I have just returned from ten wonderful days on the sailship Zwarte Valk. The ship was built in 1889 and the website has interesting historical info.
Sailing such a tall ship is a lot of fun and enough work to keep a dozen people busy. But it can be navigated with as little as a crew of three (skilled sailors). So we were invited to participate but at the same time were free just to chill if we preferred.
The ship is ideally suited for sailing in the Wadden Sea, a sea area that runs dry or very shallow on low tide. Therefore, boats like the Zwarte Valk have a flat bottom to stay upright when (intentionally) running aground.
The above picture shows two sailors at the main winch hoisting the mainsail. While exceptional grinders can go all the way, we usually changed people midway.
The above picture shows Zwarte Valk sitting on only a foot of water which allowed us to leave the ship for a walk, catching crabs, or inspecting the rudder ;-)
(pictures taken with a Summilux-M 1:1.4/75 on a Leica M-10)