The sinking of the VOC ship Westerbeek (1742)
On 2 September 1742, in dense fog, the VOC ship Westerbeek sank off the coast of the Faroe Island Suðuroy. Of the 91 crew members, 80 men survived the disaster. 10 men were able to travel to mainland Europe before the winter on Danish ships. The remaining seventy crew members were divided over the islands. They remained there without any contact with the rest of the world for the entire long winter. The winter of 1742-1743 was bad. It rained a lot and the snow came early in the autumn. There was little fishing and even then the catch was moderate. The farmers were friendly to the foreigners, who in turn tried to be helpful on the farm and the fishery, but there was too little food. In June 1743, the 70 winterers were picked up by the Dutch ship Mercurius.
All described in the book “Westerbeek 1742”. Originally written by Mathias Lassen in Faroese. Translation and editing by: Tóra Reynhamar and Martha Reijmers with advice from Sámal Báhamar. Publisher Verliero Amsterdam, Martha Reijmers.
Descendants of the crew
Archives indicate that 34 children were born in the Faroe Islands in 1742 and 51 children in 1743. So there is a big difference between the number of births in 1743 and in 1742. It is likely that in 1743 more children were born who had the foreign men as fathers. Official registers describe three examples, one of which has generations of descendants. I have been to the Faroe Islands many times and have photographed the fascinating and beautiful landscape there, but the story of the Westerbeek and the idea that Dutch blood flows through the veins of people on the Faroes makes it fascinating to me. After having contacted Martha Reijmers and having received the book from her, she put us on the trail of two descendants of the shipwright of the Westerbeek. With these two descendants I have since been wished back to the place where the Westerbeek sank. There are not many concrete things left of the Westerbeek. Nevertheless, I would like to tell this story, through images.
I have now decided to do it as follows
I will photograph the beautiful landscapes along the route (red dots on map) that the crew took from the site of the shipwreck to Torshavn. Photographing the wintering places of the crew members (blue dots on the map). The book of the Westerbeek describes where the people lived who received money for the care of a crew member in the winter of 1742-1743 In the route and wintering places I want to photograph people who live there now. Photographing the tangible things: box of the Westerbeek, decorative frame of the Westerbeek, birth certificate of the ship’s carpenter’s daughter, statue of twins, stamps of the Faroe Islands I want to reserve a special place for the descendants Tóra and Sámal, who are known to me. I want to let them speak about what the Westerbeek and the fact that they descend from someone from the Netherlands means.
The photo project is not finished yet.
For this photography project about the sinking of the Westerbeek and the fate of her crew, I portray people and their unique stories.
Would you like to take part, or do you know someone with a remarkable story?
And are you, as an individual or organisation, interested in sharing, publishing, or exhibiting these stories?
Interested? Send me a message. Together, we will bring the story of the Westerbeek to life.