Kris Dierckx, director of Flanders House & Piet Wittevrongel, secretary of the Save Askoy II Foundation
Askoy II Ceremony at Flanders House
On June 2nd, Flanders House New York hosted a ceremony at its offices on the 44th floor of The New York Times Building, during which a piece of steel from the remains of the World Trade Center was donated to Piet Wittevrongel. The steel will be incorporated in the Askoy II and used in a symbolic fashion, accompanied with engraved text.
Dream an impossible dream” so sang Belgian born singer-songwriter Jacques Brel in his renowned song La Quête. Piet and Staf Wittevrongel, two Flemish sailmakers and Jacques Brel fans, must have had similar thoughts when they saw the remains of Jacques Brel’s sailing yacht, the Askoy II, on a beach halfway around the world in New Zealand in 2007. The ship stranded in 1993 as the result of a violent storm.
With the help of many Brel fans, private supporters and the Government of Flanders, Belgium, the Askoy II, a 60-foot steel yacht which formerly belonged to Jacques Brel, whose captivating songs were translated and interpreted by artists such as Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, and more recently David Bowie, was brought back for restoration to Belgium in 2008.
Delayed by financial challenges, the restoration project finally kicked off in April 2010. The transformation is scheduled to take 2 years to complete and will cost the brothers at least 1.25 million US dollars. The majority of the funds have come from both corporate and private donations, and subsidies from the Government of Flanders, Belgium. Upon completion, the sailing yacht will be used primarily to give the disadvantaged, especially young people, the opportunity to sail the world in the spirit of Brel, who was a great champion of humanity.
Says Piet Wittevrongel: “We are taking this wrecked steel boat and we are resurrecting her into a beautiful symbol and ambassador for love, peace and humanity. She will continue the dream of Jacques Brel, sailing the waters of the world, embracing all countries and nations in a spirit of love and healing. The World Trade Center, so violently brought down, also symbolizes the goodness and unswerving spirit of mankind, in the resurrection. It seems fitting somehow, that a small piece from the original World Trade Center, will become part of the resurrected Askoy II.”
The Askoy II was originally built for famous Belgian architect, Hugo Van Kuyck, who assisted the Americans with the design for the Normandy landing places during World War II. Brel bought the ship in 1974 and travelled the world in it.