Duyfken left Darling Harbour, Sydney, on May 5 2001 on a journey that will take her halfway around the world. She had been on exhibition at the National Maritime Museum and spent a short period of time in dry dock in preparation for the 2002 VOC Voyagie.

Duyfken will sail north to Queensland, stopping briefly at Port Douglas.

Visit the City of Sydney website

Route: Coastal direct via Inner Passage through Great Barrier Reef

Distance: 1238 nautical miles

Depart: 5 May 2001

Passage Plan: Variable winds along NSW coast, adverse current unless close inshore. Queensland coast - winds becoming favourable as SE trades met, current becoming favourable or negligible. Allow 50nm/day to Cape Moreton, 441nm = 9 days
Then 70nm/day to Port Douglas, 797nm = 12 days

Total Passage Time: 21 days

Possible stops if necessary: Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, numerous ports along Queensland coast.

Arrival Date: 25 May 2001
Time in Port Douglas: 4 days

Just a 70klm (44 miles) scenic drive from Cairns by sealed road skirting the Coral Sea, Port Douglas is totally unique. Sharing the same tropical latitude as Tahiti, "Port" still retains a close community atmosphere. It is the nearest township to the Great Barrier Reef.

The World Heritage rainforests are also within easy reach of Port Douglas. The lush green coastal strip of the Daintree, Cape Tribulation region to the north of Port Douglas is home to some of the oldest forests in the world and is a treasure trove of rare plant and animal species.

Visit the Port Douglas Daintree Tourisme Association website

Route: Port Douglas to Thursday Island, coastal direct via inner route. Clearance from Thursday Island, thence to Jakarta passing north of Flores, Timor and Java.

Distance: Port Douglas to Thursday Island: 500 nm
Thursday Island to Jakarta: 2150 nm
Total 2650nm

Departure Date: 30 May 2001

Passage Plan:
Port Douglas to TI - East to southeast winds average F4, 70nm/day = 7 days plus one day clearance in TI = 8 days
TI to Jakarta - Favourable winds E-SE but average easing F3, 50 nm/day = 43 days
Total: 51 days
Generally favourable current except possibly off north coast of Flores

Total Passage Time: 51 days

Possible stops if necessary: Kupang, Bali, Gove, Darwin. Calculating for this passage is hopefully very conservative and should allow for some prolonged periods of light weather.

Arrival Date: 19 July 2001
Time in Jakarta: 5 days

Batavia was founded in 1619 after the VOC moved from the nearby pepper port of Banten. It was the centre of VOC activity in the Indies for 200 years. An island in Jakarta Bay was called Duyfken Island on early charts, reflecting the role Duyfken played in charting the bay. It is now called Palau Dapur (Kitchen Island) and is about six kilmotres from the old Dutch harbour.

Duyfken has several mooring options in Jakarta. The main harbour area at Sunda Kelapa is famous for the tall masted Bugis schooners from South Sulawesi and a nearby marina welcomes visiting yachts.

The Sunda Kelapa area has significant VOC remains including the VOC Warehouses (now the maritime museum), and the City Hall of Batavia. It is the most historic part of modern Jakarta.

The VOC island of Palau Onrust (restless island) in Jakarta Bay has enjoyed some restoration work and may be a useful place to moor Duyfken. The VOC activities including service and repair of ships on the island supported about 2,000 Dutch shipwrights . Storehouses on the island contained trading goods such as copper, tin, brass, pepper and coffee. Duyfken has received an invitation from Mr Gede Ardika, the Indonesian government Minister for Tourism Product Development to visit Jakarta and the ship is certain to receive a very big welcome.

Visit the Travel-Indonesia website

Route: Through Sunda Strait, make westing in trades, cross Equator in about 77E (in about 10S, some easing of wind strength then becoming South West-West.
Average F4 after crossing Equator. Favourable current initially, then on the beam on the northerly leg. 70nm/day = 31 days

Total Passage Time: 31 days

No stops on this passage.

Arrival Date: 2 September 2001
Time in Galle: 5 days

The first Dutch ships to Sri Lanka arrived in May 1602 under the command of Admiral Joris Van Spilbergen. They anchored off the port of Batticaloa on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

Galle was in the bay where a decisive battle took place in 1640 between the Dutch and Portuguese for control of Sri Lanka and the cinnamon trade. Among the Asian ports of the VOC, Galle was second in importance to Batavia (now Jakarta). It was controlled by the Dutch from 1640 until 1796.

Galle is a historic fortified town with 14 bastions as well as Dutch houses, a Dutch church and bell tower, Government House, and a Dutch period museum. With several VOC shipwrecks in the harbour, Galle is now perhaps the most actively studied harbour for VOC ship remains.

Galle's natural harbour was the main entry point and exit point for Sri Lankan trade until 1873 when a new harbour was built in Colombo.

Like the many VOC ships before her, Duyfken will spend some days in Galle before heading into the Indian Ocean again to make passage to Mauritius. The arrival of Duyfken also coincides the 400th anniversary of Dutch/Sri Lankan relations.

Visit the University of Amsterdam Galle Project website

of breng een bezoekje aan de Travelmarker website

Unscheduled stop due to making good time.

Arrival Date:
Time in Rodrigues:

Duyfken's visit to Rodrigues Island in the Mascarene Islands group marked the 400th anniversary of the original Duyfken becoming the first recorded Dutch vessel to visit the island. That 1601 voyage was celebrated during the visit of the Duyfken replica. The first Duyfken recorded birds such as the Red Rail and hunted the large turtles which were seen all over the island. Both species are now extinct. Today, Rodrigues is one of the most hospitable islands in the world.

Visit the Rodrigues Island website

Route: From Galle to Port Louis, Mauritius, the best course south across SW Monsoon until SE Trades are met, then direct to Mauritius.

Distance: Approx 2,500nm from Sri Lanka to Mauritius.

Departure Date: 7 September 2001

Passage Plan: Winds west to southwest, average F4, in initial part - allow vessel to go a little free, once trades are met, average F5 east to southeasterly. 70nm/day =36 days

Total Passage Time: 36 days

Possible Stops: Diego Garcia possible if needed, but better to avoid and get south from Sri Lanka and even a little east to get a fair run to Mauritius.

Arrival Date: 13 October 2001
Time in Port Louis: 5 days

The crew of Duyfken will find Port Louis, Mauritius, a welcome location to re-provision the ship, just as many VOC ships have done before.

Mauritius was discovered in 1505 by a Portuguese navigator Domingos Fernanadez and named 'Ilha do Cerne'. It became a useful provisioning island for ships bound for India. The Dutch arrived in 1598, and renamed the island after the Dutch stadholder Maurits. In turn, the VOC ships began using the islands for provisioning their fleets to the Indies and established settlements in the 1630s.

They settled on the East coast of the island and called it 'Haven van Warwijck' ­ known today as the town of Vieux Grand Port. They build a fort called Fort Frederik Hendrik.

The VOC decided to abandon the colony in 1658. From 1658 to 1664 Mauritius was uninhabited. In 1663, the VOC ordered the governor of the Cape colony to establish a new Dutch settlement in Mauritius but by 1710 the last Dutchman left Mauritius. Today, there are remains of Fort Frederick Hendrick and a small museum about the Dutch settlement.

Visit the Mauritius Destination Guide

Route: Pass 200nm south of Madagascar then to South Africa coast south of Durban, thence coastal direct to Cape Town.

Distance: 2,300nm

Departure Date: 18 October 2001

Passage Plan: Favourable winds, NE to SE, average F4 for first part. Approximately 1200nm at 70nm/day = 18 days. Winds then becoming variable but with strong favourable current on coast. Approximately 1100nm at 50nm/day = 22 days

Total Passage Time: 40 days

Possible stops in South Madagascar and Durban if necessary.

Arrival Date: 27 November 2001
Time in Cape Town: 14 days

Since 1503 when the Portuguese first entered Table Bay, the Cape of Good Hope has been used as a place to re-supply European ships. The shipwreck of the VOC ship Nieuwe Haarlem, in 1647 began the Dutch settlement in the Cape. The shipwreck victims, built a small fort and named it 'Sand Fort of the Cape of Good Hope' and sought refuge for a year before being rescued by a fleet of VOC ships.

In April 1652, Jan van Riebeek established a permanent provisions station for the VOC, supplying fresh water and produce to the large sailing ships. In 1794, the VOC was finished and in 1795 the English seized the prosperous colony. Cape Town's long Dutch heritage and recent foreshore and harbour redevelopment will make the city a very successful stopover.

Visit the City of Cape Town website

Unscheduled stop due to making good time.

Arrival Date:
Time in Walvis Bay:

Duyfken's visit to Walvis Bay in Namibia highlighted the long maritime history of the coastline, the northern part which is called the Skeleton Coast for good reason.

As in Cape Town where the Khoikhoi herders encountered the Dutch traders and began to trade, so it was in Walvis Bay where European ships traded with the local herders. The VOC ships Grundel and Boode visited Walvis Bay in 1670 and 1677, although trade was not established.

A century later, American whalers established settlements along the coast to work the rich whaling grounds offshore.

More recently, remains of a VOC vessel, the Vlissingen,are believed to have been found south of Walvis Bay. It is hoped that Duyfken's visit will generate wider interest in the Vlissingen and perhaps lead to a detailed search for the remains of the vessel.

Visit the Walvis Bay Port website.

Route: direct

Distance: 1700nm from Cape Town

Departure Date: 14 December 2001 from Cape Town

Passage Plan: Favourable winds, trade wind passage, 70nm/day = 24 days

Total Passage Time: 24 days from Cape Town

Arrival Date: 7 January 2001
Time in St. Helena: 2 day

St Helena is a speck of an island in the South Atlantic but it was a critical watering point for the VOC ships sailing to and from the East Indies. It will be the same for Duyfken as she enters the Atlantic Ocean on her way to Texel. St Helena was often used as a place for ships of the VOC fleets to re-group before they tackled the Indian or Atlantic Oceans.

Visit the St. Helena Island homepage

Visit the website of the Ascension Island Administration

Route: direct

Distance: 710nm

Departure Date: 9 January 2002

Passage Plan: Favourable winds, trade wind passage, 70nm/day = 11 days Total Passage Time: 11 days

Total Passage Time: 11 days

No stops

Arrival Date: 20 January 2002
Time in Flores: 1 day

The small island of Ascension is 750 miles north west of Saint Helena and covers an area of 95 square kilometres. It was discovered by the Portuguese seafarer Joao da Nova Castelia in 1501, (although this visit apparently went unrecorded) and 'found again' two years later on Ascension Day by Alphonse d'Albuquerque, who gave the island its name.

Being dry and barren it was of little use to the East Indies fleets. So it remained uninhabited until Emperor Napoleon I was incarcerated on St Helena in 1815 and a small British naval garrison was stationed on Ascension to deny it to the French.

Visit the website of the Ascension Island Administration

Route: With the SE trades to Equator, northerly course doldrums, and then across NE Trades until westerlies are met then direct.

Distance: 3480nm

Departure Date: 21 January 2002

Passage Plan:
Favourable SE trades to Equator in approx 25degW 780nm, 70nm/day = 11 days
Best course north across ITCZ (Doldrums) until NE trades are met 300nm, 50nm/day = 6 days 
Full and across NE trades to approx 27M 39W 1500nm, 70nm/day = 22 days
Once westerlies are met, direct to Flores, allowing for slower progress in first half of Horse Lats 450nm, 50nm/day = 9 days, then 450nm, 70nm/day = 7 days.

Total Passage Time: 55 days

Any other stops unlikely, nearest ports are to windward and would only be considered in real need.

Arrival Date: 18 March 2002
Time in Flores: 3 days

The island of Flores in the Azores is said to have been sighted in 1452 and given the name Flores (meaning 'flowers') because of the abundance of flowers on the island. The first settlement in Flores is thought to have been by the Flemish, later by Spanish and then Portuguese, the great rivals to VOC interest in the East Indies.

Vasco da Gama, returning from India in 1499, stopped over in Angra where he buried his deceased brother. In 1492, Christopher Colombus visited Santa Maria on his way back from the Caribbean. From 1580-1640, the two colonial empires of Spain and Portugal used the Azores as a staging post for voyages west and south. The islands attracted ships of trade and war including pirates and privateers from France, England and Holland.

Visit the VisualAzores website

Route: Direct via Dover Strait

Distance: 1790nm

Departure Date: 21 March 2002

Passage Plan: Favourable westerlies and current. Every chance of meeting heavy weather from Western Approaches onwards, although should still be favourable. 70nm/day = 25 days.

Total Passage Time: 25 days

No stops, if required, any English south coast port would be suitable.

Arrival Date: 28 April 2002

Map of Holland

Texel's roadstead has welcomed returning seafarers for more than five centuries. Duyfken was one of these ships and four hundred years later, the replica of Duyfken will again be welcomed home.

One can only wonder at the welcome Duyfken will receive after the greatest re-enactment voyage of our times. Duyfken will arrive in Texel on about 28 April 2002. The end of a remarkable voyage through three great oceans, four continents and into VOC history.

Visit the Texel Tourist Bureau website

Visit the Maritime and Beachcomber's Museum website.