Introducing: Jan-Allard Slurink, owner of the Stedemaeght

Lelystad, 1 June 2016 – In the spotlights today: Jan-Allard Slurink, new owner (as of 1 April of this year) of the Stedemaeght. From the lines of the hull and the colours chosen to the rigging and the interior; Jan-Allard loves everything about his impressive ship.

The history of Jan-Allard and the Stedemaeght

"My experience with the Stedemaeght goes back all the way to the previous life of Stedemaeght, when it was still a freighter called Alf”, says Jan-Allard. "I helped out at the time with clearing it out, the dismantling and cleaning. I kept a close track of the construction itself and once the Stedemaeght was finished, I had a number of jobs there when I was a student, from dishwasher and barman to deck mate. During the first SAIL Amsterdam of the Stedemaeght in 1995, I waited on tables.”

Taking the plunge

"The Stedemaeght had been up for sale for a while”, Jan-Allard begins his story. "I thought about buying the ship every once and a while, but of course that would have to fit in with our life with three growing daughters. After giving it a lot of thought, everything fell into place and my wife and I decided to take the plunge.”

On the water from an early age on

Sailing is not new to Jan-Allard; from the age of 8, he sailed with his parents during holidays across the lakes and the Friese Meren. When the family purchased a sail boat a few years later, the holidays shifted to larger waters such as the IJsselmeer and the Baltic Sea.