The crew of the Zuiderzee

Always a warm welcome

Skipper Arnold

Arnold is the son of a miner, in his youth he was looking for a destination. He found it on the old traditional sailing ships. Since 1995 he has been skipper and proud owner of the Zuiderzee. He works and lives on the ship. Arnold is a very experienced skipper, who knows the IJsselmeer and Wadden Sea sailing area very well.
He is happy to hand over the helm under expert guidance. Together with his guests he enjoys sailing, the space and silence on the water and nature. He is the perfect host for organizing safe and fun days on the water!

Lila

Our crew: Skipper’s daughter Lila

Skipper’s daughter Lila learned at an early age that it is very pleasant when there are guests on board. She first worked in the kitchen, where she prepared the buffets with great care and ensured that the guests were provided with drinks.

Since last year, Lila can be found on the upper decks, where she sets sail with the guests under expert guidance and does all the manoeuvres with the ship, she is the extended hand of her father and together they form a top team. Lila studies Literary and Cultural Analysis at the UVA in Amsterdam. Lila is a perfect team player on board the Zuiderzee.

Our crew: Skipper’s son Roman

As a skipper’s son you are always screwed. Jobs at the top of the mast, but also the heavy derusting work – you can hardly escape it. So Roman decided to go to the HBO nursing college and to choose what really suits him: helping people in need.

Roman now works as an ICU nurse at the VU in Amsterdam. Very occasionally he still sails along. He is an all-round genius and he takes his time for everyone. With a lot of skill and an extensive explanation, he gets the ship under sail together with the guests. And then … relax on the aft deck … until the kitchen can use an extra hand or the skipper discovers a fellow ship to sail a competition with.

Our crew: Skipper’s daughter Feia

She prefers to stand with Lila or Roman on deck, but she can also be found in the kitchen. She likes to serve a snack and loves to sit behind the helm.
Skip the skipdog is Feia’s best friend, she is an absolute animal lover. During the week Feia goes to secondary school in Amsterdam, which she also thinks is fantastic. Feia would like to live with many animals on the Zuiderzee in the future. Papa Arnold thinks that is a fantastic idea.

Skip de scheepshond

Ship dog Skip

In 2019 we have a new family member on board. Ship’s dog Skip is a happy, active Icelandic dog. He likes to sit with the guests and of course looks forward to a pet!

Our amazing alternating team Arik, Tim, Ilonka, Simon, Paul, Ariane, Sandra

Our sailing crew consists of some very special and unique people from different backgrounds. A few important qualities they all have in common however: hospitality, enthusiasm and versatility! Where one has years of experience sailing with guests on their own sailing vessel, the other is a recent enthusiast diving head first into the sailing world. Some of them are amazing at explaining the sailing instructions with love and care to our guests where others inspire our guests with a natural confidence in doing. Besides providing a great sailing experience you can always come our crew for a good conversation whether on sailing or something completely different: art, physics, education, sports.

The amazing onshore team:  Elsa, Tamara

and so many more treasures… Thank you for the help with the many many, maintenance jobs, and all other kinds of support!!!