Tallship Lady Ellen gets new life
The Lady Ellen, a tallship newly built in Sweden in the early 1980s, is being relaunched by Dutch owners Markus and Davíd Vrieling for high-end sea charters.
The luxury tallship Lady Ellen is undergoing a thorough refurbishment and will embark on world voyages from its home port of Harlingen. The ship has a limited number of cabins for passengers as well as space for trainees and nautical students to put in their sailing hours. In not too long, the ship will be rigged at Willemskade and the Lady Ellen will participate in the Tallships Races 2026.
Submarine steel
The Lady Ellen was built in 1982 as a traditional sailing ship; it is a replica of the Danish freighter ‘Ellen’ built in 1902. A Swedish shipyard received an order to build six submarines and bought steel for them. However, the order was adjusted to three submarines, after which the yard was left with quite a bit of steel. Of this, the Lady Ellen, among others, was built. “Twelve-millimetre-thick u-boat steel,” says Davíd. “It’s strong steel and it’s a heavy ship.”
High-end luxury
Unlike many tall ships of similar size, the Lady Ellen is not equipped for say 50 guests the topsail schooner has six luxury cabins for up to 12 passengers. The voyages that Rederij Vrieling Waterman will offer are in the higher segment.
“Tallship sailing with a martini in hand,” Davíd clarifies. The target group is the ‘elderly young’ who already has his or her sheep on dry land. He or she no longer wants to hang in the ropes themselves, but does want the real sailing experience. Each cabin has an en-suite bathroom, there is a chef who prepares exquisite dinners and the lounge has a wine & whisky selection.
Investment in the future
In addition to paying guests, there is room for aspiring sailors who need to obtain their practical training. This is often a hefty investment, but Rederij Vrieling Waterman wants to offer opportunities through a foundation and a collaboration with the Enkhuizer Zeevaartschool. “It’s a kind of philanthropy,” says Davíd. “It is actually an investment in the future of sailing,” says Markus.
Markus Vrieling had his eye on the Lady Ellen more than 15 years ago. The ship was for sale in Sweden but Markus was not in a position to purchase the vessel. That changed later, when he successfully developed and sold wind farms in Romania.
About four years ago, Markus travelled to Sweden when the Lady Ellen was for sale there again. But he was unlucky: an Irishman bought the ship right in front of his nose. The Lady Ellen was supposed to be refurbished in Ireland to serve as a sail training ship, but the project proved a size too big for the Irish owner. When Vrieling took a look in Ireland, it turned out that the Lady Ellen had been lying at the quay for a year without any progress. Indeed, mushrooms were growing out of the benches on deck.
Harlingen companies
During the negotiations to take over the Lady Ellen, the ship was already coming to Harlingen and later Den Helder. After about a year of sometimes difficult negotiations, Rederij Vrieling Waterman took over the Lady Ellen. And so now the renovation is in full swing.
Rederij Vrieling Waterman is investing a total of about one and a half million euros in renewing the ship, choosing mainly Frisian companies to carry out the work. For example, Talsma Shipyards in Franeker is supplying the steel masts, Scheepstimmerbedrijf Piet Blaauw in Stavoren is doing all the round timber and Scheepstuigerij De Groot in Stavoren is doing the rigging. Harlingen companies are also involved in the project, such as Visser Special Metal Products, SRF and BijRinus.
Davíd Vrieling, by the way, is no stranger to Harlingen. After completing his studies at the Enkhuizer Zeevaartschool, he went looking for a skipper with a ship, to gain experience. That’s how he ended up on Joska Moen’s Poolster. “I had the time of my life there; I can recommend it to anyone,” he says.
Dutch flag
“We do still have a problem,” says Markus. “We are not under the Dutch flag yet.” Ships like the Lady Ellen do not fit into Dutch legislation, which is aimed at much larger cargo ships. “You can never impose the same requirements on ships like the Lady Ellen. It is of course a very small group, but a very visible one. It is strange that the Netherlands still has to do some homework when it comes to being able to keep these kinds of ships within the flag.”
The Netherlands has outsourced the registry work to an Italian organisation and Markus and Davíd are hopeful that it will succeed. “I have already bought the flag,” says Davíd. “A Dutch flag measuring 4.50 by 6.75 metres. There just has to be a Dutch flag behind that boat, and we want ‘Harlingen’ on the stern.”
Source: Harlinger Courant 31 oktober 2025 (PDF Page 1)
Image: Classic Charters.
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