Andrew, the love and effort you injected not only into our darling AVONTUUR, but into our little community is something that will be sorely missed. Everything from the high kicks and killer dance moves, to your creative welding and carpentry. It was a delight to have you as part of our team and to be a part of your journey, wherever it is you’re going.

My TIMBERCOAST Experience by Andrew Sharpe

They say time flies when you are having fun, but at TIMBERCOAST time sails at a rapid pace, emission free of course. I spent nearly 2 months with a group of unlikely misfits that for some reason or another decided that restoring a 1920 Dutch Schooner was the best thing they could be doing with their lives. We managed to turn a hunk of rusty steel sitting on a dry dock into a floating red and white beauty that is hard to look away from once she catches your eye. This ship I speak of is called the AVONTUUR and she has changed my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined 3months ago.

When I first walked up to the volunteer’s house, I was unsure of what to expect and slightly nervous. Straight away I saw this group of bandits laughing and splashing in a homemade hot tub and knew I had made the right choice. Over the next few months we worked, laughed, played, and lived together with one common thought; we are going to restore this ship and there is nothing that can stop us. The work was tough. The AVONTUUR often asked for our sweat, frequently for our brute strength, and sometimes for our blood. But every day she asked for our love. And that love is what kept us moving forward through early mornings and the weekends when the going got tough. It is that same love that is going to carry her around the world to Australia.

The relationship I have developed with the AVONTUUR and her crew through this experience will be unbreakable and something worth mentioning a life time from now. I can only hope that the winds will bring us together again someday. Until then I will be spreading the word about TIMBERCOAST and reminiscing on the good times we have had.

Three cheers for the AVONTUUR,

Andrew