Captain "Johnnie" Walker Memorial, Pier Head, Liverpool - March 17, 2022
Captain "Johnnie" Walker gazes out onto the River Mersey as sailing ship MAYBE heads down river after departing from Canning Dock.
TS Maybe was built in 1929 and owned by Jan Jacob Van Rietschoten, father of the flying Dutchman, Cornelis ‘Conny’ Van Rietschoten, the only skipper to win the Whitbread Round the World Race twice.
In the hands of the Rietschoten family, TS Maybe spent many years sailing around the world.
A major milestone in the ship's history was participation in the first ever International Tall Ships Race in 1956.
She is now one of the few vessels that took part in that first race to still be competing in the International Tall Ship Races.
In 1962, TS Maybe was bought by the Swiss family Hans Fehr, who were experienced sailors and enjoyed sailing in warmer climates. She sailed mainly around the Mediterranean and in the 1970s regularly crossed the Atlantic between the West Indies and the Mediterranean.
During the 1980s she also sailed through the Panama Canal and up the East coast of the USA to Canada.
Tall ship Maybe was sold to her present owners in 1989 and underwent another complete restoration retuning to sailing in 2007.
She returned to the International Tall Ship Races in the Baltics in 2009. In 2011, TS MAYBE was restored to her original gaff rig.
