New: 'A historic ship that gives you the Piet Hein feeling'

Next year it will be 75 years ago that the renowned shipyard De Vries-Lentsch from Nieuwendam designed the ship Jantine. The iconic yacht builder developed the yacht on behalf of an equally famous client. The Halbertsma family from Grou, owners of the well-known wood factory in Friesland. After years of loyal service, this well-preserved family heirloom is now up for sale. With descendant and current Jantine owner Jan Mulder, we dive into the story behind this unique boat.

The Halbertsma family from Grou is well known in Friesland. Thanks to the four brothers Joost, Tjalling, Eeltsje and Binnert. At the beginning of the 19th century, the first three were esteemed writers of Frisian literature. Even the Frisian national anthem was written by them. Binnert, on the other hand, was a born entrepreneur. First a baker, later a merchant. His descendants founded the Halbertsma wood factory in 1891. Under the leadership of son Pieter Goslik Halbertsma, the factory grew into a legendary company in Friesland.

125 years of family business history

What started with making butter kegs and butter boxes, grew into the quality producer of doors and frames, but also (box) pallets in the Netherlands. The family business was not only the beating heart of the Frisian village in terms of location on the water, but also on a social level: anonymous poverty alleviation, sponsorship of sports clubs and the establishment of a fire brigade. It was also ahead of its time with its own pension fund, staff association and company garage. In this way, Halbertma was committed to her employees and her village. The family business continued to exist for no less than 125 years. A period in which factories were also established in Leeuwarden, Hoorn, Groningen, Lemmer and Scheemda. Running a business is hard work. It is therefore logical that the Halbertsmas also sought their relaxation. They found it on the water. The management ship 'Gretha' has been a pleasure since its inception. But as the descendants grew, one family boat was no longer enough.

The choice for De Vries-Lentsch

"My grandmother Tine Mulder-Halbertsma thought she would be able to go out with 'the Gretha' with her children at the weekend," says their now 68-year-old grandson Jan Mulder. "There was just one problem; her brother had just beaten her to it..." A family meeting later, it was decided to build an extra boat. "A second cousin of the family offered a solution. He was the owner of the well-known shipyard De Vries-Lentsch from Nieuwendam." This is how this renowned shipyard became the builder of Jantine. "A ship that bore the name of both my grandmother and my late grandfather."

Jantine's main goal was to bring relaxation, but was also used to fête customers. "From the moment I was born in 1956, I went on day trips. With grandma, aunt Greet, my parents, my sister and sometimes even my uncle and aunt. I thought that was wonderful! Once a year we went on a two-week summer holiday with 'de Jantine'. Then our maid and skipper Postma from the timber company went along, so that we lacked nothing on board. That was easy, because 'the Jantine' has seven berths."

The apple of Grandma's eye

From Roermond to Heeg and from Rotterdam to Antwerp. "For years, my grandmother sailed with 'the Jantine' every summer with her daughter, skipper and maid throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. Even when she ended up in the wheelchair." A second toilet and widened doors on the port side were created especially for her. "With two long gangways and two separate gutters, we wheeled that wheelchair on board."

How crazy grandma Tine was about sailing became clear when she was picked up by boat from the Amsterdam OLV Hospital on the day of her discharge. "This way she was still able to attend the opening of the sailing season at water sports club Frisia on the Pikmeer. But with the pavoised Jantine, because that was the apple of her eye."

From 1968 the ownership of the Jantine passed into the hands of Jan's father and his aunt Greet. "But when my father passed away in 1992, I became the proud owner of the family heirloom. Because 'the Jantine' was always used for business purposes for the wood factory in addition to pleasure trips, the ship has been wonderfully maintained over the years. But always with an eye for the wonderful history of the yacht. The ship still breathes history and is a sight to see on every body of water where it sails and in every port where it docks."

Reason wins over feeling

Now that Jan is 68 years old, it is with a heavy heart that he says goodbye to his Jantine. "The mind wins over the feeling. Physically, I am still perfectly capable of sailing on the ship. But that may change in a few years. When that moment comes, I hope to have found the right buyer for 'de Jantine'. Because this ship deserves a captain who appreciates sailing a yacht that gives you the Piet Hein feeling. We take the time to find the right new owner. I don't want to force it off, but only if the feeling is right."

For Jan, there is quite a bit of nostalgia attached to the ship. He experienced wonderful journeys, precious memories and unforgettable moments on board. "I was nine years old when we sailed from Muiden across the IJsselmeer to Lemmer. As is often the case, we also had our sailboat, a 30m2 in tow. Out of nowhere, there was a storm. When we looked outside, we saw a whirlwind coming towards us in the distance and discovered that the sailboat was loose and nowhere to be seen. We had to turn around and came across the waves for a while. The sprinkles even flew off the table. We had never experienced that before!"

Exciting Boy Adventure

His mother summoned her children to the bedroom. "Peering through the back window, I followed everything that happened. I saw how the skipper turned around, sailed back and jumped from 'the Jantine' to the sailboat, which was bobbing up and down quite a bit." Meanwhile, the maid's vomiting sound could already be heard on board. "She had become seasick from the boisterous rocking..." After the skipper managed to put the sailboat back on the leash and returned to the deck soaking wet, he set course for Urk. "By my mother's urgent order."

The excitement of that time is still etched in Jan's memory. But the same goes for the convivial moments when the happiness of those days was very common. "On board there were two certainties: there was orange cake with real whipped cream and soup from my grandmother's assistant Minke. On board 'the Jantine' she let the soup steep for a long time in a large pan in the galley. I'll never forget that nice smell. Of course, the soup was served in a large porcelain soup tureen and in deep plates, as the start of an extensive lunch."

Pleasant evenings on board

It wasn't just as a child that Jantine gave him a lot of fun. This was also the case later in life. "The ship was the regular sleeping place of me, my brother and my sailing friends during the Sneekweek. We sailed in it every year with the races. First in the 30 m2 and later in the Yngling class. After the races, we had a lot of festive evenings together on the Start Island." The love for sailing, the skipper of the Jantine, Mr. Postma, already taught little Jan. "I was allowed to drive 'the ‘’Jantine' on his lap. He really educated me. Often through small facts. For example, how you can hear when you are sailing from deep to shallow water."

As captain of Jantine, Jan still benefits from this to this day. From cribbing on the Lek to mooring in the boathouse in Grou. "I'm doing pretty well, but Postma's driving skills are second to none. "He once made a bet with my father for a box of cigars. He claimed that he could make 'the Jantine' turn around its axis in the tight lock of Lemmer. He lived up to those words, without damage. While Jantine still had a wooden rudder with chains at the time..."

In the meantime, the Jantine has been updated in terms of drive and steering to the requirements of the time. "In doing so, we have given this ship full of history a new future. Now we just have to find the right captain."

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