From
De Twee Gebroeders  to
Jantje


The ‘Jantje’ entered service as a fishing cutter on 17 April 1930.

It was the first steel vessel owned by a Texel fisherman, who moved to Den Helder with his family in 1917. In 1930, he had the future Jantje built at a shipyard in Monnickendam. The ship was christened “De Twee Gebroeders” after the skipper’s two sons. When built, it was roughly the same size as the Jantje was before its 2019 extension (16.45m by 5.90m); it also had masts, although they were much shorter than the current ones. Using an otter trawl, father, son and a deckhand fished for plaice, sole and cod. At the time, people did not yet have much confidence in diesel engines, and the cutter could still be sailed. After eight years of fishing, in 1938 the 75/90 hp ABC engine was replaced by a 120 hp Industrie diesel engine (4-stroke, 3-cylinder), and the rigging was removed.


In February 1940, “De Twee Gebroeders” became trapped in one-and-a-half-metre-thick drifting pack ice. Off Callantsoog, its propeller broke, leaving the ship adrift and in danger of being carried into the minefields. A tug from Nieuwendiep brought it back to Den Helder.

During the English bombing of Den Helder in June 1940, “De Twee Gebroeders” was moved to the inland waters of Wieringen for safety. Barely a year later, on 13 February 1941, the German Wehrmacht seized the ship after all. During the following war years, it presumably served with the “Rheinflotille” and was deployed to protect the Zeeland coast from Domburg to Ostend. As soon as the war was over, the eldest son walked to Germany via the Afsluitdijk in search of his ship. According to family stories, he found it in Emden, with holes in the hull and a machine gun on deck. On 10 November 1945, restoration began at a shipyard in Haarlem. The holes in the hull were riveted shut, and the ship was assigned two masts from the Rijkswerf in Den Helder, taken from a German logger. On 18 May 1946, the ship was ready for fishing again and was given the new name “Ennie en Appie”.
Until 1952, the cutter was part of the Den Helder fishing fleet. In winter, it fished for herring using a net between two cutters, a method known as pair trawling. It later had various owners from Urk, Katwijk and IJmuiden. The IJM17 made the headlines when it ran aground off Zandvoort on 21 March 1971, after its engine failed while trying to pull another stranded vessel free. In 1976, Harry and Marian Müter bought the ship. They had had their eye on it for years and wanted to convert it into a sailing vessel. After years of work, the schooner-brig Jantje made its first day trips in 1986; a year later, it sailed to the Channel Islands for the first time.
Year Name Owner
1930 - 1947 HD 25 Twee Gebroeders R.N. Bakker, Den Helder
1947 - 1952 HD 25 Ennie en Appie J. Bakker, Den Helder
1952 - 1956 UK 105 Elly Marie K. Ras, Urk
1956 - 1960 KW 61 Gijsbertha P. Varkevisser, Katwijk
1960 - 1965 KW 61 Ludi Fa. Van Duijvenvoorde, Katwijk
1965 - 1973 YM 17 Jeanette C. Drijver & J.G. de Vries, IJmuiden
1973 - 1977 WR 110 Carla Marijke H.B. Westerwal & P.J. v Dijk, Den Oever
1977 Removed from the fishing register
1977 - 1985 Conversion to a schooner brig Harry and Marian Müter, IJmuiden
1985 - 2005 Jantje Harry and Marian Müter, IJmuiden
2005-present Jantje Marten Munstra & Erik Kuiper