D’Halve Maen (Half Moon)

In 1609, Englishman Henry Hudson sailed this Dutch ship on behalf of the VOC and explored the east coast of North America, searching for the fabled North West Passage to Cathay.  This replica, built in 1989, caught my eye when she was docked in Croton-on-Hudson, NY in 1994.  I worked onboard as Rigger and Boatswain for 7 years, rigging her up in the spring, sailing and maintaining the ship during the summer, and rigging her down for the winter, then doing maintenance on blocks, spars, and line.  I also dove deep into Dutch and English rigging practices of the 17thcentury, researching in museums in 3 countries and reading everything I could, then putting it all into practice on the ship.