Testimonials
References received from crew members, guests, fellow sailors and marine professionals
Alessandro Zibe – Â 8th August 2016
I joined this yacht from 12/07/16 to 02/08/16 from Cascais to Amsterdam.
It has been a fantastic experience that I would recommend to anybody!
We have been sailing in full safety, mixing great time at sea with stops ashore to relax and enjoy the journey.
Wouter and Steven are amazing: they make you feel safe in every situation and always patient and generous with teachings and explanations…besides being super enjoyable and inspiring people!
Many thanks, as well, to Anna and Svetlana for being a great company and fundamental part of this trip!
I feel lucky and grateful to have being part of this great group and I hope to repeat this experience soon!
Viva!!!!
Case Brown – 17th March 2016
If you are considering applying to crew with Wouter, do not hesitate!
I joined Wouter for a delivery passage from Amsterdam to Ibiza for a month in ’15. We were a mixed crew of 6, men/women, 5 Dutchies and me.
Wouter is not only an experienced skipper, but also a very kind, generous and understanding person – it was a pleasure to sail with such a laid back yet highly professional skipper. He was diligent in ensuring all crew were duly informed and updated throughout the trip, especially regarding all safety procedures and weather conditions. I was also surprised and grateful to him for consistently speaking in English, particularly at critical times so I wasn’t excluded.
Instructions/briefings were clear, well explained, concise and easy to follow. Mentoring and knowledge imparted by Wouter was a pleasure to receive, and he was very understanding and encouraging to lesser experienced crew (me!). From the moment I stepped aboard, I saw sailing as Wouter’s true calling – not just as a personal passion, but as a way of life that has become a vessel for him to share with people – cultivating meaningful connections and making the most of each day.
Wouter is a captain who cares about the big picture. He’s a highly experienced skipper, as well as a light hearted person who’s a lot of fun to hang out and sail with.
On our trip from Amsterdam to Ibiza we encountered moderate weather…. Most of the crew had only just met and Wouter had a limited idea of our ability or experience level as crew. He not only managed the sea conditions calmly and without stress, but his attention to safety and crew management enabled everyone onboard to know their role; what we needed to do and when. It was a lot of fun.
I thoroughly enjoyed being on board Wouters beautiful boat and crewing under him. I would not hesitate to recommend him as a skipper or friend.
Wouter – it was a privilege. I hope to catch you in the Caribbean when the time is right!
Svetlana Fedonyuk -Â 11th September 2015
It is The Sailing Experience to do!! If you look for learning and getting more sailing experience, meeting great people and making new interesting friends, sailing but also visiting new beautiful places, being able to sail on a very special boat, big, fast, comfortable – do go with Wouter and his yacht! The truly unique and great experience! Kind regards,
Harry Jansen – 16th June 2015
I had the honors to do a survey and a appraisal on board SY Cannonball in 2014.
I went to Makkum to the shipyard where SY Cannonball stood on a boat stand in a boatshed for much needed and overdue maintenance.
The specialists from Tuned Rigs and Ropes were busy to finish the rigging of the mast and boom and Wouter and crew were very busy overhauling and maintaining almost everything that needed to be overhauled and or maintained.
Once onboard Wouter showed me around en told me everything I needed to know for my survey and appraisal about the yacht and how he and the crew were getting along with the overhaul and maintenance.
He also told me about the rich and impressive history of the yacht and what his intentions were with the yacht.
Walking around in and on the yacht, I was really impressed by the very high standard and quality of the work Wouter and the crew already did. The first impression of Cannonball just standing on a boat stand was overwhelming, imagine the impression I got a few weeks later with the yacht completely rigged and afloat in the water in Makkum.
As a surveyor and appraiser I see a lot of yachts every year, and believe me I have seen a lot of yachts over the years but never such a beautiful designed yacht as Cannonball.
She’s on my bucketlist.
Harry Janssen
Directeur/eigenaar Expertise Bureau Janssen Lemmer
Babett Mesecke – 28th July 2013
Wouter and Steven are great people to be with. Wouter taught us very well everything about sailing and was very patient with us beginning sailors! We helped out on deck, did night watch, driving, provision of food, cleaning and cooking. We all shared laughter and good times on his beautiful boat which flies along like a shooting star. Enjoy sailing on Palla di Cannone!!
