Boat Brambles

The Dutch are mondially known as a people of bicycles. I would argue this is only a recent development. Periods of bike popularity, known as bike booms, only go back about 150 years. Boats however… Boats are the perfect mode of transport. This is especially true for the Dutch, a people of farmers and merchants living in the marshy delta of the Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt. It is therefore no surprise that our golden age primarily revolved around our military and mercantile navies. 

Despite the international focus of the AFExCie we still like to keep to our Dutch roots. Saying that we love boats is an understatement. Trains are okay; aeroplanes are of course trash; but boats? We love boats of all sizes. Small, big, many sails, or few, we also of course love ships. “What’s the difference?” I hear you ask. Well you see, a boat is a boat if it can be carried by a ship. 

With the AFExCie we of course want to go on our next trip using some boats. Sailing boats specifically. We can take some nice sloops and sail over the European rivers to our destination. Or maybe we’ll set sail on the open sea and travel far away, maybe even outside of Europe. The point of the AFExCie is of course to learn new things. Sailing for weeks on the open ocean in a ship like the Dutch Fluyt ship (Figure 1) is sure to teach the participants a lot of valuable life lessons.