Category: crew

Hey, I’m Tom. What do I want to be when I grow up? YouTuber – obviously! 😁 You’re definitely going to see tons of videos from me and my brother soon.

I’m in 8th grade in the Netherlands, which is like 6th grade in Germany. I’m always in a good mood, laugh a lot, and love teasing my big brother 😜😈. I really enjoy playing Minecraft, listening to audiobooks for hours, and trying out my first videos—like stop-motion.

But what I love most is doing gymnastics and just jumping around. There’s not a minute without a handstand, cartwheel, or flip. That’s why I also do freerunning—it’s the perfect way to let loose.

If you want to know more, just drop me an email at tom@sailingstingray.com or follow me on YouTube. See you! 🙋🏼‍♂️

Hey, I’m Daniela (47).

Anyone who knows me knows I’ve never been one to sit still. I was born in Wuppertal, but ever since my boarding school days in Baden-Baden (right up to finishing high school), I’ve been all about discovering the world. I’ve always been the wanderlust one in my family—whether it’s living all over Germany, spending three months in Australia with a baby, a toddler, and a camper, or moving to the Netherlands seven years ago, I rarely stick around in one place for too long. And the best part? In 2004 I met Jens, the person with whom I can share all these adventures. And the kids? Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree 😊

I love planning and organizing things—and then actually doing them. By day, I’m at my desk chatting with colleagues in German, English, or Dutch. In the evenings and on weekends, you’ll either find me on our boat or in my beloved kitchen, whipping up little culinary treats for family and friends.

You can also catch me on LinkedIn at this link. So far, I’ve mostly done the writing part, but hopefully my kids will show some videos soon. Feel free to reach out at daniela@salingstingray.com or drop a comment here.

Hey there, I’m Jens (49), and I’ve been sailing since I was 10. It all began on the Hennesee in Sauerland, where my family of four sailed a 470 – my dad snagged it for a cool 1,000 marks just to give it a whirl. On weekends, we’d haul the boat out of a barn and lug it over to the lake. Setting up the mast was always a bit of a hassle, but after about 30 minutes we were finally off. Besides the cooler, the little head (yeah, our boat leaked everywhere) was the MVP onboard.

I took my first sailing course at 13 on Plöner See. After my dad passed away in 1990, I took over our then pretty new boat—a Dehlya 22—and even got my inland sport boat license (including the engine part, even though motorboats aren’t allowed on the Hennesee—you never know).

During my computer science studies, sailing took a backseat, and even in my early career there wasn’t much time for it. Plus, work kept us moving further away from good sailing spots—Baden-Baden, after all, is as far as you can get from any real water.

Then in 2016 we finally got our act together and moved right to the water by emigrating to the Netherlands—the water was the main draw. Besides sailing, I’m into kitesurfing, too. In the Netherlands, we started out with a classic, rented Polyvalk to see how my wife Daniela and the kids would handle a sailboat. Apparently, they did great, because we soon decided to buy a very old Friendship 33. It was small, but it was ours, and it came with a ton of work. Almost everything had to be redone—DIY projects galore: reworking the mahogany deck, new cushions, modernizing the electronics, installing a water heater, building drawers, renewing the sprayhood, applying antifouling, and the usual winter prep. You learn a lot doing all that!

As the kids grew, we needed more space, and the idea of a bigger boat quickly came up. But thanks to Corona, used boats were nearly as pricey as new ones. So, we decided to go for it and ordered our first C38 in the Netherlands. Our boat even got a thorough test in the magazine “Zeilen” (issue 11/2021) and, luckily, passed with flying colors!

Since then, we’ve been out on the water a lot. In 2024, we sailed a really long way for the first time—640 nautical miles all the way to France. Of course, we’ve already tweaked quite a few things that a standard model still lacks. Check out the “Tech” section where I document all the modifications as best as I can.

Feel free to drop me a line at jens@sailingstingray.com or leave a comment here.