The Baltic is a schooner. For those who aren’t nautically trained: on a schooner, the rear mast (the mainmast) is taller than the front mast (the foremast). Schooners are very …
Midnight Sun
The Arctic Circle is roughly halfway through Norway, at 66.5° N. It runs about 75 km south of the city of Bodø and just past the northernmost tip of Iceland. …
Schooner or Ketch
The Baltic was a schooner. For the non-nautically inclined: with a schooner, the aft mast (the mainmast) is taller than the foremast (the schooner mast). A schooner is very popular …
Oslo: Europe’s Green Capital
We have traveled to Norway several times, usually by sailboat. While sailing along the fjord coast is beautiful, it has never taken us to the capital city of Oslo. There’s …
Evert’s Visit
On a crisp Saturday morning, sometime in February, he suddenly appeared on the quay: Evert Verkerk. We only knew his name from the Baltic’s sales brochure – “design: Evert Verkerk” …
Sustainable Destination
Norway is one of our favorite destinations because of its impressive nature, deep fjords, snow-capped mountains, and rugged islands. The Norwegians themselves have long realized that their country offers a …
Sailing Around Svalbard
This year, we enjoyed the islands in northern Norway, sailing under a lovely sun to the 70th parallel. We discovered deserted fishing harbors and navigated fjords with drift ice. Porpoises …
Taking down the masts
August 6th is the day: the masts are coming down. The weekend before, we pulled out all the cables running through the mast, unscrewed the winches, and brought down the …
New adventure for the ‘Baltic’
Many in the charter fleet will still remember the two-masted staysail schooner ‘Baltic’ sailing across the IJsselmeer or, later, on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Norwegian coast. For the …
Fossil-free fuel
While half of Friesland was buzzing about Blue Diesel in the summer of 2018 (fueled by the Elfwegentocht), Marijn was tinkering with the boiler in 90-degree heat. It runs on …
