Education and Culture by Sail Hawila is out of the water again, this time until the end of March! After cleaning and stabilising the vessel, we started right away to look at accesses to remove the first two planks and our keelsons. Our ambition is to replace the keel bolts, as well as galbord, ribbord, keelsons and side keelsons. Thank you Den Gamle Bedding Holbæk for your dedication to hoist us up. The whole process took two tries over two days, and a total more than 8 hours on a light south-west wind, including a night time repair of the slipway in between trials! Thank you all for the amazing teamwork! Hawila’s refit in Holbæk has begun! The fascinating story of Hawila’s wood for the refit 2020/2021 The decision to plant thousands of ship oaks in 1810: In 1810, after events of Napoleonic wars, the king Frederik made the decision to plant thousands of oak trees between Hillerod, Esrum and Helsinge, an area since known as the Gribskov (Vulture forest) to make it possible to rebuild the Danish fleet 200 years from then, since that is the time oaks need to mature into ship oaks. In 2010 the time had come. In a public announcement, the Royal Forestry Commissioner of Denmark informed Queen Margarethe II that the oaks were now finally ready to be used for the rebuilding of the Danish Navy. Of course, this announcement sounded odd in our modern times, but the legal obligation from 1810 for the Royal Forestry Commissioner to announce to the reigning King (or queen) the day when the oaks officially would become ship oaks, was still in force. The obligation was duly fulfilled. Hawila’s incredible luck (based on a good deal perseverance): Now, at the antique sawmill of Kagerup, 15 of these matured ship oaks finally are waiting to fulfil their destination. Not by becoming ships of the Danish Navy, but by becoming a part of Hawila during the Great Refit, starting September 15th in the Isefjord town of Holbaek. It took several months of negotiations until 15 of those beautiful 200 years old oak trees were ready for Hawila to purchase them. On February 20, the trees were felled and transported to the sawmill in Kagerup, soon to be milled into planks, ribs and deck beams for final comment when we thanked Peter Chrois Moeller, the sales manager of Naturstyrelsen, who made it possible was: “It makes me happy that at least some of our great ship oaks can fulfil their destination and become part of a great sailing ship.” We feel privileged and grateful to Peter Chrois Moeller (Naturstyrelsen) and Gribskov’s forester Jan Erik Løvgen, for making this happen! Without their support it would not have been possible. LAG Midt-Nordvestsjælland supports Hawila’s refit We are happy to announce that Hawila has received financial support for the refit in Holbæk from LAG (Local Action Group) Mid-Northwest Zealand. LAG is an association supporting projects that contribute to the development of projects and activities in Lejre, Holbæk, Sorø, Odsherred and Kalundborg municipalities. In 2020 LAG has a focus on sustainable development and green conversion. Its funds come from the Danish state and the EU’s Rural Fund. We feel honoured to be recognised by the local actors as a desired element of the sustainable development of the are looking forward to becoming part of the local community, contributing to the development of the area with innovative and green approaches to maritime transport, maritime cultural heritage and sustainable tourism development of the region. We eagerly anticipate further collaboration with the local community as well as getting to know the people of Holbæk and the surrounding area to co-create activities and work on sustainable entrepreneurship development. Hawila needs YOU! Join a one year refit in Denmark Hawila is looking for volunteers from October 2020 to October 2021 for major refit in Holbæk, Denmark. The refit will last up to a year to convert Hawila into a commercial registered vessel with a transformation of the mess-room to allow the transport of cargo. The team will consist of 8-16 people. We aim to keep an enriching working atmosphere that sustains a good community life. You will join as a volunteer. In addition to becoming part of the Hawila community, being hosted and provided wholesome meals we will make specific arrangements with each volunteer depending on the length of their volunteering period, their skills and previous experiences. As a common reward, all volunteers will be offered days of sailing in exchange for their time and commitment. Specific details and arrangements will be explained once the application round will be closed. Tools and working clothes will be provided by Hawila but you are welcome to bring your own beloved toolbox. A minimum commitment of 1 month is required for all volunteers; we believe that’s the minimum to integrate within the community and sustain a continuous, efficient and interesting learning/volunteering experience. Needed from October 2020: woodworker, carpenter, boatbuilder, jack of all trades. Later in the refit (from spring 2021): Sailmakers, Riggers, Electricians, Mechanics. Refit plan: Framing and planking below and above water line, keel work (mid-ship keelson, keel bolts), caulking, decking, rigging work, 2 additional bulkheads, new sails, new electrics. How to apply?: If you are interested, send us an application email with a few words about you, your motivation to join the adventure, your experiences and possibly a CV to volunteer@ We will be receiving applications until August 15th. Fair Winds! Hawila Crew STEAM [science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics] workshops for kids in Isefjord Are children interested in building a robot or studying marine electronics? We have a chance to find out when spending a week with amazing boys and girls and their guardians in Isefjord. Together with kids and parents from the French-Danish school Hawila Project organised STEAM [science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics]- a week of non-formal education workshops for kids taking place in breathtaking nature onboard Hawila and on a farm inland. Our little fellows have a chance to immerse themselves in practical knowledge on how to weld, make print on a T-shirt, program a robot, work with analog photography and sound. Amongst the workshops there are also possibilities for adventurers to try sailing with Hawila, tree climbing, steering a little boat or challenge themselves when climbing the main mast. Our amazing chefs provide delicious meals prepared from organic ingredients to fuel the body and spirits of the kids crew. We are looking forward to the last days of workshops! Hawila: one year refit in Holbaek starting in October 2020 Hawila’s life story has been full of twists and changes. She started as a cargo vessel transporting ice at the beginning of the century, she was used for fishing and smuggling during WWII, in the late 70s and 80s she became a platform for non-formal education for a creative group of teachers. Since the Hawila Project runs the vessel, she has been a place serving a community, inspiring artists and ramblers. In 2020, she will begin another transformation. This one will bring her back to her roots, Hawila will gain yet another dimension. We are happy to announce that starting from October 2020, Hawila will be staying in Holbaek where she will undergo a major restoration in the local shipyard. This work will allow her to safely transport large quantities of cargo by sail by late a sailing cargo vessel, Hawila will provide an environmentally friendly, sustainable alternative to long distance maritime transportation. More details about our future routes and ambitions will come in following posts. We are very grateful for excellent collaboration with our partners from Holbaek: Kystliv Holbæk ,Det Gamle Beddinger, Holbæk Museum – en del af Museum Vestsjælland, thanks to whom we felt very much welcome and fitted in the local maritime environment. The city of Holbæk has a rich boat building tradition to share as well as charismatic personas leading educational and innovative projects on site. Hawila Project is honoured to be a part of a local Holbaek community! There is a great amount of work ahead of us. We estimate that Hawila will stay in the shipyard in Holbaek for 10 to 12 months. We aim to replace most of our bottom planks (galbord, robord…), maintenance work on our keel, keelson and keel bolts. We will install a new pine deck and covering board as well as 3 wooden bulkheads. Lastly, Hawila will get a total rigging refit and perhaps a new set of sails. We are looking forward to the support of local and international carpenters and boat builders. We will soon publish an official volunteer call with more details of the planned work, but if you are already curious about the volunteer possibilities, please contact us by sending an email to: volunteer@ . COVID-19 Hawila sailing updates Alterations in Hawila sailing plans for the summer 2020 Dear sailors and friends! We hope this message finds you in good health and well-being! It is with great sadness that we need to inform you that due to the current coronavirus situation and travel restrictions in Denmark we found no way to make the Ship of Opportunity project happen this year. We have been researching, trying to find ways, changing routes, but we couldn’t come up with a solution that would not be putting you at risk of being returned from the border. We put a lot of work and heart in planning the residency and we really appreciate as well the efforts of potential participants, the applications and amazing ideas that those inspiring people came up with and wanted to contribute and share with others. We do hope we can stay in touch and think about resuming the project in 2021 or 2022, depending on the availability of our beautiful Hawila that will spend next year in the shipyard. We are preparing alternative summer plans for August at the moment, we will shortly publish them. If you live in Denmark or if you know you can legally cross the border, you are still warmly welcome to contact us and join one of the alternative sailings. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact use our Hawila email for communication with Hawila about sailing this summer: booking@ The shipofopportunity@ email can be used to contact Agata, an artist with whom the Ship of Opportunity project was co-designed. All our best and may the winds always be in your favour, Hawila Crew and Agata Engelman! Residencies- summer 2020