The crew

Floris, liv & jans

Explore the Ocean!

Meet the crew

The skipper and owner of Tallship Iris is Floris de Waard. Sailing on traditional sailing ships was brought to him from an early age, as he grew up on sailing ships from an early age. Now he works with a lot of passion for the sea, nature and cooperation with people from different cultures.

In recent years, Floris has sailed around the breathtaking Arctic region as the owner of the ship Noorderlicht. He has now passed that baton on to someone else. Now it’s time to explore other coasts.

Sailing on this beautiful two-master is a wonderful experience and he is happy to take you on board to let you discover and experience the beauty of life at sea on a small scale.

In addition to being a passionate and very experienced skipper, Floris is also the father of a beautiful son.

More about Floris…

(By Capt. Deckhand)

It is April 2017 when Floris de Waard sails to Spitsbergen on the Noorderlicht with his girlfriend and best friend.

He follows in the footsteps of none other than Willem Barentsz. During his voyage of discovery, he saw an enormous pointed mountain range emerging from the Arctic Ocean and named it Spitsbergen.

With temperatures of -36 degrees Celsius and more polar bears than inhabitants, Spitsbergen is not for everyone. The Noorderlicht heads towards its new mooring between endless ice floes and fjords. From there, Floris discovers the many faces of Spitsbergen on a sailing charter with his guests. Clear blue skies, icy cold and a crystal clear polar landscape form the backdrop to an impressive winter adventure…