80-ton tall ship calls into Strangford Lough during Belfast to Dublin voyage

80-ton tall ship calls into Strangford Lough during Belfast to Dublin voyage

7 June 2017

AN elegant veteran of the Tall Ships Race, which was built almost 90 years ago, sailed into Strangford Lough last week.

The 80-ton Maybe, with its crew of young volunteers looking for a taste of adventure, stopped off in the lough for a couple of days during a voyage from Belfast to Dublin.

During their short stay the crew, who were guests of East Down Yacht Club, situated near Killyleagh, entertained visitors who given a chance to experience life aboard a Tall Ship.

The commodore of East Down, Margie Crawford, said she was delighted to welcome the crew to the club and presented the skipper with a commemorative plaque.

“It is wonderful to see a ship with this heritage come to Strangford Lough and we are very pleased that the crew have been able to visit our club,” she said.

The visit was facilitated by Stephen Tate, a member of East Down Yacht Club, who is the community development officer with Belfast City Council and in charge of the council’s sail training programme.

Maybe was built in Holland in 1929 for Jan Jacob Van Rietschoten, a wealthy Dutch industrialist and father of Cornelis ‘Conny’ Van Rietschoten, a celebrated international yachtsman who was the only skipper to win the Whitbread Round the World Race on two occasions.

Twenty four metres long and built using a hardwood hull with steel frames and teak decking, she spent many years sailing around the world.

During the Second World War she was taken to the Dutch town of Jut where she was hidden from the occupying German forces in the mud in a remote backwater. After the war she was completely restored in the same boatyard where she had been rebuilt.

Maybe took part in the first ever Tall Ships Race in 1956 and is one of the few ships that took part in that race which is still competing in international tall ships events.

Maybe was sold by the Rietschoten family 1962 and was sailed extensively in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

She is now operated by Maybe Sailing and offers people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to experience and enjoy the thrill of sailing a tall ship. As well as taking part in the Tall Ships Race and other regattas, she is used for sail training voyages.

The current skipper, Grace Metcalfe, has a full-time crew of three, plus 13 trainees. Grace, who is from Cumbria in the north of England, took up the post only three months ago. Remarkably, she only began to sail in 2003 when she applied to the Ocean Youth Trust North.

“I was working in a Spar shop and had never sailed before. It was a life-changing experience for me,” she said. “I had to learn how to sail and navigate and then I did my qualifications.”

Grace is very aware of her responsibilities, but says all the volunteers get the chance to try their all hand at all the tasks required on the vessel.

“We have young people from all backgrounds, some of them with physical and learning disabilities. All we look for is someone with enthusiasm and a willingness to get along with other people afloat.”

Up on deck the young people haul and manage the huge sails using ropes and pulleys, while below deck they share in all the tasks and chores, including cooking. By the end of a voyage a group of individuals is moulded into a team.

“No day is ever the same,” Grace continued. The crew have to learn to get along and it’s interesting to see how they develop from day one. The boat becomes your family.”

Among the full-time crew is 20 year-old Sam Hall, from Devon, who had the job of piloting Maybe into Strangford Lough.

Sam enjoys life aboard. “Occasionally you get heated arguments, but usually it’s a lot of laughs and we all get on. it’s great to see friendships being made.

“It’s been wonderful visiting Strangford Lough and we can’t thank East Down Yacht Club enough for their hospitality. We would love to come back here.”