Name of ship: De Tukker
Type of construction of ship: Schoeneraak (Clipper)
Nationality: Dutch
Engine: Detroit diesel 8V71N, 240 PK, (177 KW)
All-over length: 40 metres
Length of the water line: 26.31 metres
Width: 5.50 metres, depth: 1.50 metres
Home port: Enschede
Sailing area: Wadden Sea, North Sea, Baltic Sea (Netherlands, England, Scotland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway)

INTRODUCTION
More than twenty-eight years ago the idea came up to provide young persons with multiple, complex problems with new opportunities by jointly restoring a one-hundred year old sailing ship, going out to sail and by letting them experience all the possibilities and impossibilities of sailing on a turbulent sea, as well as the struggle with themselves. This ship, Sailing ship De Tukker, is now a means of help of Jarabee youth welfare in Twente.

The vision of De Tukker is: ‘De Tukker explicitly provokes young persons and it gives them the opportunity to make important life choices. If the youngster picks up this challenge, there is an optimal chance that the youngster does not revert to their former, often criminal behaviour’.

The emphasis is especially on the healthy part of the young persons: what can be developed?
The attention is aimed at the here and now and the future of the youngsters.
Developing of possibilities and realizing (or learning to realize) wishes and objectives are at the centre, instead of solving problems.
The focus is also on changing the behaviour of these youngsters. The youngsters learn to assume responsibility for their actions: what do you want and how can you make sure that you actually do that. ‘Agree about what you will do and do what you have agreed’.
The supervisors work closely together with the parents and with the counselling bodies.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TARGET GROUP
It concerns young persons from 15 to 23 years old who have multiple, complex problems. In many cases they have become stuck in other assistance processes or this is imminent.
They are often youngsters who are going through a crisis and/or have a disturbed self-image, and who do not have an understanding of their own behaviour and the consequences of their actions. They are ‘boundless’ in their behaviour, their understanding of values and standards has been insufficiently developed and they have a strong need for role models.
The group can be roughly distinguished into:
youngsters with strong externalizing behaviour (very rebellious, very angry, they can act but they use their positive qualities in a negative way); De Tukker brings them down to earth again.
the followers (‘the grey mice’); on board they learn to recognize their true qualities and to break through them. De Tukker lifts them up and allows them to come into the picture.

* The problems are complex (complicated and interactive) and multiple (they turn up in various 'habitats'), these are:
* their own development (social, psychological, emotional, cognitive and moral);
* the relationship with the parents;
* the school and/or work situation;
* the circle of friends and the leisure time situation

PROGRAMME
On the Sailing Ship De Tukker, the programme focuses on crisis relief, behavioural changes of the youngsters and the prevention of repetition of the (criminal) behaviour. Furthermore, a look is taken at the protecting factors such as possibilities for development, the perspective, the will to change and to set oneself targets, the extent of one's own responsibility and the possible cooperation with institutions and parents.
This means – a sailing ship – is very specific, the structures and limitations are not only clearer than in ordinary society, but they are also inescapable. The rules and everyone’s safety are very closely connected!

The limitations of a ship, such as the room and being round the same people all the time, work confronting: you cannot avoid one another and you need one another; the stimuli from the environment surrounding the youngsters are strong and lead to reactions; you can hardly withdraw from the situation. The mutual relations are strongly measured.
The continuous presence of the crew and their expertise (an obvious hierarchy) offer an experience of safety, dependence and reliability on people, which is something that most youngsters are not used to.

PROJECTS
On-board Group projects from the special needs education/youth services for a period of one week.
Individual three-week sailing projects for Crisis relief, but also initiated from the justice department or youth services. In part sailing at sea and in part activities on land; hiking, climbing and a solo bivouac. The sailing areas are the North Sea (England, Scotland) and the Baltic Sea (Germany, Denmark, and Sweden).
Individual work projects by means of maintenance activities to the ship, to the rigging and to the interior.
Crew/ Ship boy (2-5 months)> An intensive long-term training in which is taught (how) to take charge while sailing and to take care of the ship and the persons on board.

CURRENT SITUATION
On January 1, 2006, the province of Overijssel stopped subsidizing Jarabee. This measure especially affects the special variations of welfare work to which the sailing ship De Tukker belongs. The permanent means that came in before through the provincial authorities in the form of a ‘preservation subsidy’ therefore disappeared on January 1, 2006. Future subsidies or funds are not completely impossible, but there will no longer be a guaranteed source of income.
With the help of the Rotary Enschede-Zuid, a 3-year strategy has been developed which will lead to new structural forms of funding in 2008. However, in the 2nd year (2007) of this transition, a deficit on the budget of 250,000 Euros has arisen. As a result of that, this unique but also effective project cannot be used for young persons who are in critical need. All this occurs while the need for crisis relief in the Netherlands is growing dramatically.

Sailing Ship De Tukker
Resedastraat 15
7555 CJ Hengelo/ Netherlands
www.zeilschipdetukker.nl;  Dit e-mailadres is beveiligd tegen spambots, u heeft JavaScript nodig om het te kunnen bekijken
The manager responsible for Sailing ship De Tukker is Mr. J. ter Beke, member of the location management Hengelo-Oldenzaal, (074) 256 19 00 /
The responsible person of the Rotary as well as of the Foundation Vrienden van de Tukker (Friends of de Tukker) is Mr. A.G. Melchers
E-mail: Dit e-mailadres is beveiligd tegen spambots, u heeft JavaScript nodig om het te kunnen bekijken