Despite that Arjan lived in the ‘dry’ section of The Netherlands, his nautical roots were indisputable. The bond with the marine found its roots at early age when Arjan paid visits to Port of Rotterdam and the Maasvlakte with his grandfather, who had sailed around the globe as a mechanic. Necessarily, Arjan gained knowledge on the theoretical aspects of navigation at early age: physics and navigation. He learned sailing in a Randmeer (21 m2 sail) at a small open lake and became trainer at Zeilcentrum Oud Loosdrecht just after after high school graduation. A school for children, young adults and adults. An experience he now benefits from, as a father. Together, with his brother he spend summer holidays sailing along the lake district Friesland, including the IJselmeer at that time.

At the age of 32 Arjan eventually became owner of and skipper on a 20 ft (6m) long English bilge keeler. With this ship and its successor the Sportina 730 he sailed on the Waddenzee and experienced a dry up on the intertidal mud flats of course. Navigating on the Waddenzee is a challenge to match the triangle current – tide – sailing time. Especially when your ship has the same maximum speed as the maximum current.

In the winter of 2020 he got Folly, a Westerly Storm 33. She was relaunched in April 2021 after some maintenance. And the Waddenzee will probably be swapped by the North Sea the coming years. The goal is to sail to Iceland one time.

Arjan has a lot of technical knowledge on ships, its electronic and navigation equipment. He holds Marcom/B and ICC. He loves to coach and convey its passion on sailing.