Wiebe sails with a sailboat full of beer, bread, mussels and tourists

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Bread, beer, wine, cider, salt and of course mussels. All Zeeland regional products currently in hold are recognized by the “Zeker Zeeuws” quality label. At least, the first part of the trip, because accompanying tourists can also taste along the way.

The voyage is not only intended to promote food, but also to educate those on board about the possibilities, according to skipper Radstake: “This ship is sailing and an electric motor will be installed there soon. This means that you can still sail emissions-free and our dream of being completely green gets even closer. “

Be thrifty with what we have

Wiebe Radstake cares about the environment. “You have to be careful with what you have and by breathing new life into the barge, for example, it helps. It’s a job that has almost disappeared. It is my pride to be able to give a little that to folks. it’s a good option. And it’s also fun for tourists to navigate and see how we do it. “

What is the turnaround?

Beurtvaart is considered the first form of public transport in the Netherlands. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, people and products could be moved between different places by ships. This form almost completely disappeared with the advent of the automobile.

Radstake has a lot of experience with this kind of navigation. He sailed for seven years on the “Tres Hombres”, a freighter that traveled the world without an engine to transport rum, coffee and chocolate. “It was my dream to sail there someday and I’ve been captain for the past two years. Now ‘De Vrijbuiter’ is my dream. I want to teach people that it’s not just about watching seals on the Eastern Scheldt. “

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Upon arriving in Goes, a local liquor store waits to receive the items so that they can resell them in their shop. Karin Witkam from Zeker Zeeuws: “The Zeeland beer and Zeeland wines that we offer are again sold in the store. This is useful in several ways. The trader has stock again, the tourists on board get to know our beautiful products and the great promotion, especially on sunny days.

This summer, a few more trips will be made from Zierikzee to various locations in Zeeland. The intention is that De Vrijbuiter will sail with tourists again next year.