De Hester

Luca Spano

"As a nine-year-old boy, I used to wander along the IJssel quay in Kampen. The ships moored there had a great attraction to me. I could already see myself sailing on one of those ships. During Sail Kampen, I was finally able to go on board the Stedemaeght, a beautiful barque with its three imposing masts. Gigantic! I was also allowed to take the helm of Summertime during an evening trip. It rekindled my love of sailing even more. There was not a film about sailing boats that I had not seen. Even then, I dreamed of my own boat. I scraped together all my savings and bought one. Problem: I could not sail. The book 'Sailing for Dummies' was the solution! Together with my friends, I learned some basic things about sailing. I learned a lot more at sailing lessons and took part in many sailing races with my boat.

Love for the 'brown' fleet

"Meanwhile, I had bought a bigger boat. One day I met the crew of Summertime and went sailing with them a few times. It was not long before I joined them as a mate.  Then the desire grew to make sailing my profession and become a skipper. Sailing every day, that's fantastic, isn't it?

A ship of my own

"I soon realised that I did not want to work as a salaried skipper for ten years. I would have been old before I could finally buy my own ship. Now I am still young and motivated. Why would I wait ten years?

So I started looking for a ship that I would be able to do something about, to make it better, and that would be enough to generate some turnover. And then the owner of Summertime appeared to have another ship, De Hester. During the sea trial I knew immediately: this one is mine. I was at the helm and felt at one with the ship. Thanks to financing from the bank and the owner, I was able to buy the ship after I graduated from Enkhuizer nautical college. Entrepreneurship suits me well. I like it and now I am the head of the company. This is really my ship.