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The expelled Noach 1

Climate change is forcing us to make our mobility more sustainable. As a result, there are concrete initiatives within maritime transport to restore the tradition of clipper ships. A team has been put together that is currently working on the prototype of the EcoClipper500 : a 59-meter-long sailing freighter, based on the fantastic clipper ship Noach 1. This marks the return of wind energy instead of fossil fuel.

In 1857 shipbuilder Fop Smit from Kinderdijk, the Netherlands, built his first clipper ship: the Noach 1. A clipper ship is a very fast sailing ship with a sharp bow and one or more masts. They are slim but have a very large sail area. Ultimately, 6 Noach clipper ships were to be built, but the Noach 1 is still considered being the best of its series.
With the rise of the steamers and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, sailing ships fell out of favor.

Berend Westerhof started 18 years ago with the scale reproduction of the Noach 1. And to this day he’s still working on it with a lot of dedication, passion and patience. In this short film he tells passionately about the history of clipper ships in general, the Noach 1 in particular, and you see him working on his wonderful life’s work.
A tribute to one of the world’s most beautiful clipper ships ever built.

Film

Photos