For fifty summers, this was a familiar sight, the white motorboat Mariejanne, loaded with tourists and cheerfully decorated with flags, sailing back and forth off the coast. Skipper Dieter Broek started when he was seventeen, first together with his father and for just under twenty years as the proud owner of the Mariejanne. Countless times he dashed off with the boat. Also come to Egmond aan Zee beach and experience it for yourself.

Countless times he dashed off with the boat. And every cruise something fun, unusual or moving happened. “I experienced so much with that boat, I could write a book about it,” says Dieter. “Maybe I should just do that sometime. There really are thousands of stories and anecdotes about the Mariejanne and her cruises. Whole generations have sailed on it. I often now have fathers or even grandfathers with children in the boat, who used to go on it as children themselves.”

 

The above video I made myself because my son had to experience this, it personally brought me a big smile to experience this again with my Son Ryan. Too bad it will never come back. But everything good also comes to an end. Gr. Erik Reemst (my son is that very mobile kid at the wheel after a minute or two. Those 2 kids at the end of the boat are my nephews.

Anecdotes

Anecdotes about the Mariejanne abound. Dieter recalls one memory after another. “One time we sailed alongside a cutter. The crew wanted ice cream, so we went full throttle to the shore, got four Magnums, and returned. As thanks, we got a huge bag of freshly cooked shrimp and had a nice time peeling shrimp with the whole boat. ” When Dieter walks across the beach with his megaphone to inquire in two languages who wants to sail with him on “Das schöne Blaue Mer,” the boat is quickly full. “Once a stunningly beautiful girl was one of the first to step in,” he laughs. “Then I saw all the fathers taking their child by the hand and rushing to the boat. Great. We have a lot of loyal guests, there are even couples among them who both sat in the boat as children. People often say, “When the Mariejanne sails, summer is just beginning. I think that is a huge compliment. The boat is also always filled with happy faces.”

Help

Permanent boatswain on the Mariejanne is Cor Blok, a former sailor better known as The Daakster. With the legendary statement, “I’d like to help you sometime,” he stepped up to Dieter more than a decade ago. “And since then he has missed going sailing! In all those years maybe once or twice because it was his wife’s birthday. Before that, I also always had a lot of support and help from Bernard Harms and Lars van Huis. Together we have had thousands of people on board. Ranging from normal tours, to bachelor parties, children’s parties sen weddings. We even had the entire ice skating team on board once, in the days of Hein Vergeer and Leo Visser, and we went to Sail in Amsterdam twice. For a Saint Nicholas parade, the boat once went on a flatbed trailer to Utrecht. And we took my father to the cemetery with it. That was very impressive. The whole boat was filled with flowers and the coffin stood in the middle. People even know how to find me for special cruises to scatter the ashes of a deceased person. Those too are beautiful moments.”

How it began

Derper Jan Dekker, also known as Witte Jan, had the boat built at Kamminga’s yard in Wormerveer with the purpose of taking tourists around. Witte Jan named the boat after his children Maria and Jan. In the summer of 1961, the brand new Mariejanne made her first cruise. “The first few years, Jan made it quite a spectacle to get the boat out of the water again, Dieter recalls. “It’s a steel boat, so it weighs quite a bit. Jan had a cart, but no tractor. So in the morning they drove the boat into the water with cart and all and then pushed the boat off with some strong guys. In the afternoon when he had to get back on the cart, Jan attached a very long rope to the boat and then walked the beach with a horn to get as many children together as possible. At his signal, the children pulled the boat out of the water and, as a thank you, they all received an ice cream. That was great. I used to pull that rope myself as a kid. Incidentally, without knowing there was a boat attached. When you heard the horn you ran to the rope and then you got an ice cream.

Just started

In 1977, Witte Jan called it quits and Dieter’s father, Arie Broek, or Arie Bam, took over the boat. Father and son are determined to keep the tours going. Quite a task, keeping the boat in top condition and sailing days in addition to a full-time job. “We just started,” Dieter recalls. “My father didn’t have a tractor in the beginning either, so we used the same techniques as Jan. And taking into account the surf and currents we also learned as we went along. But we were always very careful! And I still am. You have to know exactly what you are doing, I learned that from my father. There is no point in putting your passengers in danger. My father and I always had a lot of fun with the boat, until in 1991 he developed all sorts of ailments and it actually became too much for him. That’s when I decided to continue the tradition. That year I also overhauled the whole boat and bought a new tractor. “

Ceased to exist

The Motorboat the Marrie Jannie boat tour ceased to exist after the summer of 2016. We thank Captain Dieter Broek and relatives for the many wonderful years. In addition, below you can see a video of where the boat has now gone and its final cruise with Captain Dieter.

 

Memories of the Mariejanne and photos can be emailed to [email protected] or brought by or mailed to

Dieter Broek,
Torenstraat 4
1931 GG Egmond aan Zee.