On the 24th July 2013, a beautiful 100 year old Tall Ship called the Astrid went up on the rocks off the coast of Kinsale in county Cork.

What followed was one of the biggest maritime rescues in the history of the state. Thanks to the actions of the RNLI, other emergency services and local sailors, thirty people were successfully taken off a sinking ship and transferred to safety.

But behind the good news story was a personal story of loss – the loss of a beloved ship.

The Astrid was owned by a Dutch man – Pieter de Kam. He had bought her twelve years previously when he quit his day job as an architect to live his dream: taking to the sea on and old square rigger and passing on his knowledge and passion for the sea to sailing to young people on a sail training vessel.

The Astrid had a chequered history. In previous ownership she was a smuggling boat sailing under a Lebanese flag, she was the subject of close attention from Her Majesty’s custom services and she was found burnt out in mysterious circumstances.

In the summer 2013, Ballincollig teenager Christopher Hopcraft was on board as part of a 30 person crew. He was enjoying the trip of a lifetime, cruising from Cornwall over to Cork in blistering heat. 24 young people and 6 professional crew were on board.

After three days they arrived in Ireland. A big cruise had been organised as part of the Gathering initiative. A flotilla of boats big and small had been organised to sail from Oysterhaven to Kinsale and, with photographers and journalists present, Captain de Kam had been asked to sail his boat close to the shore to make the most of photo-opportunities.

Despite the fact that there had previously been some engine difficulties identified – somebody had put water in one of the fuel tanks - Pieter agreed. While other boats took a route further out to sea, to avoid the treacherous Sovereign rocks and Hangman’s Point, Pieter stayed close to the shore.

Hangman’s Point is a menacing-sounding place. On that summer’s day, with foul weather and an ugly sea, standing between two safe harbours Hangman’s Point’s cliffs rise sharply from the ocean and offer little comfort to seafarers.

Pieter planned to motor out of Oysterhaven and hoist his sails as he rounded the corner. However as he approached the Point and tried to raise his sails, his engine cut out.

The boat started drifting towards the jagged rocks. Despite the attempts by other smaller boats to tow her away from danger, the ship hit the rocks. Pieter’s distress call on the radio was so vague and short that the emergency services had no idea what scene they would be faced with when they reached Hangman’s Point.

That they managed to rescue all thirty people was a testament to their experience and training. But although the story had a happy ending for all on board – there was one who lost more than most. Due to some bad decisions made in a split second, Captain Pieter de Kam lost his beautiful Tall Ship, the Astrid, and with it, his dream-life on the sea.

Narrated and Produced by Donal Hayes.

Produced by Nicoline Greer.

Sound supervision by Ciaran Cullen.

First Broadcast at 2pm on Saturday 14th May 2016

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries