NAF cocktail party on deck of Hr. Ms. Urania

July 11th, 2009

July 11th, 2009 at 6pm
Battery Wharf, Boston

On Saturday, July 11th, the NAF hosted a cocktail party on board the Dutch Navy ship Hr. Ms. Urania, moored in Boston Harbor at Battery Wharf for "Sail Boston 2009". NAF Boston members and friends enjoyed a wonderful evening! To view some pictures of the event, taken by NAF member and former Harvard Professor Annewies Van den Hoek, please click here.

The highlight of the evening was when Albert Van der Meer executed a flawless marriage proposal to his girlfriend Marianne Thompson. He was determined to do so on "Dutch soil" (and the Honorary Consul declared that a Dutch navy vessel qualified). The Captain of the ship decided that a gun shot salute was appropriate, which in turn brought out the Boston harbor Police. Great fun!

Hr. Ms. Urania was originally built in 1928 by “Haarlemsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij” as a private yacht called Tromp. Originally she was a schooner with a wishbone rigging, but was soon changed into a gaff rig. In 2004 the ship was almost completely hauled over. She entered the navy, in 1938, and was commissioned on 23rd April under the name Urania. Soon after she was requisitioned by the German “Kriegsmarine” to be used as a sail training vessel for the education of German midshipman at the “Marine Schule Flensburg / Murwick”. In 1946 she was returned to the Dutch and used for the training of midshipman at the Royal Netherlands Naval College. In 1957, she was rigged as a Bermudan ketch, which means that the mainmast is taller than the mizzenmast, the rudder is behind the mizzenmast and the mizzen comprises 60% of the mainsail.

For more information: http://www.nlda.nl/