About the Crew
Rini & Megan IJzelenberg welcome you to our page where we would like to introduce the crew!
Who are we?
Rini
has been a professional soldier for 24 years, of which almost 3 years with Air Mobile Brigade (Red Baret) and more than 20 years with the Royal Dutch Commando’s (Green Baret). Rini left the the Commando’s as an officer. For the last 5 years, Rini has worked at Falck Safety Services, a major international “safety training provider” for the Offshore, Maritime and Wind industry. Starting as an instructor, he left the company as “Operational Director”. Besides sailing, motorcycling at his old-scool Harley Davidsion is his big passion!
Megan’s
professional career has largely taken place in the horeca. From the age of 17 she has worked in various restaurants and bars. Her greatest wish was to be able to work in a 5-star hotel someday. Megan realized her ambition when the “Inter Continental Amsterdam”, better known as the “Amstel Hotel”, asked her in 2014 to be permanently employed . After more than 5 years, she has resigned as “supervisor” to fulfill her Seven Seas Adventure dream together with Rini. Also for Megan, besides sailing, riding her Harley Davidson is her greatest passion!
Selina
joined Vertrouwen’s crew since August 2020!
She was a professional freelance photographer for over 15 years before she ventured into the underwater world to become a scuba diver. She is now a HSE SCUBA commercial diver as well as an OWSI Padi & EFR Instructor.
Over recent years she has been working as a full time scuba diver and has taken her existing photography skills along with her to specialise as an underwater photographer and more recently as a videographer.
Combined with her fondness for adventure and a great lover of the ocean, learning to sail was always the next step on the agenda. Marine conservation, sustainability and ocean awareness has also become important to her too.
Aside from these things Selina’s other interests include swimming, surfing, hiking, getting lost in new places, cars and travelling.
Kim
is a sailor and lighting technician. Her favorite thing in life is sailing in the ocean with untouched natural surroundings. She travels a lot but she considers her home to be Jacksonville Florida.
She has been working with stage lighting for 17 years. With her knowledge of electrical engineering she can fix many electrical components onboard.
She has been sailing for six years and lived on a small 26 foot Chris-Craft sailboat in Fernandina Beach which she considers to be the happiest time of her life.
She is an avid skater, playing roller derby with the Jacksonville Roller Girls and skating ramps at Kona skate park. She also loves archery and has plans on catching fish along the way with her compound bow. She spent three months in Hawaii working on a Permaculture farm and learned a lot about growing in an environment that helps the land as well as the people (and animals) on it. She often visits friends in Alaska and enjoys hikes and salmon fishing during the summer months. She also enjoys heights, if it can be climbed, it’s probably going to happen.
Charles Wallace, is her ginger kitty stowaway. She enjoys cuddling and doesn’t take up too much room on the ship!
Kyrill
Is our professional PADI dive instructor!
He is 35 years old and teaches since 2016 the art of diving in English, German and sometimes Russian language!
As a easy going person, with “the head in the sky” and always ready for a joke, is he just one member of our amazing crew.
In 2015 he started in Australia traveling the world and on a boat trip he experienced the first time breathing under water. Falling in love with this element he decided to become a dive professional.
After a few sailing trips in Australia and Maldives, he is also not new to the elements wind and enjoys to travel not only on land.
His passion is the nature with all the beautiful creatures in it, doesn’t matter in or above the water.
Join our trip for sailing and diving and get in touch with this special one!
The Seven Seas Adventure Dream!
At the end of 2015 Rini & Megan founded Seven Seas Adventure to shape their plans and ideals to stop with our professional careers and sail around the world!
Just before founding our new company, Rini & Megan had purchased schooner “Vertrouwen” as the first major step in our new direction.
First time, Rini & Megan saw “Vertrouwen” lying in Zaandam! We sailed with cruiser “Majorca” over the “Voor-Zaan”, a side arm of the North Sea canal near Amsterdam. When we saw how beautiful the lines of “Vertrouwen” were, we could conclude that it was the ship we had been looking for! It was in a neglected state, but we could see through it. The only problem at that time was that the ship was not for sale!
For that reason Rini & Megan went looking for a ship that looked like Vertrouwen. Our search brought us even to Portugal. But nothing came close to what we were looking for. Until the lucky day that Megan saw on the internet that Vertrouwen was offered for sale.
After some setbacks and windfalls, Vertrouwen is now our full property
From the start of 2016, Megan and Rini have started to restore Vertrouwen. Almost everything has been repaired or improved; pumps, pipes, tanks, anchor devices, electricity, motors, hull, booms, winches, steering, wheelhouse deck, paintwork, etc, etc.
In 2018 we were ready to sail with passengers. Initially these were day trips but when Rini and Megan in 2019 had quit their job , they extended the package of boat trips and sailing trips to what you can find on this website.
The journey around the world is now planned for 2021. Sailing “Vertrouwen” for long time, is not ideal by two! For that reason we found a multi-functional crew, each with its own specialty.
Hopefully the journey will take years! The crew wants to sail stages along the old VOC routes and offer dive arrangements on the most exclusive dive spots in the world, as well. Passengers can then embark on the entire trip or stages or book a dive-sail arrangement for example 1-2 weeks / months or more!
But there is more!
We would also like to introduce our heroes on 4 feet:
First and oldest: Igor!!!
Born on the 2th of august 2006 as an “Old German Shepard”, Igor grew up in a poor family with an enormous number of animals. Between two goats, five rabbits, seven dogs, four cats, three horses, eight chickens and three tame rats. Igor learned already until the age of nine months, how to deal with people, children and different animals. Than he came in our live because the family was unable to feed all the animals! When we found the advertisement on “marketplace”, we were immediately sold. So for Igor at that time, the saying: Last in! / First out! was applicable! But now he is save!
In his long life, Igor even made a mini career at the Dutch Special Forces;
https://www.dutchdefencepress.com/nieuwe-opleidingsgang-elementaire-commando-opleiding/
That has ensured that Igor has become an extremely social dog that looks like a bear! But he soon comes across as a teddy bear!
Secondly and youngest: Whisky!!!
Born on the 1th of august 2017 as an “Bombay Cat”, Whisky grew up on a farm with a lot of animals. Between fifty cows and fifteen horses, Whisky learned already until the age of eight weeks, how to deal on his own! Than he came in our live because the family wasn’t interested to keep kittens. When we found the advertisement on “marketplace”, we thought let’s save the cat! So we saved Whisky from an enormous amount of fleas and ticks and a lack of food and attention!
Although Whiskey is an ordinary barn cat, he does not deny his Bombay roots!
Igor and Whiskey regularly prefer to join us on boat trips, but in certain circumstances it is not desirable or dangerous for our heroes to sail with us!
Do you like it when they join your trip or travel!? ….or not !? Please indicate this in advance, as soon as you have a clear opinion!
In memory of Downey:
