A special guest at the Royal North Sea Yacht Club

On Wednesday 19 April at around noon, the 'Tara', a unique French research vessel, will, call at Ostend. The ship will moor at the main jetty of the Royal North Sea Yacht Club. The ship will leave Ostend on the 22nd.   

‘Tara’ is a schooner-type sailing ship built in France in 1989. The two-master has a length of 36 m. Furthermore, the ‘Tara’ has a limited draft and two retractable rudders that allow it to sail in shallow waters. It has two independently operating engines and also a lab on board.

The ship was originally called 'Antarctica' and owned by Cousteau Expeditions (Captain Jacques Cousteau was a pioneer in discovering the oceans). The ship was bought over by a former employee, Peter Blake who renamed it 'Seamaster'. Blake was killed aboard the ship in 2001. After his death, the ship was managed by the Sir Peter Blake Trust and scientific expeditions were carried out with it. Following a French expedition to the North Pole between 2006 and 2008, the ship was renamed 'Tara'. The ship was then trapped in the pack ice for 18 months. The ship is used for scientific studies on plankton and the effects of global warming on sea ice.