre says.

The mainsail has a fluorescent orange top, this contributes a lot to visibility. And of course it just looks pretty cool too.

"We don't carry spare sails. We chose a more expensive and better quality material Hydranet with double stitched dyneema, where the estimated risk of damage and repair is very low. We are very happy not to have huge sail bags on board as we prefer to use that space for our kite gear and supplies!"

How do you like the sails on your world trip?

"In the past 1.5 years we have sailed almost 7000 miles, and the sails still look fantastic. We have no wear and tear, and have not had to make any repairs. The only thing the sails have to 'suffer' is the hefty amount of dust that sometimes suddenly appears in the air here. At Morocco, and also Martinique, the air was sometimes quite polluted by sand. The mainsail is becoming more flexible and therefore fits better on the boom. We regularly lubricate the rails of the mainsail so that hoisting it goes smoothly. The UV strip has really been a good choice, it gives a lot of convenience, we do not have to pull a cover around the sail on arrival. Simply rolling it up is enough, the sail is protected by the UV strip which is rolled away last. During the refit on Curaçao, we took down the mainsail for the first time. This went very smoothly, we could easily get the battens out of the mainsail and into it," says Suzanne.

"I would have liked to bring a second genoa. Then we could sail on our front staysail with 2 genoa's during our ocean crossing. Then you can remove your mainsail, you still have a well-balanced boat but no risk of a blowout" adds Jurre. "But then again, you need an extra boom, and an extra attachment on the mast. And you only use your second genoa during long passages. The rest of the time it takes up a lot of space inside the boat. Hmm, made the right decision after all I think!"

The self-designed sun tent: a must in hot areas

Our sailmaking shop can also provide remote assistance and products. For example, we helped Yndeleau with a sun canopy. "Because of our centercockpit with overflow there was no possibility for a fixed bimini. Along the way, however, we noticed that the sailcloth we had with us could not be stretched well enough to stay up in high winds. From a distance we designed a sun tent that De Vries Maritiem sent to Martinique. Every day we enjoy it, what a pleasure! We really couldn't live without it," says Jurre.

Tips for other leavers?

Finally, we ask the Yndeleau people for their tips and recommendations for leavers regarding sailing and canvas products. A great list emerged from that! We are curious to see what they will learn in the years to come... These are Yndeleau's tips for other departures:

• Covers/covers for the plastic windows in the deck because of the amount of UV light they have to endure. It may also make a little difference in the heat entering the boat.
• Covers for winches may seem like an unnecessary luxury, but it's not when you're in countries where there's a lot of dust or sand in the air. It saves a lot of maintenance on your winches!
• Splitting lines yourself is a nice skill. Split lines often cost a lot of money, especially in foreign countries. Moreover, if you can do this yourself, you are always able to arrange the right lines for your ship.
• Drinking water in the Netherlands is something you hardly ever think about. The further away from home, the more you become aware of the importance (and scarcity) of drinking water. Collecting rainwater is always a good idea, regardless of whether you use it for drinking, washing up or cleaning your boat. When designing your bimini, include that you want to use it to collect water. We have seen beautifully designed rain collection systems. A sailmaker can design a nice drinking water system for your boat.
• Do you have a spray hood or dodger? Then a roll-up window in the front is essential in hot locations to have some ventilation in the cockpit.
• During the Atlantic crossing Jurre and Suzanne experienced how much rain blows into the cockpit from behind. During this trip they had tail wind nonstop for the first time, and that caused quite a bit of rainwater in the cockpit. A well-fitting rainscreen can be a solution, for instance from the spray hood or dodger downwards.
• Anything plastic suffers considerably from the UV light in warm countries. You see that many sailors in the Caribbean at some point have a cover made for their dinghy, and also for their outboard motor. This can be done cheaply and well in the Netherlands at a sailmaker's. It will save you a lot of hassle (and money) during the trip!